Solar energy has really come into its own over the past couple decades, and much like computers it seems like the more advancements that are made, the more quickly that the technology continues to improve and get better.  Solar power for homes isn’t the only place that these panels are used, but they can be found on businesses, isolated cabins, or even on backpacks that charge batteries which can then charge your iPods or laptops while walking in between classes or from one destination to another.  Still, most impressive are the complete solar systems available from retailers which allow homeowners to often utilize enough solar energy to not owe anything on their electric bills at all.  In fact, some homeowners who install a full solar system may even get money back from the utility companies, who by law in some states must purchase the extra electricity that you produce on the grid.

Once that you realize the advantages of solar power then the key question here becomes how specialized or how large a solar energy system you need.  If you own a five bedroom house and work from home, then you will need much more electricity produced than if you’re looking for a smaller solar system which collects enough for a few hours of light each night – say at an isolated vacation cabin.  Each situation is going to call for a different type of system.  There’s no point in buying an ultra modern and ultra solar energy set up for a vacation cabin that only sees a few weeks of use in a given year while a couple old diy solar panels are not going to make much of a dent in a full sized family home, especially if they were some of the earliest panels designed before the full breadth of modern solar technology was being perfected in those designs.

Most of the time when consumers talk about a full sized solar system, they’re looking at a system to provide solar energy for homes.  Chances are at some point you may have driven by a house where the entire roof was covered with PV solar cells, which are among some of the most efficient at collecting energy directly from the sun’s rays.  These set ups can range anywhere from $5,000 to $45,000 in price depending on what type of a system you’re looking at, how much solar energy you need to collect, and how much work needs to be done as far as solar panel installation and setting up the battery and hooking the entire system into the local electrical grid.

Solar systems definitely provide a long term benefit to the homes and properties that use them, but it takes a lot of work and professional skill to have one properly installed.  Depending on the area, it may be up to the home owner to contact the local electric company and figure out what (if any) additional actions are necessary on your part to make sure the solar energy is properly converted into electricity and that you get credit for its use.  When it comes to being environmentally friendly, there’s no argument that it doesn’t get much better than solar.