Solar Power
Three aspects for living sustainably are creating your own food and water source, generating your own power, and providing your own clothing. Out of these three, generating your power has become more accessible and affordable in recent years, particularly as the push to become more green - although not necessarily more sustainable - is more prevalent. Solar power is the more efficient method for powering your home and all appliances inside. On a basic level, solar power panels can be added to your roof and to other locations around your property to provide you with the electricity ordinarily obtained from the local grid.
The most common system for solar power is a residential energy system. Also referred to as a grid-tie, the solar panels take in the sun's energy and produce DC power that is run through an inverter, which produces AC electricity. This AC electricity goes through an AC power panel, which then allows the sun's original energy to power the home. As a surplus of electricity might occur, the excess either goes into the electrical grid or is stored for future use in a deep cycle battery.
Grid-tie solar power is only one option for homes, as this amount only compensates for the amount that the house itself consumes. The remaining portion of your electrical consumption comes from appliances, and, in terms of solar power, an off-grid residential system is needed to meet this need. Although off-grid residential solar power systems are ideal for areas with no grid at all, they're used to power all appliances and lighting fixtures inside the home. Setup like a grid-tie system, off-grid solar panels often take up more space and the home owner eventually needs more mounting options.
Grid-tie and off-site solar power systems can even be used for commercial buildings but, because of the larger power consumption, the panels need to take up a larger surface area. One system various buildings have put into place is that of solar carports. Large carports are installed into a parking lot and, while providing shade for the vehicles, are angled to capture the sun's energy and translate it into AC power for nearby buildings.
