With all of the information circulating around about renewable energy sources, it can be hard to keep everything straight. One of the most common sources of renewable energy actually comes from the sun, and is harvested with solar panels. The most common solar panel converts raw sunlight into electricity through the use of photovoltaic cells. These solar panels can be found in fields dedicated to their use. One of the most attractive things about solar panels, however, is that they can be installed directly onto your home by an electrician in Pasadena CA. This is becoming more and more common, as people are looking for ways to be more environmentally friendly, self-sustainable and reduce their monthly electric bills.

Installing and Using Solar Panels

There are two different ways to connect solar panels to your home. You can either connect them to a battery array that will store the power for you, or hook them directly into the existing electrical grid. Both methods have their pros and cons, which you can discuss with an electrician in Pasadena CA, such as The Electric Connection.

One of the great things about having your own energy storage array is that you have reserve power if there is an outage. An electrician in Pasadena CA who specializes in solar panel upgrades will place a panel in the optimal position on their home. They will then connect the panel to a voltage controller, which helps to control the flow of electricity into the batteries. The battery array is then plugged into a power inverter that converts the electricity from DC current to AC current, so that it can be used in your home. This type of installation is typically used to power just a handful of essential appliances, lights etc. In the case of a power outage, you will have a few hours of electricity by smartly using the battery array to power your home lighting, and essential electrical circuits.

The method of installation that is the easiest for the end user to understand and use is by hooking the solar panel directly into the main power grid. The Electric Connection, or the Pasadena electrician that you have assisting you with your installation can actually connect your solar panel up so that it will feed the electricity back to the utilities company, rather than just to your home. This can work in one of two ways. Either you send everything you generate back to the electrical company, or you send anything in excess of what your battery array can handle back to the electric company. In either case, you receive credit for the energy you send, which can in turn lower your electric bills dramatically. This installation is slightly more involved, but only requires a minimal amount of home rewiring and/or electrical panel upgrade.

Regardless of the type of installation that you choose, adding a solar panel to your home is a great investment. Not only will you benefit from the peace of mind that you are using fewer fossil fuels to power your home, but you can even receive credit back for any excess energy that you create. To sweeten the deal, there are many state and national grants and tax credits that have been designed to assist people investing in renewable energy sources. Because of these tax credits, much of the cost of installation will come back to you on your tax returns. In just a few years, the majority of all solar panel installations will pay for themselves. If you are truly looking to increase your energy independence, and are interested in renewable energy sources, contact your Pasadena electrician today to talk about solar power.

If you need any electrical work in Pasadena, please don’t hesitate to contact us at:

The Electric Connection
556 S Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena 91105
(626) 710-4070
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