Learning To Preserve Energy

Whether you want to go completely solar, or just make your home a little greener, there are some simple ways to ensure that a custom built home takes full advantage of the solar panels you install. Some of this needs to be done early on in the construction process, while other steps will be necessary later on. Regardless of the amount of your home's energy use will come from solar power, planning ahead will pay massive dividends later on.

Before Construction Begins

The earlier in the building process you can start planning for your solar panels the more efficient you can make them. Ideally, you should start by ensuring that the orientation of  your house will direct the slope of your roof to the southern sky. This has to do with the tilt of the Earth's axis, which causes the sun's path through the sky to gradually dip southward from summer to winter, and then rise again from winter through summer.

By orienting the slope of your roof toward the southern sky, your solar panels will catch more of the sun's rays all year long. You can also include skylights or large windows on the southern exposure of your home, which will help to warm your house with radiant heat from the sun's light during the winter.

During Construction

In most homes that install solar panels as an upgrade there are only two choices available. A home can either be grid-tied, and feed the solar power into the municipal power lines, or it can be off-grid. A third option exists, but is only really feasible during the construction of a home. That is to create two separate electrical circuits for your home, with one relying on power from a municipal utility service and the other drawing power from your solar panels.

By splitting your home's electrical systems you can choose which components you want to have operate strictly off of municipal power and which you plan to power with your solar panels. This approach allows you to decide whether or not you need a battery storage system to ensure you can power those systems at night or during the winter. Further, you can also use your stored solar power as a back-up power source if municipal utilities are lost.

One of the opportunities that building your own custom home affords you is the freedom to integrate new systems without having to tear out or work around existing ones. This is especially helpful in the case of solar power, as there are a wealth of energy saving products that can minimize your need for additional power and improve how efficiently your solar panels power your home. To get them installed, contact providers, such as Jersey Solar.