The indispensable guide to solar electricity systems for homeowners, business owners, builders, and students Climate change and limits to fossil fuels compel us to find safer, more economical, and more sustainable ways to meet our needs for electricity. And, as more and more electric cars hit the road, we'll need to find a way to provide fuel that is clean, environmentally sustainable, and affordable. With Solar Electricity Basics, author Dan Chiras offers a concise and up-to-date guide covering all the essentials. It explores: How to size, cost, and choose the right system, including off-grid vs. grid-tied vs grid-tied with battery backup Where to mount a system for maximum performance What type of modules and inverters to buy How to install and maintain batteries Cost vs benefit for solar electric systems How to connect to the grid, and what type of net metering your area offers. Solar Electricity Basics is an indispensable guide for homeowners, business owners, builders, and students for figuring out solar electricity quickly and easily.

A guide to choosing and using solar electricity systems from “the man who launched a thousand rooftop solar arrays . . . the essential go-to manual” (John D. Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist, coauthors of ECOpreneuring). As we look for safer, more economical, and more sustainable ways to meet our needs for electricity—and as more and more electric cars hit the road—solar has become an increasingly popular option. With Solar Electricity Basics, renewable energy expert Dan Chiras offers a concise and up-to-date guide covering all the essentials. It explores: How to size, cost, and choose the right system, including off-grid vs. grid-tied vs. grid-tied with battery backup Where to mount a system for maximum performance What type of modules and inverters to buy How to install and maintain batteries Cost vs. benefit for solar electric systems How to connect to the grid, and what type of net metering your area offers Solar Electricity Basics is an indispensable guide for homeowners, business owners, builders, and students for figuring out solar electricity quickly and easily.

Want to take advantage of solar power in your home? Whether you’re looking to save on your energy costs by adding a few solar components or you want to build a solar-powered house from the ground up, Solar Power For Dummies takes the mystery out of this energy source and shows you how to put it to work for you! This friendly, hands-on guide is packed with tips for making your home more energy-efficient though solar power—and helping the planet at the same time. You’ll see how to survey your home to determine your current household energy efficiency and use, and evaluate where solar power would best benefit you. You’ll also calculate what the return on your investment will be before you make any decisions. Once you’ve decided on a project, you’ll see whether it’s best to hire a contractor or do it yourself. We leave no stone unturned—you’ll also discover how to: Choose and install your best solar system Handle small to large solar projects Heat and cool your house with solar energy Install exterior solar lighting Handle swimming pool, water heater, or ventilation solar projects Create greenhouses or solar rooms Build, buy, or sell a solar home Finance your solar investments Take advantage of tax rebates and incentives associated with solar power Avoid the worst solar mistakes Featuring ten of the easiest and cheapest do-it-yourself solar projects, Solar Power For Dummies is the fun and easy way to meet your energy needs with this clean power source!

This book explains the science of photovoltaics (PV) in a way that most people can understand, using the curriculum which reflects the core modules of the NABCEP Associate Exam. Whether or not you are taking the NABCEP Associate Exam, learning the material covered in this book is the best investment you can make insuring your place and moving up in the solar industry. Providing complete coverage of the NABCEP syllabus in easily accessible chapters, this book addresses all of the core objectives required to pass the exam, including the ten main skill sets: PV Markets and Applications Safety Basics Electricity Basics Solar Energy Fundamentals PV Module Fundamentals System Components PV System Sizing Principles PV System Electrical Design PV System Mechanical Design Performance Analysis, Maintenance and Troubleshooting. You will learn the importance of surveying a site and how to carry out a survey, how to use the tools that determine shading and annual production, and the necessity of safety on site. This guide also includes technical math and equations that are suitable and understandable to those without engineering degrees, but are necessary in understanding the principles of solar PV. This new edition of Sean White’s highly successful study guide has been updated throughout and reflects recent changes in the industry.

The new edition of this highly regarded textbook provides a detailed overview of the most important characterization techniques for solar cells and a discussion of their advantages and disadvantages. It describes in detail all aspects of solar cell function, the physics behind every single step, as well as all the issues to be considered when improving solar cells and their efficiency. The text is now complete with examples of how the appropriate characterization techniques enable the distinction between several potential limitation factors, describing how quantities that have been introduced theoretically in earlier chapters become experimentally accessible. With exercises after each chapter to reinforce the newly acquired knowledge and requiring no more than standard physics knowledge, this book enables students and professionals to understand the factors driving conversion efficiency and to apply this to their own solar cell development.

This second edition of Principles of Solar Engineering covers the latest developments in a broad range of topics of interest to students and professionals interested in solar energy applications. With the scientific fundamentals included, the book covers important areas such as heating and cooling, passive solar applications, detoxification and biomass energy conversion. This comprehensive textbook provides examples of methods of solar engineering from around the world and includes examples, solutions and data applicable to international solar energy issues. A solutions manual is available to qualified instructors.