There are two ways to use the power of the sun in your home. There have been numerous articles about residential solar energy. But not much has been said or written about passive solar energy uses for the home. To discuss the differences the first thing would be to know the differences.

First residential solar energy is a small-scale use of business solar energy.  The use of solar panels is nothing new being on a good number of houses today. Most of the solar panels are located on the roofs of residential houses for personal use in that home. Some smaller panels are on top of light polls. The uses of this solar power also vary. The first wide scale product for the home that utilized solar power in America was for heating water. That was decades ago and this industry has progressed forward in leaps and bounds since. Now residents can power their whole house with solar power. The more the energy consumption the greater is the need for collecting the power of the sun, which means an increase in the number of solar panels. There is also the option to be hooked up to the local power grid and exchange power. Your system will feed the grid during the day and draw off it at night. Simplified, residential solar power is mechanical or in need of an active operating systems.

Now on to passive solar use in a residential home. It has been around for decades but never really called passive solar or used to its full potential. Remember skylights and large picture windows, this is passive use of solar energy. By allowing light to enter deep into our homes we can save energy by using this light during the day instead of turning on the light switch. The large picture windows combined with stone or thick tile flooring can absorb the heat during winter months and help keep you warm. This is a sustainable and renewable source that can be utilized with a low cost as long as you design your home properly. If you are building a new home or just adding on an addition to your existing home, think about added skylights. In the bedrooms they add a romantic touch and it just makes sense for that bathroom. Best of all once a skylight is installed there is nothing to wear out. This is a renewable reliable source of energy for years to come.

Tags: business solar energy, Passive solar energy, Residential Solar Energy, solar panels

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 at 1:08 pm and is filed under solar power. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.