Tips to Make Your Solar Panels Last longer

Here are some tips to make your  solar panels to last longer.

 1. Keep  them clean:   The solar panels work so well that you hardly notice that you have solar panels on your roof top.  Normally there will not be any problem with the solar panels.   The solar panels work quiet without any noise and normally you need not touch them at all  but when you get your bill at the end of the year, you may see surprise and it is your fault.  The cleaner the glass on the solar panel, the more unobstructed surface the sun has to work with.    Now the question comes how often you should clean the solar panel glasses?  It depends on where you live —  if there is a lot of construction in your area, if you live in a windy desert or if you have lots of particulates in your air you will probably need to clean more often. Some areas need a weekly washing, while other areas can get away with every other month.  Keep an eye on your panels and when they look like they have a dusty film on them, aim the hose  in their direction and let it rip.

2. How to clean your solar panels?  First, never use an abrasive soap or cleaning sponge - the goal is to get the glass clean and clear as possible so you don't want to scratch it. Next, a pool skimmer with a soft cloth on the end should reach the really high roofs or a wash rag and some soft biodegradable soap should do the trick. The more often you clean, you might even be able to get away with just running the hose over them quickly, assuming you don't have built up bird poop or caked on dirt. BE VERY CAREFUL if you get on the roof, particularly because it will be slippery once you start washing panels the roof and that hose will have a tendency to pull you off the roof as you dismount. In my experience, homes that complained about their meter spinning forward typically had dirty solar panels. A good scrub down and that meter was spinning backwards. If your meter is spinning forwards in the middle of the day with the sun brightly shining, it means either you have a lot of appliances on or your panels are not doing their job. If the panels aren't doing their job, then you're losing money.

3. Keep them out of the shade. While you're at it, make sure that there are no new shade issues that weren't there when the system was installed. We here at Planet Green would never suggest you cut down a tree, but you may need to trim them back. Shade on solar panels actually works exponentially, not proportionally, to reduce panel output. So if 1/4 of the panel is shaded, you're not losing 1/4 of the output for that panel, you're likely losing more than half. Again, if the panels can't do their job, you're losing money.

4. Monitor the panels. You don't need to do anything, but keep an eye on them. Particularly keep an eye on the inverter display. Is the green light on? Good (Is it flashing? probably not good - consult your manual). While technically you don't have to look at them every day, if there is a problem and the green light goes out, the longer it takes before you notice it the more money you are losing because your panels are no longer covering your electricity use. Chances are you won't be able to tell what is wrong with the system, but don't worry about it, thats what that 25 year warranty is for. Call the experts and let them sort it out.

5. Keep a record of your panels' performance day-to-day. If you want to take it one step further, write down what your system has produced for the day (at roughly the same time each day). Make a note or asterisk for days that are particularly overcast because those will throw off your results and don't necessarily mean that there is a problem with your system. Keeping daily accounting will help you determine if your system is still working, but maybe just not producing what it used to. Too much to think about? Monitoring systems are available now in a variety of formats that will display readings on a panel in your house, download data to your desktop or let you configure a website with your solar data. Contact your solar installer for options. Sounds like the potential for a new line of green jobs. If you don't mind heights or slippery heights, there are neighborhoods full of solar panels all over your city that could use a good spring cleaning.

Solar Cooking Tips

'Solar cookers'  or  'solar ovens' are increasingly becoming popular through out the world in recent times.  The solar cookers are used to reduce the people's dependence on firewood and other fuels.  Even if you have electricity, a solar cooker can be an energy saving option to your cooking needs.  So let us see some tips on solar cooking.

Solar cooling is not much difficult and it is very easy to master the skill of solar cooking.  Many of the skills which we use for traditional cooking methods are applicable for solar cooking too.  The only factor which will have much effect on solar cooking is that the time required for cooking and also the weather as well as efficiency in preparing and putting all the ingredients together.

Tips for Solar Cooking

 Here are some tips while solar cooking.

• The most ideal time for solar cooking is between 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.  This is the ideal time during summer season when the Sun is directly overhead for longer period of the day.  In the middle of Winter season, the ideal time would be between 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM. 
• You need to decide on your menu ahead of time; You should plan in advance about which meal you want to prepare in solar cooker and then start cooking.
• Prepare most of the ingredients ahead of time and even one day before so that they are ready when the sun light comes for cooking.
• Pre heat your solar cookers one or two hours before before using them
• You can use a food thermometer if you are not sure of temperatures for proper food safety
• The number one factor for best cooking results is to make sure that you start cooking your food as early as possible.  It takes longer time for most of the foods
• Dry beans and other legumes can take all day long to cook, where as pastas normally take 30 to 40 minutes.
• Soups, stews, chilli and meats can be left all day long in a solar cooker to slow cook
• Rice normally cooks within half an hour to one hour.  If you pre heat your cooker and water, this applies to pasta also.
• The more times you uncover the solar cooker, the longer it takes to cook.  So take out the lid as little number of times as possible
• If time is a major factor, consider cooking your dishes in stages, even over a two day period, refrigerating ingredients until final cook stage.
• The size and amount of food affects the cooking time.  So do not fill the cook pots more than 2/3rds full and cut the food portions into small pieces as possible
• The foods which have moisture content do not need added water to cook.. Water only increases the cooking time.  So you can add water only to the food which need water like rice, pasta etc.
• Use a thin, shallow aluminum or steel cooking vessels for faster cooking and do not over load them.
• In order to have more concentration and retention of heat inside the solar cooker, use over cooking bags to enclose the jars and pots.
• Keep your reflector panels and the transparent door cover clean, free from dirt and food marks.  This ensures more effective concentration of the sun rays onto the cooking pot and food.

Tips and Tricks for every Solar Energy User

We all know that Solar Energy has  changed the lives of millions of people around the world.  The people who already started using solar energy to power their homes are already seeing the financial rewards of their investment.  Here are some tips to use solar energy efficiently.

• Solar Panels : There are two types of Solar Panels available in the market.  Mono-crystalline solar panels are more efficient and also more expensive.  Poly-crystalline panels are cheaper and produce less electricity.  It is better to purchase the most efficient panels even though the cost is a little bit higher.
• Always keep the solar panels clean.  The dirtier they get, the less efficient the solar panels in generating power.  It is true that rain and wind often take care of cleaning of panels but you should also some times clean the solar panels to get more output from them.
•  The next point to keep in mind is that of the shade issues while installing solar panels. A solar panel which loses a quarter of its light can lose half of its power production.  If any trees are growing between solar panels and sun light, try to trim them often.
• Adjustable Panels :  While buying a solar system for your house, make sure that they can be easily adjustable.  The sun angle changes as seasons change.  So your panels need to be adjusted every three months or so. 
• Warranty of solar panels : Always look into the warranty period of the solar panels that you are buying.  A quality solar panel should have at least 20 years of warranty. If you get lesser warranty for the panels, then you can think of buying from a different supplier.  It may cost a little more but it is worth to buy panels with more warranty.
•  The Solar Energy system not only saves money, but it helps you to make money.  If your solar system produces more energy than required by you, you can then sell it to the local energy company in your area.  
• If you have enough money and resources and space, then think of sun tracking panel system to generate solar power.  These sun tracking systems follow the sun as it moves during the day.  It costs more to install this kind of system but the additional energy produced will make your investment worth of it.