ArticlesPower Projects

Reduce Electric Bill with Solar Panels, Reduce Electricity costs

Description:

 

Reduce Electric Bill with Solar Panels– Electric bills are one of the major reasons people go Solar. But trust me; reducing the electric bill is not the only problem that people face around the world. In countries like Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, etc people are subjected to the heavy load shedding during the day and night time which becomes unbearable in summers.

When it comes to the installation of the solar panels. This is not just that simple, purchase a Solar Panel, connect it to the Battery and start saving money. There are things that you should know about before you Install the Solar Panels.

In this article, which is based on the how-to reduce electric bill with solar panels, I am going to explain

  • Why we need Solar Energy?
  • Why should we have Solar Panels
  • How to Solve the Electric bill problem with Solar Panels?
  • Role of Solar Panels during the Load shedding.
  • Installation
  • The things you need to take care of after the installation.

Without any further delay let’s get started!!!


Why we need Solar Energy?

Let’s start with the very basic question, why we need Solar Energy?

The very first answer is it is free. This is available throughout the world for free, you will never pay for this endless source of energy; let’s not talk about the moon and space. Anyone can use this Solar Energy without any problems, as it has no greenhouse gas emission into the atmosphere when you are using the Solar Panels to generate Electricity. You can go off-grid and generate your own electricity which you can use during the day time or you can store the power and use this at night time. Recently such type of electric meters is introduced in the market, that now you can sell the electricity and earn money.

This is really amazing, you have a place where you can install solar panels, generate clean electricity, power up your house and sell the unwanted power to the utility company or your neighbors.

Why should we have Solar Panels?

We have an endless source of energy the Sun. This energy is absolutely free throughout the world and the Universe. We can harvest this endless energy using the Solar Panels. Despite the fact that solar energy is free, still, there are millions around the world who are not taking any advantage out of this free solar energy.

Why should we have solar panels? This is a broad question and its answer varies from person to person.



Businessmen:

I asked the same question “why should we have solar panels?” from some businessmen and I got the following replies

  • Person A: I don’t need solar panels to power up my house and office, because I am earning a lot and I don’t care about the Electric Bill.
  • Person B: I have a large solar system on my Island.
  • Person C: I use solar panels to power up my poultry forms.
  • Person D: A large high power solar panels system is not portable, that’s why I prefer a generator which is portable, and I don’t care about the fuel how much it costs me.
  • Person E: I use the Solar system only because of Load shedding otherwise I don’t need it.

People from Business class really don’t care about the Electric Bills. They go for the Solar system only it the utility power is not available.

Middle Class People:

I asked the same question “why should we have solar panels?” from some middle-class families and I got the following replies.

  • Person A: My Salary is not enough to pay my electric bill and bear the other expenses. That’s the reason I am in favor of the Solar Panels. I am currently using 4 solar panels which help me light up DC bulbs, run DC room coolers on 24-hour basis. I use the utility power only for powering up the Refrigerator and for a TV. This way I have reduced my electric bill.
  • Person B: The reply was almost the same as person A, but this person also mentioned the Load shedding.


In this class almost 70% of people had the Solar Panel system; maximum people were using 2 solar panels. In Pakistan and India, especially in villages, people face heavy load shedding which becomes unbearable during the summer season.  There is no power for hours, in such a situation the Solar Panels are the lifesavers.

Further from these people I heard, that our batteries are damaged very soon and need a lot of maintenance. When I personally checked their batteries and the whole setup, I was shocked, how they manage to run the Solar system.

I will talk about their mistakes in a minute and I will also share with you how to fix these mistakes and how to increase the life span of the batteries. I will also share with you how to harvest maximum energy from the Solar Panels.

Reduce Electric bill with Solar Panels:

We know very well using Solar Panels we can reduce our electric bill. But, this is only true if everything is done in a proper way. This is not that simple to go and purchase a Solar Panel and connect it with the battery and power up your House. There are things which you need to take care of, you need to protect the battery from any damage. If your battery life span is only 5 or 6 months then what’s the advantage of installing the Solar Panels? Your expenses will be higher than your electric bills.

 For the successful Solar Panel setup, you need to go through the following steps.

  1. Think for a day or two before you purchase the Solar Panels. You should know exactly which loads you want to run on Solar Panels. let me give you my example, I live in a village where I face heavy load shedding in the summer season. For me, the Ceiling Fans, Lights and rooms coolers are on first priority. I also have an inverter which I use to run my computer when I am designing something, or when I am doing the soldering job. I purchased two solar panels, a battery, and a solar charge controller. Currently, I am powering up to two DC room coolers and some DC light bulbs. So, at day time I am only using Solar Energy.
  2. To increase the Battery life you need to purchase a battery charge controller to protect the battery from overcharging and overvoltages. I have a very detailed tutorial on how to use the Solar Battery charge controller. You can check out this article by clicking on the link below. You can also find this article in the related projects section, given at the end of this article.

Article on Solar charge controller.


Without the charge controller, the battery is damaged within 6 months, I am telling this from my personal experience. I have been through this stage. You know the best charging voltage for the battery is around 14 to 14.5 volts. But the voltage coming from the Solar Panels is sometimes even greater than 20 volts. This voltage fluctuates all day and Thus really reduces the life span of the Battery. So make sure, when you purchase the Solar Panels, you also purchase a good solar charge controller. The one I am using you can get this from Amazon.

Reduce Electric Bill with Solar Panels

 

This is the CM3024Z solar charge controller from China. This solar charge controller is available on Amazon and can be purchased by clicking on the link below. This is so far the best solar charge controller. I have been using this for a long time and still, it works perfectly.

Solar charge controller:

Solar panel:

Other Tools and Components:

Top Arduino Sensors:

Super Starter kit for Beginners

Digital Oscilloscopes

Variable Supply

Digital Multimeter

Soldering iron kits

PCB small portable drill machines

DISCLAIMER:

Please Note: these are affiliate links. I may make a commission if you buy the components through these links. I would appreciate your support in this way!

 

3 To Harvest maximum Solar Energy, select a proper area where you get the maximum Sunlight, and place the Solar      Panels at an angle.

4 Use good quality copper wires for connections.

Reduce Electric Bill with Solar Panels

5 If you are using the Acid Battery, make sure, you check the water level after every 2 weeks, clean the Battery terminals regularly.

6 Clean Solar Panels regularly. Because dust on the solar panels can reduce efficiency.

7 Avoid loose connections.

Reduce Electric Bill with Solar Panels

8 For the best performance place Battery near the Solar Panels.

These are the steps which if you follow, I guarantee you; you can reduce your electric bill and your battery will last longer for years. You will be having no problems at all. If you have more budgets, you can use the solar trackers but I know people from medium class families, don’t spend a lot on the solar panel setup. I myself not using any solar Tracker, although I can make one by myself and even I have a tutorial on how to make a solar tracker which you can find in the related projects section given below. But trust me, if you follow the above steps you can get the maximum power with less maintenance.



Do solar panels really save you money?

Of course, the answer is yes. But how much money you will save this depends on a number of factors like, the number of Solar Panels you are using, The Solar Panels wattage, the solar panels angles, and the local electricity rates play the biggest role in determining how much solar can save you.


Engr Fahad

My name is Shahzada Fahad and I am an Electrical Engineer. I have been doing Job in UAE as a site engineer in an Electrical Construction Company. Currently, I am running my own YouTube channel "Electronic Clinic", and managing this Website. My Hobbies are * Watching Movies * Music * Martial Arts * Photography * Travelling * Make Sketches and so on...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button