City residents of New Orleans are eligible for generous federal and state tax credits if they install a photovoltaic solar power system at their home. Those installing solar energy systems in New Orleans may find using an online calculator helpful, when they are working out the expected costs and benefits of their proposed installation.
Solar electric panel systems harness the light from the sun to produce electricity. Each solar panel contains many thousands of photovoltaic cells. Each of these cells will produce a tiny amount of electrical voltage (less than one volt), when sunlight falls upon it. The cells are all connected together in such a way as to produce enough total energy to supply a typical home.
Solar panels produce DC, or direct current, electricity. All homes use AC, or alternating current, so a special electronic unit called an inverter is installed to convert from DC to AC.
Also, solar power can only be produced during daylight hours. Some installations use batteries to store energy for nighttime use, but a more normal residential application retains a connection to the electrical utility company. Nighttime demand for electricity is therefore met by the utility company.
In most installations a special two-way electricity meter is included. Like any normal electricity meter this will measure the power taken from the electric company, but it is also capable of measuring energy traveling in the other direction. Whenever a home’s solar power system is producing more energy than the home actually needs, the excess energy is fed into the utility grid. This can happen on occasions when a home’s energy needs are quite low, for example if no one is at home during the daytime.
There are two ways for accounting for the power being fed into the utility grid. There may be an agreed price – a feed-in tariff – which the utility company pays to the homeowner. Alternatively the units of power fed back to the utility company may simply be discounted against future bills.
Any city resident who is considering installing solar energy systems in New Orleans will wish to work out the installation costs of their system, and the likely savings which they will make on future electricity bills. The effectiveness of a system may depend on several factors, such as how much space there is available in which to fit solar panels, and whether they can be oriented in the most effective way. Online calculators are available, and they can be very helpful when performing this feasibility analysis.
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