Home solar energy, residential solar panels. They are phrases that one hears a lot in the news, on television, in discussions about the environment and greenhouse gas reduction, and even around the office water cooler. Why would one choose to install residential solar panels, what will one benefit from a home solar energy installation?

Home solar energy installations benefit the homeowner in a number of ways. The most obvious, of course, is that one save money on one’s energy bills. Even a modest installation will pay off handsomely in reduced energy costs, and larger installations may even earn one money if the local supply authority has arrangements in place for paying for excess energy fed back into the grid.

By choosing efficient appliances and selecting the times of operation carefully, one stands to make quite large gains. Furthermore, solar electricity is only one form of solar energy. A good solar hot water system with a small gas or electric booster and a reasonably large capacity will provide even more energy savings. Such diversification will also ensure that maximum use is made of the available sunlight.

But economy of course is not the only benefit of a home solar installation. While more…