Solar Power!
It's finally happening, after 6 months in Manila, being "held" by customs - The Solar system for our home is on its way to our construction site.
It's worth mentioning, that Importing products from China can be a minefield. In our case, I put the wrong Receiver on the BLM. Because of this, Phoenix Farms could not collect the solar, we had to backwards and forward for months working with the shipper and Philippine Customs to try and remedy the issue. LESSON: Always put the FULL name of the PERSON that will be collecting the shipment from customs.
Moving on. One thing I am VERY thankful for during this whole experience was the professionalism and help that the Chinese executive gave me. His Name is Mike from Rosen Solar. and he truly went above and beyond when it came to advising and helping us with MY mistake. I can not speak more highly of Mike and I will look forward to dealing with him in the future. I strongly suggest that you get in contact with him if you are considering going solar.
There is a lot of confusing information out there regarding Solar Power and it is from a combination of errors. Some dealers in Solar can see quick dollars and sell systems that promise much but deliver little and from Power and Utility Companies that see their annual profit diminishing - as a result, they publish misleading articles in magazines and spread misinformation.
The truth is, Solar is incredible and worth the investment. Period.
Three things are required for a solar system to perform optimally, these are:
Solar Panels
A Control System
Batteries.
So how does it all work? "It a kinda magic" to quote Queen, but here is a VERY simplified version. The solar panels capture energy from the sun and convert that energy to dc current, the bigger the panel, the bigger the current. (usually)
This DC or Direct Current is fed to a Controller/Inverter that directs this energy to the batteries to be stored. When you turn something on in your house, the batteries send this energy back to the controller where it is then converted from DC to AC or Alternating Current, and then fed through your home's breaker board to power your device. As long as you have enough capacity (batteries) to run all you need, you are on your way no never having to pay for power again.
It is true that at some point in the future - about 20 years, you may need to start replacing panels and batteries about every 3-5, but look at it this way it's a fixed cost that will only come down in the future. Can you say the same about your power company? Oh and most importantly, say goodbye to rolling blackouts.