Search: I Can Fix Up My Home

Residential Solar Panel Manufacturers:

Photovoltaic Arrays are a Green, Renewable Energy Source; Cut Energy Bills and Get Tax Credits

Solar Panel

To combat increasing energy bills, many homeowners are installing residential solar panels. This is a green, renewable energy source and each one square foot solar array produces 10 Watts.

There’s no shortage of players getting into the home-generated solar electricity game. We’ll take a look at six of the big PV (Photovoltaic) players.

BP Solar Panels

The British Petroleum energy giant sells its BP Solar SX-170B for $759. It supplies a healthy 170 Watts of electricity. They also produce and market BP Solar Energy Tile as a roofing system which is currently available in California.

BP entered the solar market in the 1930’s and their panels have called such extreme environments as space and Antartica home. Some of their customers have reported energy savings as high as 73 percent.

Kyosera

Kyosera is best known for making copiers. But, they also help the homeowner to generate electricity from the sun. For example, the Kyosera KC200GT produces 200 Watts and has a conversion ratio (the percentage amount of the sun's energy converted to usable electricity) of 16%. They also market a DC to AC converter. This is a must-have since home appliances run on AC current.

All their panels feature Multi-Contact output cables, a heavy-duty box-style anodized aluminum frame; and an industry high 20-year power output warranty.

Suntech

Suntech was awarded the contract to power the Bird’s Nest Stadium for the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games. This was a huge publicity boost for this upstart company; the resulting publicity gave their sales numbers a healthy boost. Their STP180-24/Ab1 model delivers 190 Watts at a price of $849.

Are they reliable? Here’s their claim, ’Unlike traditional power sources whose economics depends on the ever changing price of fuel, solar energy systems come with a 25 year guaranteed free fuel supply direct from the Sun.’

Evergreen Spruce

A clever name for a renewable energy technology company, is it not? Evergreen uses their own proprietary String Ribbon technology. This process provides a cost-saving method of making silicone wafers. The streamlined process increases their profit margin. Their 195 Watt model has a cost of about $939.

Evergreen manufactures everything — wafers, cells and panels — all under one roof for ultimate quality control

Sharp

Sharp is well-known for their televisions, but what’s not so well known is that they’ve been harnessing the sun’s energy since the 1950’s. Theyre the world’s largest producers of solar cell technology. This includes production for watches and calculators. At $870, the Sharp NE165U1 generates 155 Watts.

General Electric Company (GE)

GE has used their knowledge of appliances to enter the solar power industry. They got into the game by buying out AstroPower in 2004. The GEPV 200 model will set you back for just over $1000. But this model is very durable, withstanding wind up to 125 miles per hour. Anyone out there in hurricane country?

GE has taken the tack of making it easy for the homeowner. Their Brilliance Pre-packaged Solar Systems are easy to install and designed to supply years of maintenance-free operation. Each system includes all the components necessary for a complete installation and is designed to be compatible with a wide variety of roof types and materials.

If you’ve got a larger property, over an acre, consider another alternative for producing green, renewable energy: Residential Wind Turbines.