Because your solar power system depends on absorbing sunlight, the placement of your panels is of utmost importance. Ideally, in the northern hemisphere, panels should be affixed to the south face of your house, the direction from which the sun will shine most of the day. If they are slightly to the east or west of true south, they will retain about 90% of their absorptive capability, but if the configuration of your house prevents you from orienting them more or less to the south, you should consider remodeling or choosing another energy source.

Building a solar system is a substantial financial commitment. It has both fixed and variable costs. That’s why many people choose to start out with a small system and build on as they can afford to do so. The federal government offers modest tax credits for energy-efficient home improvements, including solar power, and many states also offer tax credits or other incentives, which can reduce your costs significantly. Even so, payback periods on solar power systems are long and extremely variable.Before you install a photovoltaic system, or any alternative energy system, make your home as energy-efficient as you can (link). Every dollar you spend on increasing your home’s energy efficiency will save you between three and five dollars on the cost of your solar power system.

On-Grid: The energy produced via a residential renewable energy system both feeds off of and into the outside utility’s system.

Because your solar power system depends on absorbing sunlight, the placement of your panels is of utmost importance. Ideally, in the northern hemisphere, panels should be affixed to the south face of your house, the direction from which the sun will shine most of the day. If they are slightly to the east or west of true south, they will retain about 90% of their absorptive capability, but if the configuration of your house prevents you from orienting them more or less to the south, you should consider remodeling or choosing another energy source.It is also crucial that your panels receive full sunlight as often as possible, so you must ensure that nothing shades the panels or blocks sunlight from reaching them. Even something as thin as an electrical or telephone wire can interfere with optimum exposure. Keeping trees trimmed so they don’t shade your panels is important.

Pennsylvania energy-buffs may have noticed the term ‘net - metering’ being tossed around local news recently. In June 2006 the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, the board that governs the creation and distribution of energy in the state, decided to allow net metering in an effort to join the other 39 states nationwide that already have such regulations.

Geothermal exchange is a method of heating or cooling a building that uses the thermal energy constantly given off by the Earth. At depths greater than six feet, ground temperature is relatively constant, ranging between 45 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on your latitude. These systems are more efficient because, whether it’s winter or summer, the ground temperature is usually more moderate than the outdoor temperature, so less heating or cooling is required. That means the system doesn’t have to work as hard to make your home comfortable. The EPA estimates that geothermal transfer uses 30-70% less energy for heating and 20%-50% less energy for cooling.