It looks that not only ordinary people want to work for saving the environment – Pope Benedict XVI has a project of installing solar panels at his house in Bavaria. The panels will generate up to $3500  per year by selling energy to the German electric grid, and the money will be used for helping people in the region. The panels were donated to the Pope by volunteers. [CleanTechnica]

The Pope, already known as the “Green Pope,” also attracted attention when he decided that he would use solar panels in Vatican as well. Let’s take a look at what makes solar panels popular green solutions, their advantages and drawbacks, and where you can get them (or if you have the skills, how you can build them).

Solar panels use photovoltaic cells to directly transform the sun’s light energy into electricity. All around the world, the industry of solar panels is one of the most dynamic energy industries as it increases its production by 50% each year. In most states, there are government subsidies available to help with the cost, since solar panels have high initial costs.

The main advantage of using solar panels is the green, renewable nature of the electricity it produces. While it may cost a lot to install initially, it dramatically reduces your spending on utility bills, and may even make money

A huge disadvantage is that solar panels systems usually have very high costs. As you can see  on the SolarKits product pages, you can easily spend upwards of $20,000 on solar panels. That is why some proposed various solutions for people to build their own solar panel. There are several guides out there that show you how to very cheaply assemble your own solar panels – the total setup can cost as little as $250. If you have the technical skills and a little bit of extra time for a do-it-yourself project…you do the math. You can find various guides over the Internet that will help you step by step in developing a system  - HomeMadeEnergy is just one of those.

Keywords/Tags: solar panels, electrical energy, systems, green, photovoltaic, appliances, wind energy, heating

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