Living in California, you know that the sun shines a lot. It’s
probably one of the reasons you love your west coast home the
most (and why you are the envy of most of the U.S.). Even during
“June gloom,” that morning fog burns away to give way to
glorious California sunshine. That sunshine can do more for you
than give you excellent tennis weather and a bronze goddess tan.
That glorious sunshine can power your home. Did you know that
solar power’s been growing rapidly in California because of a
Renewable Portfolio Standard? That’s a Federal regulation
requiring 20 percent of California’s electricity to come from
renewable sources, such as solar energy by 2010, increasing to
33 percent by 2020. At least five solar plants are under
construction in the desert right now. Consider modifying your
house to produce solar power. The most common way is with solar
panels, more properly called photovoltaic cells. Sunlight
passing through the panels is converted into alternating current
by an inverter. Alternating current