definalty more complicated... a great book i read is 'solar power living' this book also contains tons of info on hydro and wind power. and cover how many solar panels u'd need, your homes eletric use, wether or not solar is right for u...
there are many uses for solar power... lets say u need a water pump to run a few hours a day to keep a tank filled up.. u could use a direct tie kit that goes directly from the panel to the pump. whenever the sun is out, the panel produces enough electricity to run the pump.
as far as whole house use, u need panels, then batteries which the panels charge. the stored electricity is DC current, this needs to be converted to AC power which is used in ur house... so the dc goes into a converter and then becomes ac... then after passing through safety fuses, u get electricity that comes out at a regular plug..
whole house systems usually cost a couple thousand depending on how much u do yourself.. to produce year round electical benifts, alot of homes are also useing small wind mills that compliment the solar panels... in the winter there tends to be more wind but less sun, in the summer less wind nbut more sun..
hope that helped a little, i'm no expert!!! that book is definatly worth reading.. also there is one of those 'idiots guide to solar living' which i want to get next time i'm at the book store, looks pretty good...
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