Renewable Energy Systems And Their Components
Make no mistake about it; solar panels are the key to harvesting the sun's energy.
Then what happens, how does it run our household appliances? To answer that in very simple terms, a complete home energy system.
A solar system is made of various components to achieve the power needed to run a household or a business.
Let's start at the beginning: Solar Panels At the forefront of any system are the photovoltaic cells (solar panels).
The amount of energy that is required for the project will dictate the number of panel arrays needed.
The panel array is in the position that will supply the most sunlight, giving the best efficiency possible.
In general this will be on the roof or a special mount that will follow the sun as it moves during the day.
Check with the installer or the manufacturer on the panel's life span and coordinate roofing materials as needed.
In generals panels will last 20-30 years.
Charge Controller If our system is going to have battery's to store excess power, then a charge controller will stop the battery banks from overcharging.
Battery's that are constantly overcharged in general have a shorter life than battery's that are charge properly.
BatteryBanks As the sun's energy changes into electricity it changes into Direct Current that is stored in battery banks.
The type of battery used will help dictate the amount of batteries needed for a certain project.
DC Connect This will disconnect the panel array from the rest of the system.
If the panels are damaged in any manner and are needed to be replaced.
It is also use to troubleshoot the system if the need arises.
Of course when general maintenance is taking place the power has to be down for safety sake.
System Meter The system meter will read the amount of power that the battery banks use.
This could help in making the decision to install more panels to increase the systems output.
It will also give the utility company a reading of power used and not used.
Inverter This takes the Direct Current and converts or inverts it into Alternating Current.
Most if not all appliances in a household will use Alternating Current.
Some solar panels have inverters built into them, having no need for a large inverter.
This makes the solar system wiring diagrams different from those panels that do not engage the built in inverter.
The system is now ready to produce electricity completely renewable and sustainable and best of all it produces no harmful effect to the environment.
One more decision to make, will you go completely off the grid, called the Standalone System or go with the most popular method (70% of all systems installed) and be inter-tied to the grid.
Standalone System A standalone system completely disconnected from the grid, it stands completely alone.
You now will have no bills from the electrical company.
The system uses battery banks to store power, more efficient the battery better the backup power when the system is not making power on off days.
Worse part of this system is that if the panels are not generating electricity the battery banks are not charging, resulting in no power.
Inter-tied Connecting the system to the grid makes it an inter-tied system.
You have no need for battery banks in this system.
If the solar energy system fails to supply power the grid will take over.
This is the most common system used.
The utility company will pay for any power that exceeds the household load.
Check with your supplier or government on exact procedure in your area.
In general each system has the same components and works in the same manner.
Technical advances are moving at an ever increasing speed as the need for more efficiency increases so components may stay the same or change for the better in the future.
Many different models and types of components make up the market today with different efficiencies and different prices choose the best component for your particular needs when installing your solar energy system.
Then what happens, how does it run our household appliances? To answer that in very simple terms, a complete home energy system.
A solar system is made of various components to achieve the power needed to run a household or a business.
Let's start at the beginning: Solar Panels At the forefront of any system are the photovoltaic cells (solar panels).
The amount of energy that is required for the project will dictate the number of panel arrays needed.
The panel array is in the position that will supply the most sunlight, giving the best efficiency possible.
In general this will be on the roof or a special mount that will follow the sun as it moves during the day.
Check with the installer or the manufacturer on the panel's life span and coordinate roofing materials as needed.
In generals panels will last 20-30 years.
Charge Controller If our system is going to have battery's to store excess power, then a charge controller will stop the battery banks from overcharging.
Battery's that are constantly overcharged in general have a shorter life than battery's that are charge properly.
BatteryBanks As the sun's energy changes into electricity it changes into Direct Current that is stored in battery banks.
The type of battery used will help dictate the amount of batteries needed for a certain project.
DC Connect This will disconnect the panel array from the rest of the system.
If the panels are damaged in any manner and are needed to be replaced.
It is also use to troubleshoot the system if the need arises.
Of course when general maintenance is taking place the power has to be down for safety sake.
System Meter The system meter will read the amount of power that the battery banks use.
This could help in making the decision to install more panels to increase the systems output.
It will also give the utility company a reading of power used and not used.
Inverter This takes the Direct Current and converts or inverts it into Alternating Current.
Most if not all appliances in a household will use Alternating Current.
Some solar panels have inverters built into them, having no need for a large inverter.
This makes the solar system wiring diagrams different from those panels that do not engage the built in inverter.
The system is now ready to produce electricity completely renewable and sustainable and best of all it produces no harmful effect to the environment.
One more decision to make, will you go completely off the grid, called the Standalone System or go with the most popular method (70% of all systems installed) and be inter-tied to the grid.
Standalone System A standalone system completely disconnected from the grid, it stands completely alone.
You now will have no bills from the electrical company.
The system uses battery banks to store power, more efficient the battery better the backup power when the system is not making power on off days.
Worse part of this system is that if the panels are not generating electricity the battery banks are not charging, resulting in no power.
Inter-tied Connecting the system to the grid makes it an inter-tied system.
You have no need for battery banks in this system.
If the solar energy system fails to supply power the grid will take over.
This is the most common system used.
The utility company will pay for any power that exceeds the household load.
Check with your supplier or government on exact procedure in your area.
In general each system has the same components and works in the same manner.
Technical advances are moving at an ever increasing speed as the need for more efficiency increases so components may stay the same or change for the better in the future.
Many different models and types of components make up the market today with different efficiencies and different prices choose the best component for your particular needs when installing your solar energy system.