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The Inverter is the next Solar Power System Component we can talk about and is one of the very important components we need to discuss and understand, how it works, why it works, and it’s main purpose of the Solar Power System.
Inverters transform the DC electricity produced by your PV modules into the alternating current (AC) electricity commonly used in most homes for powering lights, appliances, and other gadgets. Grid-tied inverters synchronize the electricity they produce with the grid’s “utility grade” AC electricity, allowing the system to feed solar made electricity to the utility grid.
Most grid-tied inverters are designed to operate without batteries, but battery-based inverters for off-grid use often include a battery charger, which is capable of charging a battery bank from either the grid or a backup generator during cloudy weather.
Most grid-inter-tied
inverters can be installed outdoors (ideally, in the shade, in a metal container.) Most off-grid inverters are not weatherproof and should be mounted indoors, close to the battery bank. Simply put, the Inverter is the component that changes the (DC) from your solar panels into the (AC) electricity so your home can be powered by your own renewable energy.
Want to invest in and your family’s future? Ask yourself this question: “If I have a sum of money to invest today, can I expect a higher return with traditional investments or with an investment in a supplemental solar-electric system”? There is analysis shows that generating your own solar-electric energy is often the better investment. The factors of this analysis comes from five areas- natural resource assessment, technology, energy consumption, economics, policy.
The first factor- to consider is the energy that the sun provides us. You can perform an accurate analysis for each month of the year, The National Solar Radiation Database ( NSRDB ) can be found at the Renewable Resource Data Center ( RReDC ). For this analysis the data is found in, The Solar Radiation Data Manual for Flat-Plate and Concentrating Collectors.
The second factor- is to consider which Solar Power System to invest in, Their are two different types, “Grid-Tied” or ( “utility-tied”) and ” Off-Grid ” systems. Obviously the “Grid-Tied” system is the one that is connected to your homes electric panel box, and with a true net meter ( your electric meter spins in both directions) to consume the electricity your household uses or sell to the utility company. Either way, an investment in a Solar Power energy system of any size can then earn a maximum return, up to the amount of energy that is produced. Most Solar Panels are warranted for 25 years.
Third factor- Energy Consumption, with the use of a System Meter you can monitor your systems performance, it is better to produce more electricity than your household is consuming. That way you are not paying for kilowatts.
Fourth factor- Economics, even if your making good percentage off your stocks, and the interest is compounded and reinvested back into stocks, That’s Great, but something is missing? “Taxes” saving on utility bills are like post-tax income. You pay taxes on interest income, you don’t pay taxes on money you save.
Fifth factor- Policy, dramatically affects the return on investment in solar-electric energy. Exiting policies provide some important incentives for solar-electric energy and other forms of renewable energy. An excellent resource that lists renewable energy incentives is the Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy (DSIRE).
Results are- Immediate personal reward is that there is money to be made with an on site Solar Power Electric Generating System. And is considered a low-risk investment into your future.
Main DC Disconnect is the next component we can talk about. The Main DC Disconnect is another very important component of the Solar Power System
. This component is very simply a breaker. In battery-based systems, a disconnect between the batteries and the inverter is required. This disconnect is typically a large, DC-rated breaker mounted in a sheet-metal enclosed box. This breaker allows the inverter to be quickly disconnected from the batteries for service, and protects the inverter – to – battery wiring against electrical fires. And will (TRIP) turn off when any grounding or a dis-function accrues.
So we can now see how the installation of the Main DC Disconnect is important, what it’s purpose is, and why we need this component installed.
Setting up a Solar Power System.
This component is a must have.
System Meter is the fourth component we can talk about in the series of components you’ll need to have to build
a Solar Power Energy System. A system meter measures and displays several different aspects of your solar-electric system’s performance and status, tracking how full your battery bank is, how much electricity is being used. Operating your solar-electric system without metering is like running your car without any gauges hooked up to track the performance of the engine, even though you could leave it out, but that would be unwise, you need to keep track of how much energy is being made, how much energy is being stored, and how much energy is being used.
Think of the component like this, it is your fuel gauge and you need to know how much energy is coming from your panels and how much energy is being used up. Some inverter manufacturing company’s now provide wireless meters to allow system monitoring from any room in your house, so you can keep an eye on the monitoring of the system at any time.
How could you know if your system was working to it’s full potential, or if you was making effective energy usage decisions?
Real Time Solar Monitoring. You can gain access to energy data to gain an understanding of how you could optimize your solar energy system. You can get connected to one of the web-based systems. Here’s how it works. Data from sensors at the inverter and the main electrical panel is sent to a communications gateway. The information is then sent out to the internet broadband, modem, or wireless, where it’s processed into data and is present on web pages for access. You can keep track of real time data on your home computer.
Deep Cycle Battery-
Wither you hookup off-grid or on-grid, you need a Battery Bank for storage or a back-up presents. Your PV panels will produce electricity whenever the sun shines on them. If your system is off-grid, you’ll need a battery bank, a group of batteries wired together, to store energy so you can have electricity at night or on cloudy days. For off-grid systems, battery banks are typically sized to keep households electricity running for one to three cloudy days.
Gridintertied systems also can include battery banks to provide emergency backup power during blackouts, perfect for keeping critical electric loads operating until grid power is restored. Although similar to ordinary car batteries, the batteries used in solar-electric systems are specialized for the type of charging and discharging they’ll need to endure. Lead-acid batteries are the most common battery used in solar-electric systems.
Flooded lead acid batteries are usually the least expensive, but require adding distilled water occasionally to replenish water lost during the normal charging process. Sealed absorbent glass mat (AGM) batteries are maintenance free and designed for grid-tied systems where the batteries are typically kept at a full state of charge. Gel-cell batteries can be a good choice to use in unheated spaces due to their freese resistant qualities.
Either way you hookup a Home Solar Power System
, you should purchase a good quality battery bank component for storing your electricity. In the long run your saving money producing your own electricity, and in the times of blackouts from weathering storms you can fill good about the safety and security you will provide for your family!
Solar Cells & Solar Panels is only the first part of a Solar Power System. The ” photovoltaic effect” is a process of which solar cells convert sunlight into electrical energy that can be used.
In the early days of solar cells they could only convert 1-2% of sunlight into energy, but today with new technologies they have increased solar cells to convert sunlight into energy by 15-20% . By increasing the efficiency of the cells that allows for smaller, cheaper systems and that allows for better access to purchase solar cells or solar panels depending on different incomes as well as the physical installations.
A solar power module is referred to as a “solar panel” and it is a collective number of solar cells, different types and different sizes can produce 50 to 220 watts of electricity.
Major manufactures like Sunpower, Powerlight, Sharp and others build modules with a life expectancy of 25 to 30 years. If your thinking about installing a Solar Power System, then that would be a good reliable investment.
In my younger days, I would go camping with friends practically every weekend. If a whole month went by without my heading out to the woods, I would begin to get antsy and alienated. Being in touch with nature was more a necessity than a vacation or a luxury. But then, as happens to us all, I started getting older and more dependent on modern amenities and technology.
Now happily married, I’ve had to make a few compromises and concessions in order to go camping much at all. For instance, my wife is not the traditional outdoorsy type. She would take a featherbed over a down sleeping bag any day of the week. With that in mind, I saved up to buy an RV with all the top-of-the-line appliances and other luxuries. I mounted RV solar panels to the roof in order to save on power, and the effort has given me a chance to reconnect with nature once more.