Types of Solar Electric Systems

Solar panels are the most prominent components of a solar electric system however they are not the only part of a system that people should consider. Along with PV modules some other components of a solar system include inverters, batteries, and charge controllers. Different components are required depending on the type of a solar system you use.

 Solar electric systems are of different sizes and types depending upon environmental conditions, surroundings, energy need and other factors. This post discusses brief introduction of different types of solar electric system designs.

 Photovoltaic Direct Systems

The simplest type of electric solar energy system is Photovoltaic Direct System. The major component of direct system is photovoltaic panels, there are no batteries and other outside power sources attached. Due to the absence of batteries, the direct system doesn’t store electric power and produces electricity only when the sun is out. This system is good only if you want energy to power few applications of your home especially during the day time.

Off-Grid Systems

Off-Grid system is an independently working solar electric system which converts sunlight into DC electricity. It also stores DC electric power into batteries attached to it so it can be used to power DC appliances at any time of the day.  As the name indicates the off-grid system does not require any source of electricity (the grid) so it is more suitable for remote areas. Adding an inverter in off-grid system makes it capable of converting DC electricity into AC electricity. There are some other components of off-grid system used to prevent overcharge and protect the battery.

 Grid Tied System

Grid-tied system attaches to the power grid of your home sharing the energy load and reducing electricity bills. With the help of an inverter, grid-tied system converts DC electricity into AC electricity that adds into the power line of your home. It is the most common solar energy system that people prefer to install in their homes. It pulls the electricity from the grid when required and pushes it back when the energy need fulfills by the electricity produced by solar panels. It is one of the best solar power systems because it not only reduces your electricity bills but also totally eliminates it sometimes.

There is no battery to store additional electricity produced by grid-tied system. However, there are some types of grid-tied systems that include battery backup and work on the same principle as simple grid-tied systems do.

We help you decide which solar power system is the best fit for your power requirements and how. If you are planning to install solar energy system for your home contact Smith Sustainable Design for the expert’s opinion and experienced assistance in any part of PA and NJ.

How do photovoltaic solar panels operate?

Solar panels consist of several solar cells or photovoltaic cells. Photovoltaic cell, the basic unit of solar panels, converts solar energy into electric energy. With the help of solar photovoltaic panels, you can produce your own solar electricity to power your entire home appliances and devices. Solar power is a less expensive way of producing electricity as compared to the electricity provided by utility companies.  There are no burning fuels, moving parts and other harmful side effects of solar power. Instead, it is the most soundless and environmentally friendly way of electricity production.

Before you install solar panels for your home, you must have some knowledge as to how photovoltaic cells work to form electricity. Let’s have a brief discussion about the workings of a solar photovoltaic cell. 

Photovoltaic cells convert photons from the sunlight into voltage (electrical force). A semiconductor material is used to form photovoltaic cells which allows the electric current pass through. Silicon with little addition of boron and phosphorous is used as a semiconductor in solar cells. There are two layers of semiconductor in each solar cell - positive and negative. Small particles of sunlight called photons are absorbed by photovoltaic cells and release electrons. The electrons flow through the photovoltaic cells in the form of electric current producing energy to power your home.

Solar panels convert solar energy into Direct Current (DC), but the electricity we use to power our home is in the form of Alternate Current (AC). Solar panel transfers the DC electricity to an inverter. Inverter is another module of a complete solar panel system which converts the DC electricity generated by photovoltaic cells into the AC electricity.

Solar panels are the only visible and basic component of a solar power system that actually generate electricity from sunlight. There are no moveable machinery or other complicated parts in solar electric system as such there is less maintenance and cleaning required. For optimal results, it is important to install solar panels at the place where they are exposed to maximum sunlight. You must take care of factors that can affect the amount of sunlight reaching the solar panels like panel orientation, shade of different areas, and pitch and panels of your roof. Smith Sustainable Development extending its services to the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey for carrying out pre-installation survey for you to decide the suitable placement for solar panels.

We explained the working of solar panels in simple words without going into the deep procedure and science behind the production of electricity. However, if you are interested to know more details and complications involve in the solar panels we are ready to explain more details. 

Solar panels for the house

If you are planning to install solar panels for your home, you need to carry out a small survey, to make sure that your home site collects solar energy enough to make solar a viable power source for your home. Solar site survey is very important before you switch to solar electricity. The survey decides that your location is appropriate for solar electric power or not.

In order to determine that your location is suitable for solar photovoltaic cells or not you must gather the answers for these questions.

1.       Does your location collect enough sunlight?

2.       Are there any obstacles like trees, and buildings blocking the sunlight? Do obstacles need to be cleared to get more sun?

Let’s discuss these two questions to know what information you must have about pre-installation of solar panels.

Does your location collect enough sunlight?

It depends on the weather condition of your location. Overly cloudy weather is not suitable for solar cells. Fortunately, in the US almost all locations receive sufficient sunlight to effectively install solar panels. You can consult weather resource or solar resource map to gain knowledge about solar capacity of your location.

Are there obstacles in the path of sunlight?

This second part of solar site survey is more critical and requires more attention. It is very important to install solar panels at the location they are exposed to maximum sunlight. There could be trees, buildings and other structures obstructing the solar panels get maximum energy. To find out, possible obstacles in the path of sunlight different techniques can be used. For this purpose, you are required to find out the track of the sun across the sky. Sun changes its path throughout the year and adopts different track in different seasons. So if you are looking for obstacles it is very important to know the path of the sun for a whole year. Sun charts are available for different locations that can help you assess the track of the sun for your location.

There is another way to identify the different obstacles blocking the sun rays to reach solar panels. Build a three-dimensional model of your home and its surroundings or draw a map, in both ways you can locate the hurdles standing in the path of solar energy.

Smith Sustainable Design is experienced in performing solar site surveys to aide in installation decisions. We perform a thorough analysis of your space to determine the ideal location for your solar system panels.

Why use electric solar energy?

Everyone is looking for a cheap and feasible alternate electricity resource to meet their energy requirement in their homes and offices. People are promptly switching to solar electric power that is one of the best renewable energy resources.

The sun is a gigantic infinite power source that is never coming to an end and so is the solar energy. Solar power is important and popular because it plays its part in sustainable development and producing environmental friendly and economical electricity.

There are many reasons that make the solar electricity far better than the power generated by fossil fuels. Let’s consider our monthly power consumption and its cost that we bear in the form of utility bills or purchasing the large tanks of fuel. Traditional power sources have many negative impacts that we are not even aware of especially in terms of cost. To power our homes by paying utility bills or filling our fuel tanks, we spend a lot of money that impacts us in many ways.

Personal Costs

Electricity rate is never stable and varies continuously that is a major problem if you rely on to meet your energy needs solely from the utility companies. Prices of electricity keep on changing due to the production, transportation, and maintenance costs. Fossil fuels like natural gas, coal and petroleum are mainly used to produce electricity that are all non-renewable resources. The price of fossil fuels can increase every year due to their rapid consumption and limited availability.

Solar energy can meet your residential and commercial need of power within a cost far less than the other sources of energy. Solar panels allow you to generate your own electricity, preventing you to bear the effects of rising utility bills and fuel prices. Installation of solar energy system makes you energy independent and therefore releasing you from the worries of high electricity and fuel prices.

Shared Costs

Fossil fuels are a great threat to the environment causing global warming, air pollution, and acid rain. When we burn fossil fuels to generate electricity, they emit hazardous gases that are not only harmful to the environment, but also to human health as well. It means that to meet our energy needs we expose ourselves to a great threat by relying on fossil fuels. The whole procedure of mining, processing and transporting the fuel has negative impacts. There are oil spills and toxic pollutants that throughout the process cause land, water, and air pollution. So overall, we share negative costs caused by environmental damage and health concerns occurring due to the fossil fuels.

Solar power is a clean and environmental friendly system of generating electricity to power your home appliances and devices. There are no harmful emissions, no drilling, processing and transportation associated with solar energy. Installing solar panels allows you to produce your own electric power at the source without compromising about the surrounding environment. Most important thing is that you can play your part in reducing global warming by shifting to solar electric power.

We know that overall energy costs are never in our control and go beyond the utility bills and expenses of purchasing fuels. Moving to the solar panels to power your homes will dramatically reduce the energy costs you ever imagined. Smith Sustainable Design based in Pennsylvania and New Jersey States gives you the service of planning and installing solar power for your home in an affordable price.