There are two basic types of home solar systems. The most tasteless is a Grid-Tie theory that supplies power to your home and is tied in to the power companies grid. In this case your solar theory produces power when the sun is shining and sends all unused electricity back to the power company for distribution to other customers. In most areas, the power company will prestige you with the retail price for power generated. Of course, when there is no sun, your home will use electricity from the grid. Ideally over a years period the whole of power consumed will equal the power generated and your electric bill will be zero.
The other type of theory is a stand alone theory that produces power and market the electricity in batteries. This typically is for a homes that are in areas where there is no power grid. This is a minute more difficult to plan since you need to catalogue for all power requirements, even when there is no sun or the sun is low in the sky in winter. Most of the components of these two types are the same and are discussed below.
Solar Panels provide the electricity.
Solar panels produce electricity depending on the whole of power they receive from the sun. When the sun is directly overhead shinning directly at the panels you will receive peak power, and when shaded or the sun is low in the sky, the panel will produce much less. Most panels are designed to produce a max of 14-16 volts when related to your theory and the panel is rated at 12 volts. The production in watts will depend on the size of the panel and the efficiency of the solar cells, but home panels ordinarily are designed to produce 100-200 watts.
Solar panels are then related together in an array to produce more power and to run the theory at a higher voltage. There are two options for wiring the panels together. In a series circuit the current must flow straight through one panel to get to the next panel. The confident connector on the first panel is related to the negative panel on the second panel. In a parallel circuit the current flows directly from each panel to the main junction and each panels confident and negative connectors are related with wires from the main junction.By wiring them in series, the voltage is increased so, for example, two 12 volt panels will production 24 volts. By wiring them in parallel, the voltage will remain at 12 volts. Most systems will use a aggregate of series and parallel wiring so they run at 24 or 48 volts.
Inverters turn Dc to Ac Current.
The electricity generated by a solar electric theory is low voltage direct current (Dc) while most home electrical requirements are for high voltage alternating current (Ac). To make this conversion, the inverter uses a transformer to growth the voltage. A transformer boosts voltage using the principals of electromagnetic induction. Basically it is a iron core with two windings of wire that turn it into an electromagnet. Because there are more turns of wire on one side of the core, the unlikeness in the magnetic field causes the voltage to increase.
The second task is to turn to Ac current, and this is not so simple. In alternating current the electric fee rapidly reverses direction in the form of a sine wave. In easy terms, you need a rapidly operating switch that will allow current to flow back to the Dc source following two alternate paths. In most contemporary inverters, this consists of a involved electronic circuit which is needed to replicate the exact sine wave of power company current.
Grid-Tie inverters have a third task which is to use the solar power when available, send excess power to the grid, and then to accept power from the grid when supplemental power is needed.
Batteries to Store Electricity
Batteries are required if you have an off grid theory to store power when there is no sun, and are used as backup for power outages in a grid-tie system. For the off grid system, you need "deep cycle" batteries that are designed to be heavily discharged and recharged some hundred times without changing the whole of fee it retains. Most often you can use 12 volt lead acid batteries similar to a car battery, but with a separate form to achieve deep cycle performance. Typically you will need an array of batteries to power a home system.
For battery backup on a grid-tie system, it is best to have a sealed battery since they are not used often and have a separate form that allows them sit charged for a long time, and then fully dismissal when backup is needed.
Controllers and Disconnects to Regulate Current
In a easy Grid-Tie theory you will need an automated disconnect in the middle of the inverter and the main electric panel that will shut off the solar theory in the event of a power outage by the power company. This will safe workers fixing the lines since without this security mechanism, your solar theory could be supplying electricity to the grid and wires would be hot. If you have a off grid system, or a battery backup system, you will also need a controller to preclude batteries from overcharging which would destroy the batteries.
What Components Are Needed For a Home Solar System?
