Solar Panels

The basic solar electric setup starts with one or more solar panels. A solar panel is comprised of a set of individual silicon photovoltaic (PV) wafers that convert sunlight into direct current (DC) electricity. Panels may be wired together to produce a variety of voltages and currents.


Use It Now or Use It Later

Once the electricity is generated, it must either be used immediately or stored for later use. A common way of using the electricity as it is generated is to put it back on the electric grid. This is called a “grid tie” system. Other direct applications of solar electricity include well water pumping and fountain pumps. Home producers usually store solar electric energy for later use in one or more batteries. One of the drawbacks of using storage batteries, is that you only get back a percentage of the energy you put in. The “effeciency” of the storage system is the ratio of energy output to input. If the system efficiency was 100%, which is impossible by the way, you would get the exact amount of energy back from your batteries as you put in. While not a panacea of energy storage, batteries are a proven and reliable energy storage technology despite their drawbacks. The ability to store the electricity you generate is key to enhancing your energy independence. For even smaller applications, numerous solar gadgets are available for charging everything from AA batteries to cell phones.


DC to AC

Before the electricity is put back onto the grid or put to regular houshold use it must first be converted from DC to alternating current (AC). This is done with a device called an inverter. Inverters change DC, usually at 12, 24, or 48 volts into 120V AC. Inverters come in different “sizes” that correspond to the amount of power they can deliver. Sizes range from less than 200 Watts to many Kilowatts (thousands of Watts). For even higher total power levels, multiple inverters can be operated in parallel.