WHAT IS SOLAR POWER SYSTEM
A SOLAR POWER SYSTEM is made up of multiple photovoltaic (PV) panels, a Dc to AC power converter (called inverter) and a rack system that holds the PV panels in place.
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Solar Photovoltaic (PV) panels are generally fitted on the roof. They should face in an easterly, northerly or westerly direction. The panels should be tilted at particular angles to maximize the amount of sunlight that hits the panels.
Solar PV panels on the roofs of homes and businesses generate clean electricity by converting the energy in sunlight. This conversion takes place within solar panels of specially fabricated materials that make up the solar panels. It is a process that requires no moving parts. In most cases solar panels are connected to the mains power supply through a device called a solar power inverter.
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Solar panels are different to solar hot water systems, which are also mounted on household roof-tops but use the heat from the sun to provide hot water for household uses, in a similar principle like a hose in summer contains hot water after a few hours in the sun.
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The technology to convert sunlight into electricity was developed in the 19th century, but it was only in the second half of the 20th century that development accelerated behind the need to provide reliable supplies of electricity in remote locations, to satellites in space to homes and businesses in Australia.
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HOW IT WORKS
What is Solar Energy and How Do Solar Panels Work?
Solar energy works by capturing the sun’s energy and turning it into electricity for your home or business.
Our sun is a natural nuclear reactor. It releases tiny packets of energy called photons, which travel the 93 million miles from the sun to Earth in about 8.5 minutes. Every hour, enough photons impact our planet to generate enough solar energy to theoretically satisfy global energy needs for an entire year.
Currently photovoltaic power accounts for only five-tenths of one percent of the energy consumed in the United States. But solar technology is improving and the cost of going solar is dropping rapidly, so our ability to harness the sun’s abundance of energy is on the rise.
A 2017 report from the International Energy Agency shows that solar has become the world’s fastest-growing source of power – marking the first time that solar energy’s growth has surpassed that of all other fuels. In the coming years, we will all be enjoying the benefits of solar-generated electricity in one way or another.
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How Do Solar Panels Work?
When photons hit a solar cell, they knock electrons loose from their atoms. If conductors are attached to the positive and negative sides of a cell, it forms an electrical circuit. When electrons flow through such a circuit, they generate electricity. Multiple cells make up a solar panel, and multiple panels (modules) can be wired together to form a solar array. The more panels you can deploy, the more energy you can expect to generate.
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What are Solar Panels Made of?
Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels are made up of many solar cells. Solar cells are made of silicon, like semiconductors. They are constructed with a positive layer and a negative layer, which together create an electric field, just like in a battery.
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How Do Solar Panels Generate Electricity?
PV solar panels generate direct current (DC) electricity. With DC electricity, electrons flow in one direction around a circuit. This example shows a battery powering a light bulb. The electrons move from the negative side of the battery, through the lamp, and return to the positive side of the battery.
With AC (alternating current) electricity, electrons are pushed and pulled, periodically reversing direction, much like the cylinder of a car’s engine. Generators create AC electricity when a coil of wire is spun next to a magnet. Many different energy sources can “turn the handle” of this generator, such as gas or diesel fuel, hydroelectricity, nuclear, coal, wind, or solar.
AC electricity was chosen for the U.S. electrical power grid, primarily because it is less expensive to transmit over long distances. However, solar panels create DC electricity. How do we get DC electricity into the AC grid? We use an inverter.
ADVANTAGES
Clean Energy
Fossil fuels, which are at the moment the main source of the world’s energy, release toxic chemical compounds such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This is one of the main causes of climate change. Mining for fossil fuels cause the destruction of forests and the pollution of our environment. Additionally, there have been numerous cases of oil pipelines leaking into streams, rivers, seas, and soil over the years. These pipeline leakages have corroded our soil and led to the poisoning of ground water affecting the planet’s flora, fauna, marine life, and humans on a large scale.
However, solar power is an alternate source of clean and renewable energy. It neither pollutes the environment nor destroys forest cover.
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Renewable
Solar energy which converts the sun’s light and heat into electricity, is renewable and inexhaustible until the death of our sun, which would take around 5 billion years. Solar panels are fitted with photo voltaic cells that convert the ever abundant sun’s rays into electrons, and turn it into electricity.
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It’s Free
Since the sun does not belong to any government, corporation or person, it has not yet been taxed. This means that once solar panels are fitted, the energy harnessed is absolutely free.
Low Maintenance
Once solar lights are installed, it does not cost much to maintain them. Good quality solar lights last for decades without the need to service or maintain them.
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Multiple Uses
Solar Energy is generally associated with lighting up houses, streets, communities, villages, towns and so on. However, solar energy is not restricted to this. There are multiple other uses such as heating water at home, keeping houses warm, powering vehicles, powering airplanes, cooking, powering calculators, watches, clocks and many more.
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Conserves Wildlife
Fossil fuels destroy our planet’s eco system and forests, leaving tens of thousands of species of birds, animals and insects homeless. Due to this many of our planet’s species face mass extinction. There are so many species that have been eradicated from the face of the Earth while thousands of others are on the verge of extinction. We can take solace in the fact that this form of renewable energy does not cause any damage to our planet, thus allowing the world’s ecosystems to thrive.
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