One of the means of producing clean energy from renewable sources is by using a solar power system and doing so in your own home has never been more affordable! Home solar systems convert sunlight directly into usable electricity. As such, they can be used anywhere that can be reached by light. It makes them ideal for use in places unreachable by grid electricity or where grid electricity is very expensive. They can be used as tie-ins to grid power in order to reduce electricity bills.
The main component of a home solar power system is the solar panel, where the conversion of sunlight into electricity takes place. Solar panels are made up of many individual solar cells which are responsible for producing the electricity. The cells, individually, produce very little electricity so they are packaged together into panels. They generate electricity using the phenomenon called photovoltaic effect, wherein electrons are knocked off from a material hit by sunlight. The electrons then travel to the circuit built within the cells therefore producing current. The current, however, is DC which is unusable for most appliances. A typical home solar power system, therefore, has an inverter which converts the DC current into usable AC current.
A stand-alone solar power system for the home has more components than a grid-connected one. A grid-connected system basically only has wires in addition to the solar panels; the wires connect the panels to the electric grid. When the system produces enough power for the whole house, the grid electricity automatically shuts off. On the other hand, when the system does not produce enough power, it receives back-up help from the utility grid. If there is excess power production from solar system, the excess power goes back to the grid and is bought the power supplier. There is a certain rate and metering arrangement for this. Grid-connected systems are advantageous since you don’t run out of power even on bad weathers and your electricity bill will definitely be reduced.
Home Solar Power – Equipment -
The prominent addition to a stand-alone home solar system is the battery/batteries for power storage. The electricity from the solar panels goes directly to the batteries. During the day, the batteries are charged as much as they can. This stored energy is what powers stand-alone households during times when there is no or very little light. The current from the batteries is DC so an inverter is also needed to convert it into AC. Some home solar systems have back-up gasoline electric generators. The gasoline generators provide the power for the household during times when the batteries cannot be charged due to prolonged bad weather.
Hybrid Solar Power
There is also a so-called “hybrid” home solar system. It is called such because it is used in conjunction with other power-producing systems that utilize renewable energy like wind electric systems. Many hybrid systems can be found in remote areas where grid electricity is not accessible or is very expensive. The systems are usually stand-alone or “off-grid”. They require electronic controllers to balance the power coming from two different sources. Sometimes, even hybrid systems also have backup gasoline generators which makes them more complex. Modern controllers, however, can operate these types of systems automatically.
