Components Of A Solar Electric System

The basic components of a home solar power system.

Components of a solar electric system.

Photovoltaic modules are the core of the system but they are only one of the components necessary to carry out the energy conversion process by themselves they are incapable of producing a safe usable and reliable electric output. So how does a photovoltaic system turn the planet s most abundant source of energy into usable ac electricity. Here are the functions of each solar system component. The power inverter is the component in the solar power system that converts the voltage from 12v dc to either 120v ac or 240v ac depending where you live.

This is used to convert solar energy to electrical energy. The amount of solar energy that hits a square mile every year is equal to 4 million barrels of oil. The additional function of the power inverter is the ability to charge the batteries from the power grid or from an ac generator. These are the basic components of any solar energy system and as you can see solar power is not a complex energy system the cells create dc current the inverter changes it to ac current and the distributor controls the way in which power is distributed between your home and your utilities supplier.

The conversion of solar radiation to usable electric power is a process of high technical complexity. However the amount of power generated by a solar energy system at a particular site depends on how much of the sun s energy reaches it and the size of the system itself. A complete home solar electric system requires components to produce electricity convert power into alternating current that can be used by home appliances store excess electricity and maintain safety. The basic components of a home solar power system.

Any potential solar power system owner should take the time to understand what summarizes a photovoltaic array and how those components work to enable electrical generation for the energy needs. The main part of a solar electric system is the solar panel there are various types of solar panel available in the market solar panels are also known as photovoltaic solar panels solar panel or solar module is basically an array of series and parallel connected solar cells. Whenever sunlight falls upon these panels these generate electricity which feeds the batteries. Because pv technologies use both direct and scattered sunlight to create electricity the solar resource across the united states is ample for home solar electric systems.

The dc signals are fed into an inverter which converts the dc into grid. By rik degunther. Solar intertie photovoltaic pv systems are not particularly complex. Grouped together in a solar array solar panels collect electrons from the sun s light.

A charge controller determines how much current should be injected into the batteries for its most optimum performance. Solar power system components overview.