cjthesolarnerd

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HSW pt.5! BATTERIES

In the last HSW, we looked at how solar is connected to the home and attached to the grid. We also looked at where the excess energy produced goes that is not consumed by the home's needs. (Grid fo Net Metering | Batteries)

Let's look at batteries in a bit more detail. Batteries can be very expensive at the moment but have a large variety of uses and benefits.

First and foremost, almost all current PV systems will NOT produce power in the event of a grid outage. This is to do with the DC production of a solar panel and the lack of a neutral line needed in an AC system. Most inverters lack an NFT ( Neutral forming transformer) that allows dc to convert to ac. This is where battery backup can assist. In newer battery backup options (such as Enphase smart switch), an NFT is built in to allow the pv panels to keep producing and charge the batteries in an event of a grid outage, creating what's called a micro-grid.

Going completely off grid is still illegal in most counties but these systems allow for this possibility! In the next lesson will continue our discussion on battery backup up options and discuss the difference in battery sizing such as whole home and partial home backup options.

Another home switching to cheaper cleaner power! Saving thousands in the process!

Works been extremely busy. More and more Home Owners are switching to solar each day!

Next post I'll go back into my How Solar Works with how the inverter connects to your home and what happens to the excess power produced by the solar system otherwise known as Net Metering!

SURFING ON SOLAR!

A big objection most home owners have to going solar is their worry about the quality of the panels being installed.

"They look fragile, what happens if they get hit by a hale storm?" or if you live in sunny Florida, a golf ball?

Solar panels themselves are relatively simplistic when it comes to design, materials/hardware. This allows them to be extremely durable! Most panels can withstand blows from hale, golf balls, or even baseballs. I have even seen tests where they have cars/trucks driving over the panels! Physical damage to panels can happen but is very rare and will usually requires an excess amount of force (usually in over a small area) to crack or break the panels.

HOW SOLAR WORKS Pt. 3!

The Inverter!

Now that we understand the difference between AC and DC power (see HSW pt.2), Lets examine how Solar systems can change from one to the other. As discussed previously, homes commonly use AC power and Solar panels will produce DC power. They're two types of inverter systems installed; Centralized or "string" inverter systems, and Micro-inverter systems.
Centralized inverters require all the arrays to be strung together (like old school Christmas tree lights) and brought down to a central inverter mounted on the wall (usually near the electrical panel or house meter). This setup has DC power (usually high Voltage) flowing from the roof array down to the inverter were it can be transformed into AC and fed to the main panel. The problem with these setups is the High DC Voltage are safety concerns for most. The other problem with these setups are the performance when dealing with Shading/ Panel Malfunctions. Just like the old school Christmas tree lights, when one panel in the array gets Shading/Stops producing for any reason, the rest of the panels in that string will drop down to meet the voltage of the said panel and cause the entire array in the string to stop/lower producing. The advantages to this type of system is the costs. (they are much cheaper than a micro-inverter system). Newer centralized inverter systems install Micro-Optimizers to try and counteract the shading issues. These will allow each panel to act individually but does not convert the DC to AC until it hits the central inverter.
Micro-Inverter systems are small inverters that are located under each panel and convert DC to AC right at the source! There are HUGE advantages to this type of system. First is the shading/panel production, allowing each module to act individually and produce on its own regardless of any shading on the surrounding panels. The second is the power converted to AC at the source is much safer and more efficient as a whole. These systems are more expensive but require much less maintenance over time.

Next post will look into how an Inverter is connected to your main panel and what happens to the excess power not being consumed!

Beautiful Solar Array. This was a ground mount system installed on a local farmers land.

Ground mounts are a great way to take advantage of the sun's energy for Farms and Fields!

HOW SOLAR WORKS! PT 2

To better understand how Solar Energy can provide electricity for your home, first we need to understand electricity a bit more. There is two types of electrical current; AC (Alternating Current) and DC (Direct Current).

DC flows through a conductor similarly as water flows through a hose. The water molecules from the source push the rest forward in a single direction through the hose and out the head. In electrical current, electrons move across the conductor from the negative pole to the positive pole.

AC flow is a bit different. Here the poles oscillate or "flip" causing the current to go from one direction and back again. The frequency of the oscillations (per second) is measured in Hertz. This results in a wave pattern! Typically smaller size AC (such as residential houses) uses two phases but larger size grids will run three phases. There are several advantages to using AC power vs DC. Voltages can be readily transformed to higher or lower levels much easier with AC. This allows higher voltages to be traveled over larger distances across the grid then reduced to be used in homes.

Power inverters allow DC to be inverted to AC. This is done by using a serious of Wave rectifiers; Diodes (allow current to only flow in one direction), Resistors (lowers the current), and Capacitors (stores a charge).

In pt3 we will go over Power Inverters in a bit more detail and the different types of Solar Power inverter systems you can install!

New promotion, New office :) Solar industry is booming! Such an honor to be part of this movement to cheaper, cleaner power!

HOW SOLAR WORKS! Pt.1

When Sunlight hits the solar panel, Photons are absorbed by a semiconducting material, such as Silicon. The surrounding Electrons are thus excited from their current atomic orbital. Once excited, an electron can either dissipate the energy as heat and return to its atomic orbital or it can travel out through the cell until it hits an electrode. Current will begin to flow through the material to cancel the potential and this electricity is captured. The chemical bonds of the material are vital for this process to work! Usually Silicon is used in two layers, one layer being bonded with a "p-type" layer, boron, and the other a "n-type" layer, phosphorus. These layers have different chemical electric charges (Positive & Negative) and subsequently both drive and direct the current of electrons. An array of solar cells converts solar energy into a usable amount of direct current (DC) electricity. An inverter is then required to convert the power to alternating current (AC), and supply the electrical panel in the house!

In P2. we will examine how the difference between DC and AC electricity and how the inverter can change current from one to the other!