For any info in Puerto Vallarta, Riviera Nayarit and surrounding areas about going solar, please call at: 322 105 2856
Solar power is the conversion of solar energy into electricity through the use of photovoltaic cells or indirectly using concentrated solar power. In this blog we’ll talk about the use of photovoltaic systems.
The wonderful thing about solar power is that it is a renewable energy source, and will be available for ever, unlike oil or coal which become increasingly used up with each passing year.
The wonderful thing about solar power is that it is a renewable energy source, and will be available for ever, unlike oil or coal which become increasingly used up with each passing year.
We’ll explain a basic photovoltaic system through the following diagram.
A number of other components are required to properly conduct, control, convert, distribute, and store the energy produced by the PV array.
1. Photovoltaic Cell.
A PV cell is a device that converts light into electric current. Photovoltaic cells can be used from to power from small applications like a single solar cell calculator to homes.
2. Solar Panels.
A solar panel is a group of solar PV cells that can be added together to provide increasing levels of power. Solar Panels can be arranged on a building’s roof or walls, and can often feed directly electricity into the building.
This can range from small, kilowatt-sized solar panels from use in domestic households, to larger arrays, which function as separate solar power plants feeding power directly into the grid.
3. Combiner
The combiner connects multiple wires carrying the electrical current generated by individual solar panels together into a single, larger capacity wire, which then flows to the inverter. The combiner works in a solar electrical system much like a manifold does in a hydraulic system.
4. Inverter
The inverter transforms DC –direct current– electricity produced by the solar panels into alternating current –AC– electricity, the form of electricity used by most standard lights, motors, computers and air conditioners. The inverter also provides safety functions such as automatic shutdown of the solar electric system in the event of a power failure.
5. Disconnect Switch
The AC safety, or disconnect switch is a manual switch that can be used to disconnect a building’s electrical system from the solar electricity system.
6. Meter
The whole system is connected to the existing meter which tracks the AC electricity coming from the utility grid and in the event of any AC excess produced by the Solar Panel System this will sent to the utility grid. This video I found on Youtube will recap the above diagram.
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Depending on the functional and operational requirements of the system, the specific components required may include major components such as a DC-AC power inverter, battery bank, system and battery controller, auxiliary energy sources and sometimes the specified electrical load (appliances). In addition; wiring, over current, surge protection and disconnect devices, and other power processing equipment are also part of the system.
Since solar energy is not available at night, energy storage is an important issue in order to provide the continuous availability of energy. Both wind power and solar power are intermittent energy sources, meaning that all available outputs must be taken when it is available and either stored for when it can be used, or transported, over transmission lines, to where it can be used. Wind power and solar power tend to be somewhat complementary, as there tends to be more wind in the winter and more sun in the summer, but on days with no sun and no wind the difference needs to be made up in some manner.
Batteries are often used in PV systems for the purpose of storing energy produced by the array during the day, and to supply it to electrical loads as needed like during the night and periods of cloudy weather. Other reasons batteries are used in PV systems is to power electrical loads at stable voltages.
There are two main types of PV systems, Grid -Connected and Stand-Alone.
The Grid-Connected operates interconnected with the utility grid while the Stand-Alone is designed to operate independent of the electric utility grid. The AC power produced by the PV system supplies on-site electrical loads or back-feeds the grid when the PV system output is greater than the on-site load demand. At night and during other periods when the electrical loads are greater than the PV system output, the balance of power required by the loads is received from the electric utility.
Stand-alone PV systems are designed to operate independent of the electric utility grid, and are generally designed and sized to supply certain DC and/or AC electrical loads. These types of system may be powered by a PV array only, or may use wind, an engine-generator or utility power as an auxiliary power source in what is called a PV hybrid system.
And the big question now is why use Solar Power?
Many people choose to go solar for specific reasons, among them because of:
Environmental Impact
Financial Benefits
Energy Independence
Solar energy is a clean and sustainable source of energy that you can use for solar electricity, solar heating, solar cooling, and solar lighting; because unlike fossil fuels, solar energy doesn't produce the harmful pollutants responsible for increasing the greenhouse effect which leads to global warming.
The financial benefits of solar energy can be seen in reduced utility payments as you use solar energy for electricity, heating, cooling, and lighting. In addition, by reducing your homes operating costs you are also increasing the value of your home.
By using solar energy, you will reduce your dependence on the utility companies. You will no longer need to have electricity delivered to your home as you will be able to produce your own solar power electricity. This means you will finally be free from rising utility rates!
Solar energy also gives you a level of reliability and security that other energy sources can't match. When your neighbors don't have power due to an outage, you won't be affected since your home generates its own electricity and heat.
We make switching to a home solar power system easy. Our bid includes:
- A site survey.
- A complete engineered home solar panel system.
- All necessary building permits.
- All necessary engineering load calculations.
- All setup and paperwork for net metering
Global warming and climate change are major issues facing the world today and you can be part of the solution by taking advantage of solar energy!
Call for more information:
322 105 2856
Or drop us a line:
info.arkitektonika@yahoo.com
We serve residential and commercial customers.
Video in this page is from www.sunrunhome.com
