How Does Home Solar Power System Work?

How home solar power system works? This is a question that every person new to solar technology asks. Solar panels are one of the most amazing inventions in the history of mankind. They don’t use any kind of fuel or create any pollution. There is no noise, no large setups to be constructed, and no moving or greasy parts. All you need is a system consisting of a few parts that fit seamlessly into your home.

How Does Home Solar Power System Work?

It is almost magical to see how a solar panel system generates electricity from sunlight. Here we are going to cover in detail the working of solar panels. We will also explore other important information that will help you understand different aspects of your system as well.

Components of A Solar Power System

A solar panel system consists of a number of parts. These are some of the important and most commonly known parts of a solar energy system.

Solar Panels
Solar Inverters
Solar Batteries
Connecting Wires
Net Meter

How Solar Power Generates Electricity

A solar system starts generating electricity when the sunlight hits the solar panel. The energy is produced in the form of direct current and then transformed into alternating current which can then be used to create electricity that powers your house. If the whole process is cut down into steps, it would consist of the following steps:

The solar panel generates electricity through the photovoltaic effect.
The energy produced in DC is changed into AC by a solar Inverter.
AC can be used to power a home.

Step 1: Generation

A solar panel is made up of a number of photovoltaic (PV) cells that are secured by a metal frame and protected by glass. Because of this, a solar panel’s official term is “PV module.” These PV solar cells are made of semiconductor material that has been sliced extremely thin, usually silicon.

A negative layer and a positive layer are present in every PV cell. The positive layer has room for the additional electrons that are present in the negative layer. As electricity is the movement of electrons, all a solar panel needs to start producing electricity is enough energy to knock some electrons loose and cause them to move from the negative layer to the positive layer. Since the electrons on the PV cell’s negative side are now moving as a result of the energy from those photons, electricity is now flowing.

What is the Photovoltaic Effect?

The photovoltaic effect was discovered in 1839 by a 19-year-old, Edmond Becquerel. The word defines that some semiconductors produce electricity when exposed to sunlight. The process can be explained in the following steps:

Silicon cells absorb sunlight (even when the sky is cloudy or it is winter),
Radiation from the sun charges the electrons and makes them circulate,
The wires capture these electrons and produce an electric current in the form of DC.

Step 2: Conversion

As home appliances are made to run on alternating current (AC), the DC power produced by solar cells must be converted before being delivered to the house. The solar inverter serves this purpose.

There are two ways to install solar inverters:

Microinverters:
Here, the AC-to-DC conversion is carried out by tiny microinverters that are connected to each individual solar panel.

String Inverter:

A single-string inverter, often known as a central inverter, is situated centrally. Before converting it, it receives the total amount of power generated by all solar panels. Small DC power optimizers can be added to each panel in such circumstances to improve performance and ensure code compliance.

Based on the type of the system, these are the three types of solar inverters.

On-grid / Grid-tied Inverter
Hybrid Inverter
Off-grid Inverter

Step 3: Usage

After the circuit board receives AC power from the inverter at the required voltage (120V/240V), any electrical loads on your property can now be serviced. Grid-tied solar power systems, which are the most prevalent kind installed in houses, allow you to use solar electricity, grid power, or a combination of the two at any time. Your home’s loads may be partially fulfilled by rooftop solar electricity and partially by power from the electrical grid if they are greater than the power provided by the inverter.

What Happens To The Excess Electricity?

Depending upon the solar inverter a home is using, what happens to the excess electricity varies. All the inverters have their way of saving the excess energy however, the ultimate goal is to provide you the benefits which remain the same no matter which inverter is being used.

In Grid Tied Inverters, the excess energy is transmitted to the utility grid which can then be used by other customers and you can get money in return. You can also use the energy from the grid when required and pay the bill in form of energy supplied to the grid.

Hybrid and Off-grid Inverters take the excess electricity and store it in the batteries which can be used later at night or whenever needed.

Direction of Placement

The direction of placement impacts the energy creation capacity of a solar system a lot, Solar panels are placed in a way to ensure that sunlight falls on them most of the day, throughout the year so that you can reap maximum benefits from the immense power of the Sun.

How Weather Affects Energy Production?

It is a frequently asked question and every person who is willing to get a solar energy system installed has this question on their mind. Each weather condition affects the production of electricity in a different way which can be seen below.

Winter

The production of electricity depends upon sun radiations and not the heat of the sun so it does not have any major effect on the energy generation.

The efficiency however may drop a few percentages because the sun shines for a lesser period in winters.

Cloudy

The cloudy weather may drop the efficiency of the solar cell by a few percentages.

It does not affect energy production in any major way since clouds do no stop the radiation of the sun from passing through.

Rainy

The energy production is not affected since the radiation of the sun still reach the earth

Efficiency may drop a little bit

It is a good way to get your solar panels cleaned without a hassle

How Net Metering Works?

If you have a solar power system installed at your premises, you can often produce excess electricity, especially when you are residing in Pakistan where ample sunlight is available throughout the year. Net metering allows you to transact excess energy for money or sometimes for electricity units from the grid on cloudy days or in winter when sufficient sunlight is not available. With the net metering system established, the user only has to pay the “net bill” which is the difference between the volume of electricity produced by the solar system and the electricity utilized by the house.

Benefits of Home Solar Installation

The benefits a homeowner can gain by the solar installation are:

Pay No Bills

You will be paying no bills with a home solar system installed as you will be getting an ample amount of electricity from the sun and you will not have to rely on the grid electricity which means no electricity bills because the sun doesn’t charge for its power.

Easy To Maintain

Solar Installations are easy to maintain, especially on-grid inverters as they don’t have any batteries which need maintenance. You can enjoy your solar system without any hefty expenses on maintenance for a minimum of 25 years.

Passive Income Through On-Grid Inverters

Grid-tied inverters allow the users to transmit excess electricity to the utility grid and to gain money in exchange for the electricity provided.

About Premier Energy

Premier Energy is the leading solar energy system provider with 14% shares in the total net-metered KWs in Pakistan. With headquarters in Glasgow, UK, Premier Energy has initiated their solar energy program in Pakistan intending to make Pakistan self-sufficient in its energy requirements. We have a stable and happy client base in other countries as well as in our motherland. We have been working in the energy sector to provide residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural services. We believe that together we can overcome the energy crisis of Pakistan and why we can’t when we have an unlimited supply from the biggest source of energy, the sun. Premier Energy provides top-notch services and tier-one products which have the highest efficiency leaving you a reliable way to produce and supply electricity to your and many other homes for up to 40 years at the most reasonable price.

How Much Will It Cost You?

The price varies from the brand you are choosing and how bigger the installation you want. It depends upon your requirements, for example, a 5 Marla home with 2 air conditioners will require less number of solar panels as compared to a Kanal house with 5 air conditioners and more appliances. It varies and depends upon how much you need.

Based on your requirement, we can provide you with a free quote.

How?

Call Us or contact us via email or stop by our office to get your quote over a cup of tea. Our solar energy consultants are always available to help you out.