Solar photovoltaics are used in a number of ways, primarily to power homes that are inter-tied or interconnected with the grid.
GRID INTERCONNECTION
In a grid-interconnected solar power system, your photovoltaic panel or array of panels is added onto a regular source of electricity (provided by your utility company). The use of solar energy can reduce your reliance on other forms of energy to any degree you choose, depending on how big a system you purchase. A grid interconnected system is one of the most cost effective ways to use solar power.
During the day solar panels mounted on your roof silently harness the suns energy supply and convert it into electricity. This energy is used to power the various devices in your home during the day. At night your home reverts back to drawing power from the existing grid.
HOW DOES SOLAR POWER WORK?
- Solar panels capture the sunlight and convert it to DC electricity
- Your solar system converts DC energy to a AC current that powers your home
- Energy you don’t use goes back to the utility grid (which provides you a credit)
Solar power is energy, which comes from the sun. This energy is very powerful and hits the earth regardless of whether or not we take advantage of it. Even the tiny percentage of sunlight that touches the earth is plenty to meet the energy and power needs of the entire human population more than 8,500 times over.
The only concern is learning how to collect this energy efficiently. Today there are many different technologies which exist to achieve this goal. Due to concerns of the availability of traditional energy sources, many people today are interested in further developing renewable energy technologies, such as solar.
All alternative energy systems use an inverter to translate DC into AC. Power is measured in watts, and the energy you use is measured in kilowatt hours. This is what you pay for– and what you’ll save lots of– once you install a full solar energy system.
Get started – get saving! Schedule your solar panel energy analysis today!