Like many of earth's resources the sun is important for life on our planet. Although this hot flaming ball has been around longer than us our mission towards getting the most out of it has never stopped. Alongside warmth and light the sun also provides us with energy which we recently started putting it to good use. Solar panels are at the core of converting sunlight into usable electricity and they work thanks to photovoltaic cells which when exposed to light generate electrical current. Although the process is a lot more complicated than that, powering your home with solar power doesn't have to be. Getting to know solar power parts will help you better understand how things work.
InverterInverters are an important part of every electric solar system as they help convert the DC current generated from the photovoltaic cells to AC current. AC current is used by all household appliances and devices. There are two types of inverter solar parts online and in-store, grid-capable and standalone. Grid-capable inverters are capable of working with and without batteries whilst standalone or inverters that are not grid-tied require no batteries.
Batteries
Whilst batteries aren't part of every type of electric solar system, they are quite important for those of you who want to go off-grid. Once you convert the electricity to AC you'll need to store it somewhere. There are three main types of solar batteries, AGM, flooded and GEL. AGM batteries are sealed and require very little maintenance and you can't spill them unlike flooded batteries. Flooded batteries are
the most cost-effective option but hey require a lot of maintenance and need to be stored properly. GEL batteries are similar to AGM when it comes to maintenance and being sealed but they are the most expensive option.
Charge Controller
The charge of the current that's being used by your appliances needs to be regulated which is why you need a charge controller. This device adjusts the charge voltage so it doesn't harm the batteries. Otherwise the batteries can be over fed with continuous voltage and get overcharged. Charge controllers also help prevent current from the battery leaking into the photovoltaic array (solar panel) especially on cloudy days or during nighttime – this can drain the battery.
Combiner Box
This electrical enclosure is an often overlooked component which allows you to hook up multiple solar panels and set them up in parallel. This is done in order to make the most out of them and with the help of a combiner box you can wire the output of each panel to a terminal inside it. A combiner box is usually placed outside and it helps you connect the panels to the charge controller too.
Wiring & Switches
In order for all the solar power system parts to work together they need to be connected and wires, like with most electric devices nowadays, are the way to go. Wires are going to be made of either aluminium or copper and they will either pass DC or AC. They are colour coded so you know which wire is for grounding, which one is positive and which one is negative. There are also different wire gauges which can pass through different voltages depending on the PV setup. Disconnect switches are needed for safety reasons and can be found as solar parts online and in-store. They should be accessible so you could turn off the system if there was to occur any abnormal behaviour.
Types of Solar Panel Technologies
Mono
Monocrystalline panels are made of a very pure silicon made by pulling seed crystal from a mass of molten silicon. This comes in the form of a cylindrical ingot mechanically cut into thin wafers which are polished and doped to make a P-N junction. Monocrystalline panels are the most efficient but not as affordable as polycrystalline panels due to heir manufacturing process.
Poly
These types of panels are made of cells cut from melted and recrystallised silicon. Multiple wafers of this type of silicon are put together to form a cell – this manufacturing process is cheaper but it doesn't make polycrystalline panels as efficient as monocrystalline. While monocrystalline panels make use of about 15% of the suns energy, polycrystalline panels can go as high as 12%.
Thin-Film
Panels made of thin-film PV cells also have silicone at their core but just a different form of it. Amorphous silicone (a-Si) is just one type of thin-film cell which is made by putting thin layers of silicone on a glass substrate. This type of PV cell uses less than 1% silicone than what is needed to make a crystalline cell. This makes them much cheaper but also way less efficient due to the lack of silicone. An a-Si solar panel also has the risk of a 20% drop in efficiency in the first couple of months of operation, after that they stabilise.
Components of A Solar Energy System
InverterInverters are an important part of every electric solar system as they help convert the DC current generated from the photovoltaic cells to AC current. AC current is used by all household appliances and devices. There are two types of inverter solar parts online and in-store, grid-capable and standalone. Grid-capable inverters are capable of working with and without batteries whilst standalone or inverters that are not grid-tied require no batteries.
Batteries
Whilst batteries aren't part of every type of electric solar system, they are quite important for those of you who want to go off-grid. Once you convert the electricity to AC you'll need to store it somewhere. There are three main types of solar batteries, AGM, flooded and GEL. AGM batteries are sealed and require very little maintenance and you can't spill them unlike flooded batteries. Flooded batteries are
the most cost-effective option but hey require a lot of maintenance and need to be stored properly. GEL batteries are similar to AGM when it comes to maintenance and being sealed but they are the most expensive option.
Charge Controller
The charge of the current that's being used by your appliances needs to be regulated which is why you need a charge controller. This device adjusts the charge voltage so it doesn't harm the batteries. Otherwise the batteries can be over fed with continuous voltage and get overcharged. Charge controllers also help prevent current from the battery leaking into the photovoltaic array (solar panel) especially on cloudy days or during nighttime – this can drain the battery.
Combiner Box
This electrical enclosure is an often overlooked component which allows you to hook up multiple solar panels and set them up in parallel. This is done in order to make the most out of them and with the help of a combiner box you can wire the output of each panel to a terminal inside it. A combiner box is usually placed outside and it helps you connect the panels to the charge controller too.
Wiring & Switches
In order for all the solar power system parts to work together they need to be connected and wires, like with most electric devices nowadays, are the way to go. Wires are going to be made of either aluminium or copper and they will either pass DC or AC. They are colour coded so you know which wire is for grounding, which one is positive and which one is negative. There are also different wire gauges which can pass through different voltages depending on the PV setup. Disconnect switches are needed for safety reasons and can be found as solar parts online and in-store. They should be accessible so you could turn off the system if there was to occur any abnormal behaviour.
Types of Solar Panel Technologies
Mono
Monocrystalline panels are made of a very pure silicon made by pulling seed crystal from a mass of molten silicon. This comes in the form of a cylindrical ingot mechanically cut into thin wafers which are polished and doped to make a P-N junction. Monocrystalline panels are the most efficient but not as affordable as polycrystalline panels due to heir manufacturing process.
Poly
These types of panels are made of cells cut from melted and recrystallised silicon. Multiple wafers of this type of silicon are put together to form a cell – this manufacturing process is cheaper but it doesn't make polycrystalline panels as efficient as monocrystalline. While monocrystalline panels make use of about 15% of the suns energy, polycrystalline panels can go as high as 12%.
Thin-Film
Panels made of thin-film PV cells also have silicone at their core but just a different form of it. Amorphous silicone (a-Si) is just one type of thin-film cell which is made by putting thin layers of silicone on a glass substrate. This type of PV cell uses less than 1% silicone than what is needed to make a crystalline cell. This makes them much cheaper but also way less efficient due to the lack of silicone. An a-Si solar panel also has the risk of a 20% drop in efficiency in the first couple of months of operation, after that they stabilise.
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