Solar energy absorbs the sunlight through the solar panels and then convert it effectively into electrical power. This electrical power is further used to run your home appliances or for business purposes.
Now, talking about it in brief, we all know that our sun is a natural source of energy for us. It releases tiny energy particles that are called photons. These photons travel a million kilometers from the sun to reach Earth in minutes. So every hour, there are enough photons that have an impact on our planet.
Solar panels do not generate electricity for the whole day but it generates when there is a requirement. Like it generates electricity during daytime or during sunny days as the demand is higher during that time.
You will be amazed to know that Australia is considered one of the sunniest countries in the world. So in that case, it is a perfect place to put the panels for work and utilize the generated energy to the fullest especially during peak usage times. This generated electricity will work for all your appliances and makes you self independent.
How Do Solar Panels Work?
Solar panels are basically a bunch of cells and multiple panels that are connected through wires makes an array. A solar panel includes two thin layers of silicon and has electrons. So when the sun’s energy hits the panels, the electron gets hit from their atoms. A conductor is attached to the positive and negative sides of a cell so as to generate electrical current. The more numbers of panels you add to your array, the more energy will be generated. There is numerous kind of solar panels available in the market.
What are the Solar Panels Made up of?
Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels are made up of silicon which works as a semi-conductor and are covered with a thin glass cover so as to protect them and the sun rays pass through filtration. It works just like a battery as it has both negative and positive layer that helps in creating an electric field to generate power. They are designed in such a way along with the glass cover that they protect the cells and minimize the damages that might occur to them in future.
How Does Solar Panels Generate Electricity?
Simply elaborated, the cells present in the panels absorb light from the sun. When the sunlight touches the silicon part of the panels, the electrons start moving and generates electricity. The electrons flow in one direction moving around the circuit.
Let’s understand this step-by-step:
- The photovoltaic cells present in the panels absorb the sun rays and converts them into direct current.
- The solar inverter attached to the solar panels converts this direct current into alternating current.
- This generated alternating current is used for your appliances and for other purposes.
- If you have installed a grid-connected solar panel system, then the excess electricity generated will be sent back to the grid and you will be getting paid for it.
In Australia, alternating current is used for electrical power grids and is operated throughout the country. Thus, powering a large number of homes. Since solar panels create direct current so, with the help of an inverter this direct current is converted to alternating current.
HOW DOES SOLAR INVERTER WORKS?
The basic function of a solar inverter is to convert the direct current into alternating current. It plays a very crucial part in a solar panel system and the whole mechanism depends on it. Apart from this, solar inverters provide several other functions such as fault indicator, system protection, voltage and current detector, energy production and maximum power output indicator. Though they are the less visible part of a system but play an important role in generating electricity. The inverter size depends on the size of the system and the number of panels. There are several types of inverters present in the market some of them are: Standard string inverter, Optimized string inverter, Microinverters and Hybrid inverter.
The growth of the central inverters can be seen throughout the passing years. But, the introduction of microinverters in the market has shifted the interest of the people towards the new technology in the solar industry. The main function of a microinverter is that it optimizes energy for each individual panel and does not works for the entire system. So this enables to get maximum output results from each individual panel to their maximum potential extent. Talking about central inverters, if one of the panels is facing any kind of problem like it is in shade or has dirt on its surface, then it will eventually affect the performance of the whole solar array. This as result, will affect the efficiency of the solar panel system. So, the best option is o opt for a microinverter so as to get maximum output. Even one of the panels is not working efficiently, the rest will not get affected at all and your system will continue to perform efficiently.
SOLAR PANEL SYSTEM MECHANISM: A BRIEF
Let’s understand the mechanism step-by-step:
- The sunlight hits the solar panel array set up on your rooftop.
- The panel converts this sunlight into a direct current which then flows toward the inverter.
- The inverter converts this direct current into alternating current which can be used to power the appliances.
- If you have a battery storage system attached to your solar power system, then the excess electricity generated will be stored in it and can be used later or during nighttime when the panels are not working.
- If you don’t have a battery attached to your system then, the excess electricity will be transferred directly to the grid and you will be get paid for it in terms of credit points.
So, the mechanism of a solar panel system is very simple and produces clean energy which is an advantage for the environment as well. The part is that solar panel systems are getting more affordable day by day and it is getting the hassle-free process to switch to solar.
You might have questions related to system generation that what happens when you are not at home during the daytime and your system is generating electricity? What happens when your panels are not generating electricity during nighttime? Well, a simple answer to all these queries is that you may get the benefit for the excess electricity generation in form of ‘feed-in tariffs’ and that depends on your energy retailer and state provisions.
A grid-connected system produces more energy than is required by the customer during peak times. So, this excess energy is transferred back to the grid to use for another purpose. The customer gets credit for generating excess power and this credit can be used to get conventional energy at night or during cloudy days. A feed-in tariff is described as a rate that is fixed for selling your solar power generated back to the grid.
Switching to solar will help you to make an impactful decision on your investment and save more. It will help you to contribute to saving the environment by switching to clean energy sources.