Solar Power Facts
Solar power facts to help you gain an understanding of how energy captured from the sun’s rays is converted to electricity and used to power your household appliances.
The energy from the sun is captured through solar panels mounted on your roof
- The inverter converts this power into electricity that is used by your household appliances
- The electricity meter reads the energy that is produced over the amount that your house uses.
- The excess is exported to the grid.
- When you are consuming more electricity than you produce you draw electricity from the grid.
Installing solar panels will enable you to generate your own electricity and reduce your energy bills. The amount of electricity you save will depend upon a range of factors including the size of the system, whether the system has been installed in the optimal location and your individual electricity usage patterns.
Solar Power Rebates
Solar power rebates is the amount of money paid to you for returning power to the electricity grid once you have installed solar panels into your home or business.
Contact your local electricity supplier to obtain current traffics and feed-in rates available to your specific area or region.
The feed-in tariff is the amount paid to you per kWh for the electricity your solar power system feeds into the electricity grid and whether you get paid by a gross metering system, or a net metering system.
Solar Power Grants
Solar power grants are non-repayable funds disbursed by government departments often to assist with the installation of solar panels into your home or business.
The simplest way to learn about what solar power grants in you local area or region is to contact some of your local solar panel installation companies who would have the information readily available.
Solar panel grants help reduces the cost of the installation of solar panels and most households consume around 18 kilowatts (kWh) and install solar power systems in the 1.5 to 2 kW range which displaces an average of 25-40% of the average electricity bill.
Solar Panel Efficiency
Solar panel efficiency is the amount of sunlight that is captured and then converted into usable electricity.
A solar panel systems is made up of a number of solar cells placed next to one another on top of solar mounting frames and the covered by glass to make up a solar panel.
Solar cell efficiency is the amount of light that an individual solar cell converts to electricity and solar panel efficiency is the amount of sunlight that the entire systems converts to electricity.
Solar panel efficiency is important as high efficiency solar panels help you maximize your overall investment by generating more electricity with fewer panels offering you more long term savings.
An important factor to consider when comparing solar power systems is the amount of actual electricity the system can generate which is measured in kilowatt-hours.
High efficiency solar panels produce more kilowatt-hours of electricity over the lifetime of the solar system than standard efficiency panels. More electricity generated saves you more money on utility bills because you need less electricity from the local grid.
Solar panels can provide ongoing cost savings through reducing the amount of power you purchase from the grid. Most households consume around 18 kilowatts (kWh) and install solar power systems in the 1.5 to 2 kW range which displaces an average of 25-40% of the average electricity bill.
Solar Energy Pros and Cons
Solar energy pros and cons explores the initial cost and cost savings of solar power systems as well as the important environment impacts and the long term benefits solar power systems provide to the community.
Installing solar panels for your home or business can provide ongoing cost savings through reducing the amount of power you purchase from the grid however consideration must also be given to the upfront costs associated with the installation of these solar panels.
Solar Powered Generator
A solar powered generator is used to produce electricity from the sun’s energy and can then be used to power small household appliances such as lights, radios and fans. Solar powered generators can also be lightweight and portable and are ideal for camping and outdoor lifestyle..
A solar powered generator comprises of several parts.
- Solar panels to collect the solar energy from sunlight.
- Component to store the collected energy until it is ready to be used and this is usually a deep cycle battery made for continuous use.
- An Inverter that converts the DC power to AC to supply power to household appliances.
Solar panels are used to capture the sun’s energy and are then connected to a deep-cycle or continuous battery which stores the energy. Energy stored in this battery is DC and therefore the solar powered generator requires an inverted which converts the electricity from DC to AC allowing household appliances to access the unit.
A small solar powered generator can be build with a few parts and some basic tools and can be used topower smaller devices while more advanced systems can be used to power households and businesses.
Solar powered generators produce no greenhouse gas emissions or air pollution.
Solar powered generators are rechargeable from the sun’s energy, helps reduce electricity bills and provides no noise pollution making it extremely environmental friendly.
Types Of Solar Panels
There are essentially just three types of solar panels technologies involved in making a solar panel – monocrystalline, polycrystalline and thin film amorphous.
Polycrystalline modules are composed of a number of different crystals, fused together to make a single cell. They have long been the most popular type of solar module, due to the lower cost in manufacturing the cells.
Monocrystalline, is constructed using one single crystal, cut from ingots. This gives the solar panel a uniform appearance across the entire module. These large single crystals are exceedingly rare, and the process of ‘recrystallising’ the cell is more expensive to produce.
Amorphous solar modules have recently become very popular. They offer better performance in higher temperatures, and have some benefits in shady locations. However, the benefits have been greatly exaggerated by some suppliers, and it is important to weigh that up against the negatives of thin film technology.
Solar Power Technologies
Exploring solar power technologies and implementing solar power systems into your home or business
· Learn more about renewable energy facts
- · The financial considerations in switching to solar power technologies
- · How to get solar power into your home or business
- · The future of solar energy
- · Information on Grants and Rebates
- · Solar energy pros and cons
- · Products readily available in the marketplace
