More than 1 million Australian homes now have solar PV panels installed with more being installed daily. These homes are collectively saving more than a million dollars a day on their electricity bills.
Grid Connect systems convert the electricity from solar panels into a supply suitable for domestic use via an inverter. Whenever the system produces more power than is being used within the property, the surplus is fed into the mains grid. When the system isn't producing energy (for example at night), electricity is supplied by the mains power grid.
Solar Power systems are made up of 4 key components: panels, inverter, mounting system and the meter.
Solar Panels
Panels come in different watatges and sizes. Whilst there is some variation between makes and models, generally, each panel is approximately 1.7 metres ing and 1 metre wide.
There are three main types of solar cells used in the manufacturing of solar panels. Monocrystalline silicon panels offer high efficiency and good heat tolerance characteristics. Polycrystalline silicon cell based panels tend to be equal to or better than many of the monocrystalline brands with regard to size, efficiency and heat tolerance. Amorphous (thin-film) cells use the least amount of silicon, but as a result tend to also be the least efficient panel.
Solar Inverters
Solar panels produce low voltage DC electricity. The inverter is required to convert this electricity into the AC Power that is needed to supply power for standard appliances within the home. How well an inverter converts the DC electricity into AC electricity determines the efficiency of the inverter. Inverters are sized according to the power (watts) they can supply.
Mounting Systems
The most crucial component of a solar array is the mounting system that is used for the panels. The mounting system will need to withstand environmental stresses such as wind.
Electricity Meters
Standard electricity meters are not capable of handling the feed in of solar power to the mains grid. This would result in standard meters going backwards at the times that power is being fed back to the grid. The newer electricity meters have previously sustained extreme damage as a result of the solar feed into the grid. Once a solar system has been installed, the home's meter will need to be upgraded to a Solar PV meter which will read the variances between feeding the grid and drawing power from the grid.
PHONE: 1300 399 055 / EMAIL: INFO@BLUESTONEELECTRICAL.COM.AU
