Free Article: Solar Power System

You are here:
Directory | Solar Power |

Solar Power System: Used To Generate Electricity And Not Heat
By George Sykes

Solar power is a workable solution for most items excepting large electric appliances for which it is not a cost effective solution. Solar power may be used to operated gas clothes dryers and not for a heat element for drying because of the amount of electric power required. A solar power system is not meant to produce heat, rather to produce electricity using photovoltaic principles and the solar panel many be made of natural elements such as silicon which can be electrically charged when subjected to sun light. The electrical charge can be consolidated in the PV panel and then sent to the output terminals thus producing low voltage and direct current of six to twenty-four volts. A solar power system needs to calculate the intensity of the Sun's radiation at different times of the day as well as time of the year and weather conditions and the total amount of solar radiation energy is calculated as Peak Sun Hours which represents the average amount of Sun available each day in the entire year.

Components Of A Solar Power System

There are four main components of the solar power system that produces electricity and it may supply 120 volt AC power for everyday use and these include solar panels, charge controller, battery plus the inverter. The function of the solar panel is to charge the battery and the charge regulator keeps the battery properly charged. The inverter is supplied DC voltage from the battery and this it converts to normal AC voltage and for higher voltage a transformer is needed or two identical inverters would do the job, if series-stacked.

Solar panel output is measured as watts and the wattage is calculated by multiplying the rated voltage with the rated amperage. The charge controller keeps track of the battery's state-of-charge and makes certain that the battery is charged when in need and also helps to not overcharge the batteries. The batteries in turn are designed to be discharged and re-charged hundred as well as thousands of times and like solar panels, are wired in series and/or parallel to get the desired levels of voltage as well as to increase amp hours. The inverter is a piece of equipment that converts DC power that is stored in batteries to standard 120/240 VAC electricity and a majority of solar power systems are able to produce DC current which is stored in batteries. Also, in every solar power system there are bound to be losses dues to voltage loss when electricity is carried across wires, batteries and inverters and so one should get a system that has all the design features that result in minimal loss of charge.

Author Details:
George Sykes writes for various web sites writing articles about environmental issues and green energy such as solar power.

Article Source: Article Directory

NOTE: This article may be reproduced ONLY if this note, the author details, source and ALL links remain in place and active.

Articles about solar power which may be reproduced:

Home Solar Power/DIY: