Using solar energy to produce electricity for your home is a great idea. Solar energy is a free, emission free and inexhaustible power source that we can use to make electricity for out homes. Before you consider going for a solar electric power system for your home, you will have to look into a few requirements and analyze some aspects. Solar power systems have both mechanical and electrical components which can convert and store electric power which can be used by you to run your home. In some countries you have an option of selling your excess electricity to power companies. This can help you slowly recover the costs involved in setting up a solar power system.
The preliminary calculation that you would have to do is an energy audit. You need to evaluate the amount of power you would need per day preferably in kilowatts/hour. Then you need to take into account the location of your home. Factors like climate, number of days of peak sunlight per day, average rainfall and number of days of peak sunlight per year will determine the sort of solar power system that you would need. If you don’t consider these factors, then you might end up with a solar electric power system that would not be able to supply your home with the required power. These calculations can be made by companies that manufacture solar electric power systems and they would guide you in selecting the right solar electric power system for your home.
A solar electric power system is made up of a few components. Some of the components that you would find in a basic solar power system are a collector, an inverter, a circuit breaker, batteries, a charge controller, mount for the collector and your display panel. Each component in the solar electric power system is essential in its own way and one has to ensure that the components are of good quality. A collector is the component that collects solar energy. In normal cases, solar panels are collectors. These collectors are fixed on the roof using a mount. The location of the solar panels is very important and it has to be in such a place where maximum sunlight would fall on it. It would be ideal to place the solar panels in a north-south direction as it would ensure that while the sun travels from east to west, the panels get sunlight for a longer duration.
The inverter is the component that will convert the 12 volt DC power to AC power. Based on the location it can convert DC power to 110 volt or 220 volt AC power. There are many different types of inverters available and based on your budget you can choose an inverter to suit your needs. One of the most important components is the circuit breaker or fuse box. This component would have switches and fuses that is essential for you to regulate the transferring of power from the solar panels to either the batteries or directly to the outlets. Circuit breakers would control the amount of power that will flow to your outlets and would act as a safety device for your appliances.
If you would like to have more storage then you will have to purchase one or more batteries depending on what your requirement is. If your solar system has batteries then you would have to get a charge controller. This component ensures that you don’t overcharge or undercharge the batteries which would seriously reduce the lifespan of the batteries. A solar electric power system can be installed easily, but if you are planning to install it yourself, then it is advised not to do so. No solar power system is a Do it yourself kit and it has to be installed only by a professional. The solar companies have professionals who are trained to install solar electric power systems. They would also have knowledge about the various requirements each state has while a new power system is installed in your home.
By: Carl Ganser
Posts Tagged ‘Sunlight’
Solar Electric Power Systems
April 4th, 2010How to Make Solar Panels – Making Your Own Solar Panel at Home
March 20th, 2010
Solar panels are available in the market today, which are made of high quality and processed silicon. However, plenty of people are now looking on how to make solar panels for their own projects, residential or home use, and is ideally suited to a small household.
Is it difficult to make solar panels?
Solar panels can be easily made at home by making use of diy (do it yourself) homemade solar panel guides, which are available on the internet today, or making use of kits which are easily available at electrical stores nowadays. Those who have prior experience in fixing up electrical equipments at home will find this task of making their own solar power panel at home extremely easy, although if you have a good guide, then there should be no problem.
If you already have solar cells :
The first and foremost requirement is to make use of photovoltaic cells. These cells are extremely light in weight, and are easy to transport from one place to the other.
You then need to choose on where you plan to make the solar panels and install it. Ideally, the backyard, garden of the house, or a flat rooftop are the correct places to install the solar panels, because they are the places that can receive the largest amount of sunlight available.
When you have chosen the right location, you can then start with the process to make solar panels. First, place the photovoltaic cells on the floor of the roof, garden, or the backyard, or whichever place you have chosen in making your own solar panel. These cells needs to be stacked one after the other in a horizontal arrangement, and should be installed at such an angle from the sun that it will be able to capture the maximum amount of sunlight and store it inside.
How do I get started in making a solar cell?
A solar cell makes up a solar power panel, so you need to know on how to make a solar cell. The required components in making your own solar panel are :
- sheet of copper
- two alligator clip leads
- a micro-meter that is sensitive enough to read currents between 10-15 micro-amperes
- an electric stove
- table salt, tap water, sand paper, and sheet metal shears
Now you need to cut a piece of the copper sheet with the exact size that of your electric stove. Thoroughly clean the copper sheet for any possible traces of sulphide or other corrosion.
Heat it on the burner and when it gets red-hot, the copper sheet will undergo color changes from pinking red to brown, and finally becoming a thick layer of black coat over it.
Then the stove and the copper sheet should be cooled off gradually. A layer of soft red cuprous oxide will be left over the copper sheet. Resist the temptation of removing all the black spots since this may damage the red cuprous oxide which is needed to make the solar cell work.
Then this sheet of copper should then be joined together with another sheet of copper of the same size. Use the alligator clips to join the two sheets together, and place it into a wide-mouthed jar or bottle. Ensure that the two sheets to not get in touch with each other. The copper sheet with red cuprous oxide should be connected to the negative terminal, and the clean copper sheet can be joined to the positive terminal. Saltwater should cover the bottom of the plates, but the clips of the two sheets at the top should be left dry.
The above procedures addresses the question on how to make solar panels at home. This can be used to generate electricity from the heat of the sun.
Now how does it do that?
The red cuprous oxide is a material type called a semiconductor. A semiconductor is an insulator, where electrons are bound tightly to their atoms and do not flow freely, and a conductor, where electricity can flow freely.
There is a gap in a semiconductor called a bandgap between the electrons that are bound tightly to the atom and the electrons that are farther from the atom which can conduct electricity and move freely. An electron must gain enough energy to move farther away from the nucleus outside of the this gap, since they can not stay inside the bandgap. And an electron outside that gap cannot lose a bit of energy and fall closer to the nucleus, and must lose enough energy to fall past the gap into the area where electrons are allowed.
When sunlight hits the cuprous oxide, it also hits the electrons. Some of these electrons gain enough energy to jump past the bandgap and become free to conduct electricity. These electrons then move into the saltwater, then into the clean copper sheet, into the wire, then through the meter, and then goes back to the red cuprous oxide sheet, and electricity is now generated. Now that you know on how to make solar panels, you can then make your home solar friendly, and cut your monthly electricity bills.
By: Bea Alonzo
