The sun’s energy can be used to create electricity to power homes, businesses and many remote devices and vehicles. There are quite a few systems around these days and while in many cases it is obvious which system is the best fit for your needs this is not always the case. This article will cover some of the solar power systems and discuss which one is more suited for your requirements.
If we need a system for an RV or a boat, then the ideal solar power system would be portable. They are generally smaller, in terms of the solar panels that are used and the battery to store current. This will give less capacity but could be enough for an RV. It can also be moved about to take advantage of the sun no matter where the RV was located.
A stand alone solar power system is configured with a number of solar panels. The more solar panels the more electricity can be created. The electricity is stored in a battery or a series of batteries. The batteries store DC current and this needs to be converted to AC current using an inverter.
Many people that are inexperienced with solar power choose a grid tie system. This has a couple of advantages over other systems. First, it takes a lot of the complexity out of setting up a solar powered electric system. And second, it has a contingency plan that protects the home or business from cloudy weather or days without sunlight. The grid tie system still has a connection to the utility grid so that electricity that is used comes from the solar panels or the grid if the solar panels cannot produce enough.
This system is attractive to solar newbies because it is painless to set up. The utility company will do all this and maintain the components of the system. There is no need for batteries which are time consuming to maintain as the electricity is stored by the utility company.
The natural evolution in using solar power to generate electricity in your home or business is to go completely off grid. You will not be reliant on the utility company. You will save money and you will have an environmentally friendly method of creating energy for your property. However there is more responsibility and time consuming tasks involved in running an off grid system and this might not be for you.
A completely off the grid system will have more than one inverter. In most cases this will be two so that the solar power system can handle energy heavy appliances like heating and air conditioning systems. Two inverters also makes the system more robust such that if one inverter was to fail the system as a whole would still be operational.
Off grid systems are often installed in outlying or remote areas where there is no grid system to connect to. The solar power system could be the only source of electricity and would be essential to the survival of the individual property or the community in the area.
Hybrid systems are also used in remote regions or in homes where the aim is to be self sufficient in energy. A hybrid system is simply a coordination of two separate energy generating systems. In remote areas, a hybrid system would comprise of a solar and wind system. It may also be a solar and generator system for creating electricity. The generator would be a fossil fuel powered device that could back up or compliment the electricity created by the soar system.
It makes sense to have as many contingencies to your solar power system as you can afford. The sun can’t always be relied on. However introducing three or four different methods of creating electricity significantly increases the complexity and may not be worth the effort in maintaining them for the benefits that you may receive.
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