Solar electricity is widely used for domestic purposes today. From powering a few appliances like water heater or a cooker to lighting the whole household, solar energy has become popular and accessible today. Now if you are curious to know the nature of solar panels and how they work, just read on as we explore the subject in detail.
Types of Solar Panels
Solar Panels can be broadly classified into two types
* The first type uses the solar energy i.e., the rays of the sun to heat up water. These are the most common ones mostly used for heating purposes (Solar Thermal or Flat Plate technology).
* The second type uses sunlight directly and converts it into electricity. This system of panels is also called PV system or photovoltaic system or more popularly, solar cells.
Photovoltaic (PV) system – A PV system uses semiconductor technology to convert solar radiation directly into electricity. It requires a sturdy structure on which the solar panels may be mounted in a tilted fashion. In addition to this, an inverter is necessary to convert the direct current produced by the panels into alternating current, which is more suited for running appliances. A storage battery is necessary for days when there will be a dearth of sunlight. In addition a charge regulator is needed to regulate the battery power efficiently.
Photovoltaic system may be of two kinds:
Grid-tie System – They are connected with the utility network and they feed excess electricity into the local utility, which acts as a source of unlimited power storage.
Off-Grid System – These stand-alone systems are designed for people having houses in remote locations with little or no proximity to a utility network. These systems are often hybrid and use propane and diesel generators to compensate for energy deficiency caused due to the inadequate availability of the sun.
Solar Panels For Water Heating – This type of solar panel comprises of tubes, which allow water that needs to be heated, to pass through them. These tubes are covered with a metal sheet, which collects the heat of the sun and thus heats up water running through them. The heat is retained for a longer duration by further enclosing the tubes in an insulated container. Copper and aluminum are the most common metals employed for this purpose.
An average of about 10 to 12 square meters of solar panels are required to provide space heating and water heating for a mid size household. Surprisingly, this system can work satisfactorily in places with considerably cold climate. This system is successfully in use in countries like Switzerland, Germany and Denmark.
Residential solar gear comes with everything you may need to create a perfect solar powered home, wholly or partially. Besides heating and powering purposes, you can use solar panels for garden lighting and birdbaths and pool heating.
Solar panels and cells are easier to install than you can imagine and require minimal maintenance though Flat Plate collectors are difficult to maintain and may have to be completely replaced even if a part of the system stops working.
