The sun is a great big nuclear reactor. Energy called photons is released by the sun which covers a distance of 93 million miles before it reaches the earth in high speeds (the speed of light – not visible to the naked eye) and it takes about eight and half minutes. Earth derives most of its life forms and all of it energy from those photons.
When it comes to solar panels, photovoltaics are made up of numerous solar cells and those cells are made out of silicon that act as semi-conductors. An electric field is created by a positive and negative layer that is constructed in the panel. When photons reach a solar cell, electrons come apart from the atoms. The conductors attached to the positive side and negative side of a cell, act as a conduit and an electrical circuit is formed. Electricity is generated when electrons pass by these circuits. Lots of cells combine to make up a solar panel and many panels are wired to create solar array.
Electricity Basics
Solar panels create direct current electricity. An example of this process would be electrons flowing around the circuit in a battery that will power a light bulb. Electrons flow from the negative side of the battery, through the light and return back to the positive side of the battery. With inverters, we can transform direct current electricity into alternating current, so that we may tie into the grid. In all, this process is less expensive and can transmit energy over longer distances.
Solar Inverters
Solar inverters obtain the DC electricity from solar arrays and transform that electric current into AC electricity. Solar inverters on your solar install also allow for a ground fault safeguard and will transmit statistics back to our tracking programs. Those statistics are based upon current flow and voltage readings on the DC and AC circuits, maximum generated power readings and overall energy generation.
The advent of micro-inverters is a growing technology in the solar energy industry. Micro-inverters optimize for each individual panel enabling each solar panel to execute at its peak potential.
Net Metering
Solar energy is never wasted. Even if you cannot use up all of the energy generated by the solar panel, it still goes somewhere. With our net metering system, we can record the energy sent through your home and back to the utility, and then compare it to the energy received from the grid. Since grid tied solar panels don’t have batteries, excess power is sent out to other neighboring houses. This is optional, but is yet another way that a homeowner can make money by going solar. During the night hours, the grid will supply the energy for your home. The solar energy collected daily by your installed panels will cover this amount during the daytime, and a bit more, depending on the season. It all comes together to equal savings on your energy bill at the end of the month.
If you live near Albuquerque, New Mexico, you should contact us at Solar Works Energy to get your free solar estimate scheduled today.