solar panel grid tie
If you’re considering purchasing a solar electric system for your home, you can reduce your electricity bills, reduce your carbon footprint and you can even power off grid electrical loads like your home, a remote cabin, a water pump and even lighting. There are tons of benefits to solar power, but there is likewise a lot to learn!
One of the best things you can do if you’re interested in renewable energy is to become an educated consumer. Even if you decide to hire a contractor or an electrician to install your solar electric system, it’s critical for you to understand the components of your system and the way that it functions.
As you learn about solar electric technology, you’ll quickly discover the importance of understanding a variety of terms that are used in most books, presentations and educational materials. So here’s a great basic list of terms to get you started.
Module: Solar panels are also called modules, solar modules, photovoltaic modules and PV modules. Many solar electric professionals will call a solar panel a module so be prepared for that terminology.
Grid-tied: Grid tied is a term that refers to a solar electric system that is tied to the standard electricity grid. This means the power you produce with your solar electric system is pushed back onto the electric grid, basically running your electric meter in reverse and therefore reducing your electric bill.
Stand-alone: Stand-alone is also synonymous with “off-grid” systems. Off grid systems are not tied to the electrical grid. This may be by choice or because of the nature of a site location. In the case of a stand-alone system, the electricity is solely generated by renewable energy or a generator.
Inverter: An inverter is a device that’s used to convert electricity from direct current (DC) which is the kind of current produced by solar panels to alternating current (AC) which is the kind of current used by most household devices and the electric grid.
Meter: A meter is a device provided by the utility company to measure energy usage. Net Metering: Net metering is the process by which the electric company credits your electricity production against your electricity consumption.
So using this primer, let’s just talk about the basic solar electric systems available to you:
- The straight up grid tie system: Essentially, the modules are mounted and convert the sun’s energy into electricity. The electricity then passes through the inverter and feeds the utility grid and then the customer pays the net of production and consumption.
- The grid tied with battery back up system: In this case, the solar panels connect to the inverter, which connects to both the electric grid and a battery bank. The idea here is that this system can produce electrical power for some household loads during a power outage by storing some power generated by the solar panels in the battery bank.
- The stand-alone: This system gathers electricity in solar panels and sends the power through the inverter into a battery bank for storage. There is no tie to the utility grid and this kind of system does require active maintenance by the owner.
Blair Stephens is a freelance copywriter and green enthusiast!
Backout, Do I Still Have Power With My Grid Tied Solar Panel
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