Solar Power Geelong Options



Since I was a little kid, I have always been fascinated by Electronics and Solar Energy. More importantly, how in the world does it work and how can I use it?

The first experimental success with Solar Power occurred in 1839. Enough power was produced to possibly light up a single Christmas tree light, but I doubt it.

And in order to produce enough power to charge today's batteries for a Solar Powered House, the equipment would weigh about the same as the Queen Mary II.

I am often asked by my article readers and website visitors, what they should consider when thinking about designing a Solar Powered home. This article will focus on, in my opinion, the most important element of the system, the Solar Panels.

One of the most asked questions about solar energy is how to choose the correct solar panels for your home installation. Here are some of the factors to consider:

1. The Cost Of The Panels
2. The Efficiency Of The Panels
3. The Durability Of The Panels
4. The Type Of Solar Electric Panels

When choosing solar panels for your home, those are four of the most important factors to consider. Some other key factors that you should definitely consider are:

The recommendations of consultants, friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances that have had solar panels installed on their own homes.

The Workings of a Solar Electric Panel

Solar Electric Panels are often made up of many smaller Solar Cells and are electrically connected and encapsulated as a module. This module is called a Solar Panel.

Solar Electric Panels or Photovoltaic Modules (PV) often have a sheet of glass on the front (sunny side up) side, allowing light to pass through while protecting the semiconductor elements from the elements.

When photons of sunlight hit the solar cell, electrons are released. They are moved through the silicon and are picked up by the electrical contacts. They move along the circuit in the form of direct current (DC) - the type of electrical current in a regular battery. The power flows through the load (for example, a light bulb or a fan) and back into the solar cell on the lower side, completing the circuit.

This DC current can be used in real-time during sunlight hours for anything requiring 12 volts DC.

Solar Cells are also usually connected in series, or in a chain, in modules, creating an additive voltage. Connecting solar panel cells in parallel will yield a higher current.

The more Panels, the more electricity is generated, panels are usually placed (installed) on rooftops or in open areas that have the best exposure to the sun.

This is done so that the Panels can absorb the maximum amount of sun energy at any given time. The Solar Electric Panels will vary in size and this depends on the demands of the home or space.

To make practical use of the solar-generated energy, the electricity is most often fed into the electrical grid using Inverters In Stand Alone Systems, Solar Storage Batteries are used to store the energy that is not needed immediately. When the sunlight is not present, this stored power can then be used.

Solar Panels can also be used to power or recharge portable devices.

Your solar electric system comprises a number of solar modules or solar panels that are variously arranged into a solar array. The particular configuration chosen will determine the amount of electricity your system produces.

The number of solar panels you need will be determined by the amount of charge that you need to recharge your system during the sunlight hours of each day. For a 12V system, if you need to replace 100A/h of charge to your batteries each day, and you have 8 sunlight hours in each day you will need ...

100AH x 12V = 1200WH
1200WH/ 8H = 150W of solar panels.

In reality 150W of Solar Electric Panels would be enough for a small home or cottage. In reality it is recommended that you always overrate your requirements by at least 20%, therefore you would need 180W of solar panels.

Now that you know what to look for in selecting Solar Electric Panels, it's time to shop around.
The notion of free and unlimited energy has naturally attracted the interest of the frugal and environmentally conscious to use solar panels to save money and the environment. You can enter this world and begin by building panels yourself You will need to use a guide book and a kit that provides easy to follow instructions and includes videos as an aid. You will have to do your research to find what works for you. When used properly these kits are a great learning opportunity and help you power simple devices. More kits are coming on the market as there is enormous demand for trying this route to energy production. For those who do not want to go all the way yet, this is a good place to start. Solar energy production techniques are being refined and improved on, so it may be wise not to make major investments at this time. In fact as revealed in the British media in February 2010, scientists have discovered a plastic that can release and store energy and may make batteries obsolete.

Save money with solar panels you build yourself.

Solar panels are a collection of solar cells wired together. When struck by sunlight, they produce an electrical current. Solar cells generate minimal electricity individually, grouped together they generate substantially more. You can save money by building them yourselves rather than purchase them prefabricated. You can easily purchase solar cells you will wire together to make a panel online. You can purchase good quality whole cells, or lesser quality cells that are cheaper but are blemished in some way. Pre-tabbed cells facilitate wiring. You can save up to half to three quarters of the cost, if you make the panel yourself compared to a premade panel. If you purchase the wood and pretabbed cells a panel can cost a little over 100 USD for a small system for a few small devices. The cost can be below 100 USD per panel if you use scrap wood laying around and tab the cells yourself. You would need basic tools that can be purchased at the local hardware store. Silicone caulk, wood glue and for the wiring, wire cutters, wire strippers, a soldering iron and solder would also be needed. If you want to power your whole house, the cost will be steeper.

A solar power system generates electricity, uses batteries to store a charge and the power controller to regulate the power produced by the cells mounted on a weatherproof enclosure and charge the batteries, and a power inverter converting the direct current electricity from the battery to alternating current electricity used in the house. For a very simple system you can also not use a charge controller and just attach the panel to the batteries. However, a charge controller will refill batteries when power is used up to keep them fully charged. There are 2 types of inverters, the: Modified Sine Wave and the True Sine Wave. The True Sine Wave is more costly but is able to replicate the electricity current type more exactly and is worth the cost, depending on your needs. Solar systems can use standard sealed lead acid 12 volt batteries also used in cars. You might consider other types of batteries that are lighter in weight if you only want to power a few very small items. A system can be sufficiently potent to power a house, or limited enough to power one appliance or a few. The cost and the sophistication of the materials needed will vary with the size of the house. The simplest systems have limited applications.

Do it yourself solar panels

The number read more of solar panels needed depends on your intentions. Your power bill will provide important information for your calculations. The bill indicates how much electricity you currently use, which you need to use to figure out the kWh of electricity usage your panels need to produce.

The other important measure is the insulation value. Solar panels require a certain level of intensity in the sunlight. Should there be low intensity, it will reduce the power they can generate. The intensity varies during the day, and during the year. Locations have insulation values and you should know the insulation value of your location. Maps of these values are accessible online. With this measurement, you can simply divide the kWh of electricity you will need to produce daily by the insulation value to determine what is needed for your panels However, for accuracy you will you need to keep in mind there is always a loss in conversion. Generally this loss is about 25 percent. You will need to multiply whatever your final figure turns out to be by 1.25 to take this conversion loss into account. Now that you have your daily kWh requirement adjusted for insulation and efficiency, you will know how much power your solar panels should produce. To determine how many solar panels are needed, you divide the power output you calculated by the power output of a single panel. Solar maps that indicate average sun for different areas are a guide. It can produce twice the electricity with the same size panel if a solar panel is located in an area with double the score. If you reside in a location with a low score, more or larger solar panels will be needed to produce the electricity required.

How to build solar panels.

To build your own panels, knowledge about the different solar cells is a requisite. Two types of solar cells are readily available. The most efficient type is the monocrystalline cell. This is more costly, but delivers the highest energy output and lasts longer. Polycrystalline cells produce less power; but, they are also cheaper. A simple system can be devised relatively easily. After you have decided on the type of cells you want you can build such a system by gluing and mounting them on a strong backing board and wiring them. A thick piece of plywood can serve as a backing board. The wiring diagram included with the purchased cells indicates the different voltages they can produce. Decide on the voltage and thus the cells needed to produce it. Then, lay the cells in a rectangle to give you the size you need for the backing board.

After the backing board is sized correctly and cut, the solar cells can be mounted on it. They are attached using a silicone caulk. Applying caulk to the middle of the back of each cell, then lay out all the cells in the layout you decided on and glue each cell in place. The next step is to wire the cells together to form a panel. If you have bought pretabbed cells you will need to solder the tabs together. Otherwise, you will have to solder on tabs before you attach the cells. If you plan on using a charge controller you will not need a diode, which prevents the current from flowing back into the panel from the batteries, when there is no sunlight. But, if you plan to attach the cells to the battery, you may want to solder on a diode. Once this process is completed, you need to enclose the panels in a weatherproof structure.

Plexiglass or Lexan material can be used for the transparent top which allows sunlight to strike the cells. A liberal amount of caulking seals the enclosure. Your unit is complete and is ready to be placed on the ground or the roof location you have decided on. The enclosure may be built from different materials. The easiest material to use is wood and the simple system described here will not need anything different. The enclosure dimensions will depend on the number of panels you intend to use. The transparent top will have to be cut accordingly. Inside the enclosure the cells will be attached to a piece of wood or material. The wood cut to make the enclosure will need to be screwed together. Of course, a hole must be drilled for the wires to exit the box from the bottom of the enclosure. The wooden panel with attached solar cells will be glued into the container. The transparent top will need to be put down on top of the container. A connector can be soldered to the end of the wires depending on what the panel will be attached to. The panel can be tested by hooking up a voltmeter to the panel in direct sunlight. Your experiment with solar electricity can then begin and show you how to save money with solar panels you build yourself.

Solar panels are a collection of solar cells wired together. You can easily purchase solar cells you will wire together to make a panel online. To determine how many solar panels are needed, you divide the power output you calculated by the power output of a single panel. If a solar panel is located in an area with double the score, it can produce twice the electricity with the same size panel. Your experiment with solar electricity can then begin and show you how to save money with solar panels you build yourself.

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