How a solar power system in the home works
Solar panels capture and convert sunlight into direct current (DC) electricity. This is then fed to the inverter, which converts the DC electricity to alternating current (AC) electricity. AC electricity is what powers your lights, air conditioning, and other electric appliances.
Solar power in the home
Feed-in tariffs
A feed-in tariff pays you for electricity generated by your solar PV system.
Under a net feed-in tariff, a premium is paid for any solar energy that goes back into the grid from your house. So if you have surplus energy generated by your solar panels, you get paid for it; and if you use all of the energy you generate it will be offset against your normal electricity bill.
Under a gross feed-in tariff you get paid for every unit of electricity generated by your solar panels, regardless of whether it goes into the grid or is used by your household.
Solar panels
Solar Panels are typically installed on your roof, facing north to capture the maximum amount of sunlight.
A solar panel is a packaged, connected assembly of solar cells, also known as photovoltaic cells. The solar panel can be used as a component of a larger photovoltaic system to generate and supply electricity in commercial and residential applications. Because a single solar panel can produce only a limited amount of power, most installations contain several panels. For more information see the Wikipedia article: Solar panels.
Types of solar panels
There are three basic types of solar panel:
Monocrystalline panels. This type of panel is covered with a single crystalline silicon sheet that has been cut to size. This type of panel takes up the least roof space but typically costs more than the panels mentioned below.
Polycrystalline panels. These panels are built by using a large number of small crystalline cells and connecting them together. This type of solar panel is less efficient than a monocrystalline solar panel, but not as difficult or expensive to manufacture.
Thin film panels. This type of solar panel is completly different from the two mentioned above. The silicon in this type of panel is not crystalline. The silicon can be applied as a film directly on many different types of material. This type of panel is less expensive to produce than the crystalline silicon panels mentioned above, however it is also the least efficient type of panel. This panel type is best suited for Northern Queensland and NT. Thin film technology is the only viable alternative for curved roofs.
Shopping?
Package deals.
Check out package deals carefully. Are all the components in the package good quality? Components include the solar panels, the inverter, the wire and the frame.
Gauging your solar power needs
The following video was provide courtesy of Energy Matters.
In the news
Boom in rooftop solar panels 'extraordinary'
Article posted in the Sydney Morning Herald 25/08/2011
"The solar bonus scheme introduced last year was very successful in some suburbs, with more than 14 per cent of homes installing rooftop solar panels, compared with a statewide average of about 3 per cent. Figures provided to the Herald by three electricity distributors revealed the north coast had the highest number of solar schemes. In Dubbo, more than 2000 homes had also installed photovoltaic units.
Paul Myors, an energy efficiency specialist with Ausgrid, said the number of homes with solar panels had increased over 18 months from 2000 to 46,000. Last November, the former government cut the feed-in tariff from 60 cents per kilowatt hour to 20 cents for new customers. In June, the O'Farrell government backed down from a plan to also slash tariffs for the original customers."
Interested? Want to learn more?
Parts of this article were provided by SolarMegaMart.com.au. See their website for more information or contact them a free quote (1300 727 150).