A residential solar electric system consists of several solar modules that contain many individual solar cells. A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is made of special materials called semiconductors, the most common semiconductor material which is used in the manufacture of a solar cell is known as silicon. When a light source strikes a solar cell, a portion of it is absorbed by the semiconductor material. The absorbed light energy knocks electrons loose, allowing them to flow freely.
Do I have to disconnect from the electric company ?
No, you remain connected to the power company, but instead of only using the energy that the power company produces, you actually become an independent power producer. Or in essence your own power company.
Solar electric systems have just about reached plug and play simplicity. There are no moving parts to break, no critical monitoring and virtually no noise. Solar modules simply sit in the Sun and generate electricity, year in and year out, in fact, the typical solar module carries a warranty of 25 years and in most cases are expected to last double that amount of time.
Do I have to disconnect from the electric company ?
No, you remain connected to the power company, but instead of only using the energy that the power company produces, you actually become an independent power producer. Or in essence your own power company.
Solar electric systems have just about reached plug and play simplicity. There are no moving parts to break, no critical monitoring and virtually no noise. Solar modules simply sit in the Sun and generate electricity, year in and year out, in fact, the typical solar module carries a warranty of 25 years and in most cases are expected to last double that amount of time.
Will I be paid for the excess power that I feed to the utility company ?
You won't receive a payment but you will receive a credit from the utility company for the excess power that you produce. In states that have enacted net metering laws, the utility companies will actually issue you a credit for the full retail value of the the power that you do not consume. If you over produce power lets say in June, then that over production credit is carried over to the subsequent months until you credit is used up. On the anniversary date of your system's installation, any remaining credit is zeroed out and you start the year's energy production over again. This is why it's important to limit the size your system so that you reduce or eliminate your electrical consumption for the year and not over produce.
Will I need batteries for my system ?
The choice of whether or not to use batteries is a personal one and there are tradeoffs involved . Both battery-less and battery backed up solar electric systems will perform grid intertie, meaning that they both will sell the surplus power that you produce back to your utility company, although there are efficiency differences when comparing both systems.
It is mainly during a utility power failure that the difference becomes obvious. With a battery-less system, should there be a power failure, the system is designed to automatically shut down. You will not have electricity available to your home until the utility company has restored their power.
The reason for this is a matter of safety. If the power has failed and the utility company has sent a lineman up a pole to implement repairs, the last thing you want to do is feed power down the line when the lineman thinks that the power has been cut. This is why the system has been designed to make it impossible to operate the inverter when there has been a power failure.
The battery backed up system utilizes a completely different design. Like the battery-less inverter, as long as the utility company's system is operating normally, your solar system will continue to feed power through you meter providing you with a reduction in your electric bill. In the event of a power failure the battery backed up system will also stop feeding power to the utility company for the same reasons mentioned above, the difference is that during a power failure the battery backed up system will divert backup power to your home and not to the utility company thus protecting anyone working on the power line.
Depending on the size of the battery pack that you choose you can supply your home with power for several hours or even days.
When the power company restores power, your system will automatically begin selling power back to the grid. Note : Because batteries are involved in a backup type system, the overall power production efficiency of a battery backed up system will be less than that of an equally sized battery-less system.
The decision to choose a battery-less or battery backed up system mainly boils down to the following issues: Do you need back up power during a power failure ? Are you willing to sacrifice efficiency, which means less payback from the utility company and are you willing to spend the additional expense of replacing the battery pack every 5 to 6 years. When considering all the issues, most people opt for the battery-less type system.
How do I determine what size solar system I'll need ?
Although we don't mind it, we hear the same question a dozen times a day "I have a 2,000 square foot home, what size solar system do I need ?" or I have an average sized home with average appliances, what size system do I need ?" We've been designing solar systems for a long time and one thing that we've learned though the years is that the size of the home has absolutely no bearing on the size of the system.
We've seen customers with 1,200 sq foot homes that consume 3,000 kWh per month and then we've seen customers with 2,800 sq ft home that consume 1,000 kWh per month. The size of the system boils down to, how much electricity do you consume in kilowatt hours and much much of that consumption would you like to eliminate.
It's best to call one of our representatives and let them calculate an appropriate system size that will meet your needs. But in a nutshell we will need to know your average monthly or daily electrical usage in Kilowatt hours or Kwh, you can obtain this information by calling your utility company and ask them for this data. Be sure to determine whether the number that they are providing you with is Kilowatt hours per day or Kilowatt hours per month.
Call Home Tech Pros today for a free esimate. 215-322-9814
Sections