Understanding the Efficiency of Solar Modules Solar panels are usually able to process 15% to 22% of solar energy into usable energy, depending on factors like placement, orientation, weather conditions, and similar. The amount of sunlight that solar panel systems are able to convert into actual electricity is called performance, and the outcome determines the solar panel Read more…
Theory The photovoltaic effect is an electrical phenomenon in which light energy is converted to electrical energy. This works on the principle of how semiconductor materials behave when exposed to light. Photons from sun rays are absorbed by the semiconductor crystal which causes an array of free electrons to be Read more…
In any PV system design, it is essential to know the amount of sunlight available at a particular location at a given time. The two common methods which characterise solar radiation are the solar radiance (or radiation) and solar insolation. Solar radiance is an instantaneous power density in units of Read more…
Basics A hybrid solar power system is combination of on grid solar system and off grid solar system. It has battery backup in it to store power and it also have the ability to feed surplus electricity into main grid. Hybrid system is fully automatic, programmable and custom engineer system. This allows a Read more…
Basics The solar photovoltaic On-Grid systems produces, converts and transfers solar electricity to local grid in 230/400V environment. Typical characteristic of an On-Grid system is the connecting and integration with a local electric grid. On-Grid systems can be used as source of electricity for homes or factories. The user can Read more…
Basics An off-grid system is not connected to the electricity grid and therefore requires battery storage. An off-grid solar system must be designed appropriately so that it will generate enough power throughout the year and have enough battery capacity to meet the home’s requirements, even in the depths of winter Read more…
The performance ratio is a measure of the quality of a PV plant that is independent of location and it therefore often described as a quality factor. The performance ratio (PR) is stated as percent and describes the relationship between the actual and theoretical energy outputs of the PV plant. Read more…
Small amounts of electricity generated by residential PV systems can be easily fed into the local utility grid. Transformer capacity, appropriate grounding and system protection are obligatory, as otherwise the grid itself would be affected. The situation changes if the solar PV-generated electricity is beyond the limit of what an Read more…
Inverters are electrical devices that convert the DC power generated by solar PV modules into AC power. They consist of thyristors or insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), which alternate the polarity of the DC current by means of pulse width modulation (PWM) to create a sinusoidal voltage output to match Read more…
Power generation, plant performance and, hence, project cash flow do not depend only on the chosen equipment. The main factors discussed in this section are:» system design: loss parameters, DC-to-AC ratio, monitoring and control system» maintenance: response times, scope of work aligned to local conditions, cleaning cycles» demand-driven generation versus Read more…