Solar Panel System For Home

The essential equipments that are required to produce electricity from the Sun are as follows:
One or more Solar PV Modules
Charger Controller or Inverter
Batteries (if Storage is Recommended)

In order to obtain maximized energy transfer from your solar panels, wires running to your equipments need to be large enough to carry the current generated. If the wire/cable size is inadequate, it is possible that your connected wires may likely overheat and even catch fire. Cable sizing is a key safety aspect.

Wires between a Charge Controller and Batteries can be of the same size as the wires from your Solar Panels. However, batteries and inverter need to be connected with long cables. The size of your battery bank and inverter will determine the minimum cable size. This should be covered in detail in the instructions that come in the user manual with your inverter.

Solar Panels work based on the phenomenon called the Photoelectric Effect to produce electricity. Solar Panels are nothing but blocks of specially designed semiconducting materials that produce a small amount of electricity when light falls on them. This small amount of electricity is produced in a large number of panels to produce electricity for everyday consumption.

A Solar PV System does not consist of any moving parts. It is not prone to any kind of damage caused due to the friction between moving parts or any other mechanical phenomenon that causes damage to a generator or a motor. A Solar PV System can easily last from 20-25 years or even more, if maintained properly.

The capital cost of a Solar PV System is higher than a DG System. Nevertheless, a DG System incurs a very high fuel and maintenance cost. On the other hand, a Solar PV System does not require fuel. Even its maintenance is very minimal and easy. Besides a Solar PV System is clean and environmental friendly, and becomes cost effective in the long run compared to DG sets.

A Solar PV System requires very minimal and easy maintenance. Solar Panels should be cleaned regularly so that the system works at its full efficiency. Occasional checks should be done to ensure that solar panels are not being exposed to shading effect. Other components of the system, except Solar Panels, have to be kept in a shaded area. These steps help in prolonging the life of your overall Solar PV System.

A Solar Panel in the system produces electricity while other components convert and manage power transferred to connected load. The electricity produced by the panel is in DC form and has to be converted to AC form for user’s consumption. A proper and safe flow of electricity needs to be ensured so that no damage is done to your appliances. To increase the reliability of the system installed, other components are a must.

A Solar PV System does not require direct sunlight to work, though direct sunlight generates maximum system efficiency. The system continues to work even during overcast conditions but efficiencies get reduced. Efficiency generally reduces to 70 % during an overcast day. In India, where more than 300 sunny days are available in most of the places, overcast conditions are not a major concern per se.

The cost of a Solar Setup depends on factors such as connected load, type and quality of the components used, total available rooftop area etc. As per rough estimate, a grid connected Solar PV System with Grade A manufacturer’s components costs around INR 65,000/KW while a battery connected system costs around INR 1,00,000/KW.

In a Solar PV System, major investment is installation. It has a minimal maintenance cost and no fuel cost. A 5 KW Solar PV System has an average payback period of approximately 4-5 years. The lifespan is as high as 20 to 25 years. As a result, 70 to 75 % of power produced in a lifetime may be considered free electricity.

It is mandatory for a Solar System to have a shadow free area at all times of the day. The most important factor on which this area relies on is Panel Efficiency. Generally, a Solar Panel with 15 % efficiency requires 100 sq.ft. of shadow free rooftop area. Another factor is the weight of your Solar Panels that may put pressure on the roof of your building. For old and poorly built construction, Solar Panels have to be scattered in a larger area for the building to withstand the distributed weight.

Counterintuitively, an increase in the ambient temperature around your Solar PV System results in a decrease in the efficiency of the system. It is to be noted here that though PV Systems work based on the energy from the Sun, they work on the Sun’s light energy and not on its heat energy. Increase in temperature may result in lower system output voltage, thus decreasing the said efficiency.

Shading has a very large impact on the performance of a Solar PV System. Since a PV Panel is made up of a large number of Solar Cells, shading on even a small part of the module can have an adverse effect on the energy produced by rest of the modules installed as their energy may get consumed by the part which is under shade.

Setting up a Solar PV System at your premise gives you a chance to be self-sustainable in your power consumption by reducing your dependency on grid power, which in turns leads to electricity savings. A Solar PV System is a clean and environment friendly way to generate power. You can even sell electricity (via net metering) to the already power deficit grid in the country, thereby playing a national role to fulfil the nation’s electricity demand.

Most of the solar panels installed are on the rooftop. However, in some cases they can also be mounted on the ground. You would need a shadow-free area of approximately 100 sq.ft. to accommodate 1 kWp panels. Please make sure that the area gets maximum sunlight. Your solar installer will select the best angle for solar panels.