Things needed to install a Solar System

Posted by Felix Okoli on Wednesday May 14, 2014 at 17:34:2:

If you intend going green with Solar technology, one of the things that might be a bit confusing is on how to exaclty get the system installed in the first place. How do you initially setup a Solar power system that can work for your home or office?

Installing a solar system doesn’t necessarily require too much technical know-how or specialized skill, though it is easier done by a professional than an ordinary person. However, with little knowledge, anyone can install a solar system at home.

Things you need to install a solar system and their functions include:

1. Solar Panel: This is basically the main electronic device needed to set up a solar power installation. This is the panel that makes direct contact with the Sun's light in order to generate electricity. It can be a bit expensive but it lasts long and requires little or no maintenance other than cleaning the panel. It consists of light sensitive cells that generate electricity when light touches on it. It has a negative and positive end that is normally connected to a conductor which is used to tap electricity from it.

2. Connecting cables You'd need to make use of this to connect the solar panel to your electronic devices that require electricity. The kind of current generated from the solar panel and passed through the cable is normally a Direct Current.

The current generated can be directly used by a device that requires DC input but the charge might vary depending on how much sunlight the solar panel gets and so there is a need to store this energy in order for it to be used when needed.

3. Deep Cycle battery: In order to first store energy generated from the Sun so that it supplies light to the input device constantly, there is a need for a power bank and that's where batteries come in. Deep cycle batteries are normally used for this and they can be a bit expensive than car batteries but it does the job well by storing charges for later use especially when there is none from the sun. You can make use of 12V deep cycle batteries for this as they are more commonly used due to its safety and longer life.

4. Charger controller: Don't rush to connect your battery directly to the Solar panel through the cable since such generated current tends to go high and low and might damage your battery by either overcharging or undercharging it. A Charge controller is needed to avoid that and ensure your battery is protected. A charge controller is normally connected to the Solar panel which is then connected to charge your battery.

4. Power Inverter: In most cases an inverter is also needed. This is for cases when the current required to power an electronic device is AC. Since batteries and solar panels tend to supply Direct Current, it won't be suitable for electronic gadgets that require AC input and so this current would have to be converted to AC by means of a Power inverter and that's where it does its job.

So, under an ideal situation, the Solar panel connects to the charge controller which then connects to charge the battery and passes current to the Power inverter which finally does the job of supply AC where needed.

The next thing to consider is how much power you actually want to generate to supply your home or office. You could set up one that just powers basic things like light and tv or you could use it to power your entire home.