Photovoltaic System Overview Photovoltaic (PV) systems are used to convert sunlight into electricity. They are a safe, reliable, low-maintenance source of solar electricity that produces no on-site pollution or emissions. PV systems incur few operating costs and are easy to install on most Canadian homes. PV systems fall into two main categories — off-grid and…
The FUSION™ DRILLFREE™ panel extrusion system enables any panel fabricator interested, to increase their productivity and hence, profitability. The numerous benefits are the result of our patent pending design, which increases performance on the shop floor, as well as, the site installation. The preference for the DRILLFREE™ over conventional perimeter extrusion…
If you are considering a solar panel system for your home, one of the key decisions you make is the type of inverter to install. Inverters convert direct current (DC) energy generated by your solar panels into usable alternating current (AC) energy. After the panels themselves, inverters are the most important equipment in your solar power system. Breaking down…
The first question to ask yourself is are you capable of doing this work or should you get an electrician to do it? However it should be within the capabilities of most DIYers. Depending on where you live, there may be regulations controlling the wiring of solar panels. Question number two - do you need to wire the panels in series or parallel? If your panels…
Photograph by GIP/Getty Images Just over a year ago, we took the plunge at my house in southeastern Pennsylvania and covered the back roof with solar panels: 41 of them, to be exact. After 12 months we’ve created 13.8 megawatt hours of electricity while using only 7.59 megawatt hours. The energy surplus becomes a credit on our electric bill, and once per year…
Mike Brigham got interested in solar power by accident in 1985 when he bought a tiny island in Georgian Bay with a quaint cottage with no electricity. After learning he would have to pay to up to $15, to bring in electricity via cable and pay a bill year-round despite using the cottage for only a few months, he decided to install his first solar panel. Since…
My neighbors took a newfound interest in my solar array after Hurricane Sandy. Most of our town in New Jersey lost power for two weeks, and everyone who knew about my panels was asking: Did they keep my lights on? Alas, no. When the grid goes down, our array goes down. The inverter mounted on my basement wall, which converts DC photovoltaic power to AC household…
Many Hawaiian homeowners already use the off-grid solar-and-battery systems championed by Tesla’s TSLA, -0.33% Elon Musk and others — and their experience shows what hurdles the technology must clear to become widely accepted by consumers. Hawaiians are eager to do anything they can to cut their power bills. Residential electricity prices in the Aloha State averaged…
By Nick Gromicko and Kenton Shepard Home and commercial property inspectors should understand the fundamentals about off-grid photovoltaic (PV) systems as part of their ongoing professional education. Although InterNACHI’s Standards of Practice for both residential and commercial property inspections explicitly exclude PV arrays, recognizing their components…
Grid-tied PV systems typically consist of PV modules connected in series to string inverters that convert DC power to AC power, which is then fed directly to the grid. As a building receives this AC energy, it is distributed to appliances and lighting, or other devices where needed. Any energy that exceeds the regular building usage goes back to the grid. In…
When Baker Electric first started, San Diego County was home to only 300, people and Bing Crosby could be found wandering the halls of the newly constructed Del Mar Fairgrounds. Escondido, where Leroy Baker established Baker Electric, Inc. in 1938, was nothing more than a small town with dirt roads. Today, Baker is still that local, family-owned business that…
Hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar systems can simultaneously provide electricity and heat, achieving a higher conversion rate of the absorbed solar radiation than standard PV modules. When properly designed, PV/T systems can extract heat from PV modules, heating water or air to reduce the operating temperature of the PV modules and keep the electrical…
Solar lantern startup d.light design is licensing its pay-as-you-go financing to its partners and distributors across the globe to scale the reach of its solar lights and home systems. Since then, companies such as Off Grid Electric and M-Kopa have raised far more, and the industry topped $200 million in financing in 2015, up from about $60 million in 2014. For…
In the northern half of the U.S. — and even much of the South — installing a residential solar hot water system doesn’t make any sense. It’s time to rethink traditional advice about installing a solar hot water system, because it’s now cheaper to heat water with a photovoltaic (PV) array than solar thermal collectors. In short, unless you’re building a laundromat…
A while back I performed an experiment called . The game was to make better use of the Solar System’s habitable real estate. In the game I was required to keep all of the Solar System’s planets (and large moons) and their orbital configurations. Just by switching the orbits of different planets and moons I built a Solar System with seven potentially habitable…
Batteries in solar applications have to meet the demands of unstable grid energy, heavy cycling (charging and discharging) and irregular full recharging. There’s a variety of battery types fitted for these unique requirements. Considerations for choosing a battery include cost, cycle life and installation and maintenance. Here’s a look at these aspects of each…
Step #2: What do you want to do with the power? If you are already served by a power company, it is considerably cheaper to purchase a “grid-tie” system. If you want to be totally independent of your energy company and/or you need electricity in a location that is not yet served by your energy company and it would be very expensive to connect, you will want to…
When starting a new home DIY solar energy project, one of the many question asked by a beginner is: “What component parts will I need to complete my solar power project?”. Before you start connecting together the individual component parts on your roof, it helps to get a good quality solar guide that will walk you step by step through the whole process of building…
A prepaid solar energy system that allows low-income households in developing countries access to solar energy through small-scale mobile money instalments of 35 DKK / month. The jury says Just under half of the global growth in electricity production in recent has come from wind, sun, biomass and other renewable sources. The transition to green energy is well…
From a man who made his name and charted his career with lofty goals and often unexpected financial decisions, the news came with little surprise: Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors Inc., unveiled a product line of electric batteries late last night in Los Angeles. Musk introduced the Tesla Powerwall, a wall-mounted lithium-ion electric battery for homes and…
Installation & Maintenance This category includes companies that provide full-stack solar implementation: site inspection, solar panel design (startups may work with partners or have their own engineering teams), installation in the home or office, and provision of maintenance support. The user may sign a lease or a power purchase agreement with the company…
My wife Rebekah and I have always wanted to live a PV-powered life, but the high price of the technology—an estimated $30, to cover all our electricity needs—had always been outside of our budget. Then came microinverter technology, which would allow us to start small and easily expand our system in the future. That, low mortgage rates, a drop in PV module prices…
The second residential solar revolution has begun – home battery energy storage. Affordable solar + storage has arrived on our doorstep and Energy Matters Australia is ready to welcome it! A Change On The Horizon While the option to buy home energy storage has been possible for a number of years, prices of deep cycle batteries and other components required have…
Now that we can all just search the internet for wholesale solar panel prices, there is an understandable temptation to think that we could save big on our dream solar installation, if we could just do it as a cheap solar DIY (Do it Yourself) project. Intuitively it makes sense that DIY solar panels would be cheaper. We already know that DIY is a cheaper way…
