Solar Energy Panel Component Considerations

When you are considering installing a small solar energy panel system for your home, you need to take into consideration the different components that you may want to use. This is a little more detail than you may need as most solar panels will come with a version of some of these components in the box.

The Solar Panels

Retail prices for single crystal panels are about $6 per watt, multi crystal panels are around $4.50. When it comes to solar panels, there are three basic types of panels available:

Single crystal panels are the highest in quality and efficiency, which work very well under semi-sunny conditions, like in coastal regions where the number of sun days are minimal.

Multi-crystal panels are a little less efficient (up to 20% less), but they are also less expensive. If you live in a very sunny area then you might do just fine with those. BP, Siemens, Astro, Evergreen, Kyocera are some of the manufacturers of both types of panels. In addition, Photowatt which only produces multi-crystal is an excellent brand.

Thin Film Panels, the third type of panel construction, is called Amorphous Film Technology. These panels are far less efficient, and their life span is much shorter. They often are flexible and find their application on boats, cars, RVs etc. But there is no reason why you can't start here as a learning point.
In addition to the location you are living in, your solar system voltage also determines which panels you need to purchase. Smaller panels between 50 - 100 watts come in 12 volt panels, while bigger panels 120-175 watts are typically 24 volt panels. In the end it all depends on the combination of location, system requirements, and budget.

Racks

You need to mount your panels onto something that holds them in place. "Fixed racks or trackers"? is often the question. A fixed rack continuously points the panels to the south, with the ability to adjust the angle for the seasonal position of the sun. A tracker moves with the sun from east to west giving the panels best exposure to the light

Inverters

This device converts DC to AC power. It takes your low voltage from the batteries and creates the 110 or 220 volts AC that most households work on. Two types of inverters stick out, the True Sine Wave (TSW) and the Modified Sine Wave (MSW) inverter. The True Sine Wave Inverter delivers very clean electricity at a considerable higher cost than the Modified Sine Wave Inverter. Most appliances run fine on the MSW Inverter.

Charge Controllers

Two types dominate the market: The Multistage Controller and the Power Point Tracking Controller. The latter one is called PPT, which through an ingenious design, delivers 15 to 30 per cent more power than the former type. The price on the PPT controller is roughly twice of the Multistage, so it may or may not pay for you to have that extra performance. The PPT controller performs best in cold climates or when extra length of cable from the panels to the rest of the system is required.

The Batteries

If you need batteries for a stand-alone solar system, it has to be a full-size battery bank with a good reserve for 3 - 5 days.

The deep cycle lead acid battery is the type most commonly used in a solar system. Both the gel type and the glass mat-type are service free. However, they tend to be a little more sensitive and often don't last as long as the flooded type lead acid battery, which requires maintenance.

Batteries come in many sizes. A very commonly available size is the "golf cart battery" or the T-105 type. At 6 volts with 220 amp-hour, you need to connect several in series and parallel to create 12 volt or 24 volt systems. They are relatively inexpensive and very robust and last about 5 years.

Other considerations

Combiner and junction boxes as well as disconnects are all substantial part of each system. This can be a simple circuit breaker box for under $100 or fancy Power Panels climbing into several thousands of dollars

In smaller systems you can get by with separating the individual components. For example, monitoring equipment often is included in charge controllers. For disconnects you can use conventional breaker boxes.

I have a new blog on Solar Energy. This will have some useful tips , as well as the latest news. You can find it at http://solarenergy.tumblr.com/

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By Nolan O'Sullivan