How Solar Energy Power Works

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Monday, July 28th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed

The sun, which is 90 million miles away, and incredibly powerful, is where all the energy on the earth comes from. Solar energy has been used for thousands of years for food and life preservation, but now we have learned to use it to power our homes in the form of electricity. Photovoltaic cells, or solar cells, convert light into electricity. Our grandmother says, electwicity, kinda funny. Ok, back to facts. Solar energy power is harnessed to provide hot water for your home, electricity, power your calculator, run a greenhouse, and larger items such as satelites in space. The use of solar cells is predominate in sunny climates and countries, and is beneficial in places where this is the only source for power.

Solar panels take the suns energy and convert solar energy power into electricity that you can use to run everything in your home. These systems, called renewable energy systems, can harness enough solar energy so that your reliance on the power company is severely limited. The first thing you have to know is how these solar energy systems work.

Solar Energy Systems

All solar energy systems have three things in common.

1. Photovoltaic panes - used as power source.

2. The second is a power storage unit which stores energy coming in.

3. The load - This is how much energy your home draws.

There are three types of solar energy systems:

1. The Grid - You are still hooked into the Power from your local utility company but using power as well from your solar energy system.

2. Off Grid. unlike the grid systems the off grid is not connected to the local power company. This solar energy system will store the power in batteries or in the system itself.

3. On Grid Plus Battery. This systems has a battery back up to the electric company or the solar energy you are harnessing. Additional power can again be sold or stored for future use.

There you go all the basics of how different types of solar energy systems work. The next step is to calculate your energy needs. See what you are using by viewing your utility bill. You may need to make your home as energy effecient as possible before installing such a system. Basic appliance changes, lighting changes and insulation of the house may need to be examined in order to get the most out of your system, once installed.