This solar how to article will discuss each component of a solar power system, talk about what it does and how it fits into the system as a whole.  Each piece does a particular role, though you don’t need every part in every solar project. A standard solar power system generates electricity, stores the electricity in batteries to be used later and then converts the Direct Current electricity from the batteries to the same kind of AC electricity that comes out of the wall sockets in your home.

Solar Panels

Solar panels produce electricity using energy from the sun.  The panel has a layer of silicon.  When photons from sunlight hit the silicon, they knock loose electrons.  These electrons become electricity and are sent through wires.  Many solar cells, each of which generates about half a volt are put together to make a single solar panel.  It is possible to generate any voltage by putting together the correct number of solar cells.  Building a solar panel and generating your own free electricity is actually pretty cheap and easy.   If you’re interested in reading about how to build your own solar panel, take a look atDIY Solar Panel.

Charge Controller

This component charges the batteries using the electricity generated by the solar panels. The electricity going to the batteries is regulated by the charge controller. It also gradually lowers the power sent to the batteries as they get closer to fully charged to make sure the batteries don’t overcharge. The charge controller will also “top off” the batteries every once in a while after they are fully charged to make sure they stay fully charged. If you’re interested in more detailed information about charge controllers, visit Solar Charge Controllers.

Batteries

The majority of solar power systems use 12 volt batteries like you find in your car.  The most common type are sealed lead acid.  this type of battery is rugged, cheap and easy to find.  Weight is the only potential downside, but since you aren’t going to be moving the batteries around, it isn’t really much of a problem.  You often can get batteries from surplus computer UPS systems for cheap or even free.

Power Inverter

The appliances in your house use 120v Alternating Current (AC), but the batteries in a solar power system use 12v Direct Current (Dc).  The power inverter will convert the DC power from the batteries into the AC power that your appliances require.  There are two types of power inverter:  Modified Sine Wave (MSW) and True Sine Wave (TSW).  MSW is not as good as TSW because TSW exactly matches the electricity that comes out of the the wall sockets in your home.  It is preferable to use TSW over MSW becuase TSW more closely matches the electricy that comes from the grid.  TSW inverters cost more than MSW, but it is generally worth it in the long run to pay more for a TSW inverter.

Complete Solar Power System

Now let’s put all the pieces together into a complete solar system.  The roof is where the solar panels are usually mounted.  The solar panels are connected together with wires which then send the electricity to the charge controller.   The batteries are charged by the charge controller with the power coming from the solar panels.  The batteries are charged all day while sunlight is striking the solar panels.  All day, while sunlight is hitting the solar panels, the batteries store the power generated by the panels.  The power inverter takes the DC electricity from the betteries and converts it to the standard 120v AC electricity that all your applicances are used to getting from the wall sockets in your house.  This type of system can be big enough to power your whole house or small enough to power just a single appliance.

If you are interested in how much it will cost for enough solar panels to power your house, see this guide to Solar Panels Cost.