Applications of PV Power

Photovoltaic technology is not entirely new to people who are living in civilized countries, but there certainly has been a sharp increase in recent years in the amount of people who are using solar energy and PV panels.

There are a variety of reasons for this, but perhaps the main reason for why this is happening is twofold. First of all, energy prices are constantly rising and seem to be on the path of continuing to go up. Secondly, whereas solar technology was at first something that was used by institutions like NASA and by other groups who had a lot of money to spend, things have changed recently to allow people to use this technology in a much more cost-effective way.

The growth of technology related to solar energy has also change the way the energy can be applied and used. While most people are familiar with one main way that solar energy is used, there are few who understand much about the other way.

The two main ways this energy is used can be classified as “stand-alone” and “grid-tied.” Although both of these applications are becoming more and more common, there is still a good deal of information that is not known or is simply misunderstood by the general public.

The stand-alone system is what most people typically think of when someone mention solar technology. As is true with pretty much any kind of solar power system, everything starts with the photovoltaic cells.

Typically, these cells are placed on the roof of a home or on top of an office building. It is these cells that actually are able to trap the sunlight and start the process where this light is transferred into energy.

Depending on the size of a home, there could be several PV cells on a roof top, or relatively few. In recent years technology has improved the functionality of these devices so much that they are not nearly as noticeable now as they once were.

About 10 years ago, each individual cell could take up several dozen square feet of space on a roof top. Now, the cells are more efficient and are able to gather just as much sunlight but in a much smaller space.

After the sunlight is collected, the energy-making process begins. The heat from the sun acts as an instigator to the silicon that is included on the PV cells. Inside the silicon are thousands of electrons. These electrons begin to rapidly move as the sun continues to heat them. This is how the heat is created.

This beginning process is true for both stand-alone systems as well as grid-tie systems. It is after the energy leaves the cells that the biggest differences between the two processes begin to appear.

In a stand-alone system, the energy that has been created is often moved forward in the system into a battery. Having a battery allows the energy to be stored for a long period instead of forcing the home into a “use it or lose it” situation.

This means that if there is only a small amount of energy being used in a home, the excess energy is routed to the battery and it stays there until it needs to be used. While in principle this can be a great thing, in theory it does not always work quite so well.

It is hard to operate any single home on just solar energy. Because a home takes a lot of energy to run, it is difficult to gather enough energy during the few hours of sunshine during each day.

While homes in places like California, Arizona, and Florida are certainly more likely to collect more energy than homes in places where there is less energy, even those who live in the states with the most sunshine must constantly try to conserve energy as much as they can or they simply will run out of it.

This is where having a grid-tie system can come in handy and in many ways is more effective. Like a stand-alone system, a grid-tie system gets its energy from PV cells. But, instead of routing this energy through a battery, the energy actually leaves the home and goes straight to the local power company.

At first mention, this may seem unfair, but in all actuality this is a positive thing for both the homeowner as well as the electric company.

The power company does not “take” the energy from the homeowner, but rather it is the homeowner who “sells” the energy back to the power company. So, what really occurs is as the energy leaves the PV solar panels and then enters into the grid, the power company offers the homeowner a certain number of credits depending on how much energy is being extracted from the home’s system.

This works out well for the power company because it is much cheaper for them to gather solar energy instead of producing fuel-powered energy. And, it is a good deal for the homeowner because they can actually watch their meter go backwards as the energy leaves the home and ties in to the grid.

Of course, the effectiveness of trying to save money with this system also depends a lot on conservation. Simply put, the more a homeowner tries to conserve, the faster his meter will roll backwards instead of forwards.

So, although both of these systems employ the use of PV solar panels, the direction that the energy goes from there differs. There are unique advantages and disadvantages to both systems, but when all is said and done, the personal conservation style of the homeowner should be the deciding factor.

For more information on Photovoltaics, check out the U.S. Department of Energy: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/pv_basics.html

 

 

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