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Solar Electric Systems
This section is a brief review of solar electric systems and concepts. Solar electric is also called photovoltaic or PV.
Solar electric collectors are the moderately complex to install.
Best use: lighting, electronics, remote applications, back-up power
Secondary use: stand alone or utility intertie
Cost: moderate to high
Installation: usually roof mount, also ground mount on rack or pole
Solar electric collectors require more calculations for optimized design than solar thermal. Solar electric collectors are connected together with copper wires and store electricity from the collectors in a battery cabinet. The battery storage is managed by a charge controller. Current is obtained from an inverter that changes the battery (DC) power into household (AC) power.
Solar Electric System -
Installation on Roof, Ground or Pole Mount
Solar Electric Collectors
Most electric collectors are about 2 feet wide and 4 feet long.
The size varies according to the amount of output in watts - from 5 to 200 watts
This diagram shows a close view of a solar electric collector with the wiring grid pattern embedded in the silicon layer.
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Solar Electric Components Diagram
The solar components of an electric system include; collector, copper wiring, charge control system, batteries and an inverter.
The copper wiring is sized according to the number of collectors and distance to the charge controller.
The charge controller manages the state of charge for the batteries and prevents overcharging.
The batteries store the energy generated by the collectors.
The inverter flips the battery (DC) power to household (AC) power for with special applications, such as lighting, electronics, and small appliances.
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More definitions and concepts are described in the Glossary.
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Solar Heat and Electric is the name of a solar business with over 20 years of experience in Omaha, NE. We service and install all types of solar systems within a few hundred miles; air, water and electric. We also provide design support or lead to; architects, engineers, plumbing, HVAC, investment and property managers.
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© 2006 Solar Heat and Electric
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