The components of a solar home power system are fairly standard, but there are some variations, depending upon the type of system you install. Typically the components of a home solar electrical generation system consist of solar panels, an inverter, batteries, charge controller, safety disconnect and system monitors. Other components like a grounding circuit and special electric meter may additionally be needed or desired.

The solar panel is the heart of a home solar power system. This device collects the sun’s energy and converts it into electricity. The solar collector, or array, is usually located on the structure’s roof, facing south. Some solar arrays have tracking devices which allow them to follow the sun across the sky. These tracking systems can greatly increase the cost of the system and can be a source of maintenance problems. Most solar arrays don’t use trackers and are fixed in position at an angle which is determined by your geographic location to provide optimum solar exposure.

Since a solar cell produces DC current and the appliances in the home use AC current, an inverter is needed to convert the electricity generated by the solar cell to AC. The inverter is installed in the circuit so that power is fed from the solar cells and battery through it and into the homes electrical circuit.

The batteries used in solar home power systems are different types than those used for automobiles. Automobile batteries are termed shallow-cycle batteries. This means that they aren’t capable of discharging more than twenty percent of their charge regularly without being damaged. Batteries used in solar and wind power systems are “deep-cycle batteries, which means that they can regularly discharge up to eighty percent of their stored electricity. You will need batteries installed in your system if you plan on having a stand alone power system, or want back up storage in case utility power fails at night or during cloudy periods when the solar cells are not active..

A charge controller is needed in systems using batteries. A charge controller prevents the solar cells overcharging the batteries and damaging them. If the controller senses that batteries are fully charged, and the excess electricity is not needed for use, it will send the excess power to a shunt load. The controller will also sense when a battery has discharged its capacity and shuts it down before damage occurs.

If your system is connected to the utility electrical grid, they will probably require that you install a safety disconnect. The disconnect allows your solar home power system to be disconnected from the grid in the event of a power outage. This keeps electricity from your system from entering the grid and harming utility workers doing repairs. The safety disconnect will also help protect your system from power surges in the grid.

You will want to protect the home solar power system from damage from lightning strikes, power surges, and equipment failures. A grounding circuit does this by providing a low resistance path for the electricity to the ground.

A back up generator may be desired if you have installed a stand alone solar home power system, or if you want to have a backup for utility power outages during the night or low sun periods when the solar cells are inactive. A generator may be desired instead of using batteries for backup for grid connected systems.

The electric meter installed by the utility keeps track of the power entering your home. If a net metering policy has been instituted by the utility company, then the meter will spin backward when your solar home power system is feeding power into the grid, and forward when you are using the utility company’s power.

A solar home power system requires specialized equipment for safe and reliable use. Proper batteries, disconnects, inverters and meters should always be installed. A well designed system should provide sun generated electrical power to your home for many years.

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