Solar panels deliver electricity from the sunshine and one can combine several panels to achieve greater power. The following graphic shows you how solar energy can be used for household applications.
click to enlargePV application:
A battery stores the electricity produced by the solar panel, which is generated in the form of direct current (DC), and which can be used at any time of the day. The use of batteries does in addition require the installation of a “charge controller”. The purpose of this device is to control that batteries are not overcharged or drained too much. This means firstly that the charge controller will stop the flow of current from the panel to the battery once it is fully charged.
Secondly, the charge controller will not allow more current to be drained from the battery beyond a predetermined level. These functions will prolong the lifetime of the battery, which is usually around 3 years. The DC power generated by the PV panels has then to be transformed through an inverter to the alternating current (AC), as DC power is not applicable for most household applications. The AC at 230 Volt is then the common-voltage for most household appliances.
The necessary number of solar panels, batteries and the size of regulator and inverter will depend on the daily power consumption of your electrical equipment.
