Harness the Sun's Power: Your Guide to Understanding Solar Energy Basics

Overwhelmed by solar? Sun City Solar Energy simplifies it, guiding you to a future of sustainable, affordable energy.

Solar Basics

Solar energy is a renewable and abundant source of power. By installing a solar electric system, you're essentially creating your own power station right at your home or business. At Sun City Solar Energy, we're committed to helping you understand and harness this powerful resource.

How Solar Electric Systems Work

When sunlight hits the photovotaic panels installed on your property, it generates a flow of electrons. This is known as Direct Current (DC) electricity. An inverter changes this DC into Alternating Current (AC) electricity, which is the type of electricity that powers your home and appliances. In a grid system, excess electricity is sent to the main power grid an the customer receives a credit. In an off-grid system, excess electricity is stored in a battery for future use.

Components of a Solar System

Solar panels are made up of many photovoltaic cells wired together. These cells are typically made of Monocrystalline or Polycrystalline silicon. Monocrystalline cells are highly efficient at converting sunlight into electricity, while Polycrystalline cells are more cost-effective and produce less waste.

The inverter is a crucial component of any solar energy system. It converts the DC electricity produced by the solar panels into AC electricity, which is used in homes and businesses.

Transferring the Electricity

Several electrical components are required to transfer the electricity from the solar panels to your home or the utility grid. These include a utility-required disconnect and a back-feed breaker in your home's main electrical panel. All electrical work for Sun City Solar installations is completed by experienced and licensed electricians.

Monitoring Your Solar System

After the solar installation is complete, most utilities will install a special meter. This meter measures the power you consume from the grid and the power you send back to the grid from your solar system.

A monitoring system ensures your solar array is operating efficiently. It provides real-time information on your system and alerts you to any issues. Monitoring systems installed by Sun City Solar allows you to view detailed information on your system's performance through a smartphone app and a web-based site.

Choose Your Solar Solution

Residential

For homeowners, Sun City Solar Energy offers a range of solar solutions tailored to your unique needs. Our expert team guides you through the process, from choosing the right type of solar panel to understanding how solar energy works. With an average of 217 sunny days per year, the Ozark region is an ideal location for harnessing solar power. Our commitment extends beyond installation, offering ongoing support and maintenance to ensure your system's optimal performance.

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Commercial

For business owners in the Ozark region, we provide comprehensive solar solutions designed to meet your business's specific energy needs. Our team of experts guides you through the process, ensuring a seamless transition to solar energy. Given the region's favorable sunlight hours, businesses stand to benefit significantly from solar energy. We handle everything from the installation of solar panels and inverters to providing ongoing support and maintenance, ensuring your business reaps the full benefits of solar power.

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How Photovoltaics Work

STEP 1

Sun shines on the photovoltaic modules and produces the flow of electrons known as Direct Current (DC) electricity.

STEP 2

DC electricity is fed into a solar inverter that inverts DC into Alternating Current (AC) electricity. AC electricity is used to power your home and all of your appliances.

STEP 3

The inverter is connected to your homes main electrical panel. If there is an immediate need for electricity while being produced, your home uses solar power directly.

STEP 4

Any electricity not required by your home goes back into the utilities main power grid for others to use or stored in a battery bank for future use. In states with Net Metering, your meter will run backward, and the utility will credit your bill for the excess energy sent back to the grid.

STEP 5

The utilities main power grid acts as a “bank” or “battery” – excess power is exported to the main grid when you do not need it, and you take power back from the grid when needed (nighttime).

Fundamentals Of Photovoltaics

Solar
Panels

Solar panels, often called solar modules, are typically made of many solar cells wired together. Photovoltaic cells are tile-sized silicone wafers, wired together and encased in protective glass and metal frame to create a module. They often have a blue or black appearance. Most solar modules installed today are either Monocrystalline or Polycrystalline.

Monocrystalline Photovoltaics

Monocrystalline modules are the oldest and most developed technology. Monocrystalline modules can be identified by solar cells which all appear as a single flat color – typically black. Monocrystalline modules have the highest efficiency rates since they are made out of the highest-grade silicon. The efficiency rates of monocrystalline solar panels are typically 15-20%.

Polycrystalline Photovoltaics

Polycrystalline solar panels tend to have slightly lower heat tolerance than monocrystalline solar panels. This technically means that they perform slightly worse than monocrystalline solar panels in high temperatures. Heat can affect the performance of solar panels and shorten their lifespans. However, this effect is minor, and most homeowners do not need to take it into account.

Inverter

Inverters play a crucial role in any solar energy system and are often considered to be the brains of a project. An inverter’s basic function is to “invert” the direct current (DC) electric produced by the photovoltaics into alternating current (AC) electricity. AC is the standard used in all homes and the inverter converts the electricity so it can be used in the home or sent back onto the utility grid for others to use.

Types of Inverter

• Microinverter
• String Inverter
• Hybrid/Battery Based Inverter

Electrical (Panel, Disconnects)

To transfer the electricity produced from the Photovoltaic solar modules to the home to use or onto the utility grid requires installing several electrical components. After the energy is passed from the module and inverted to AC by the inverter, the power feeds into a utility-required disconnect. The disconnect is required by all utility companies and is installed near the utility meter. The disconnect allows the utility to shut down the solar system at any time so work can be performed on the main power lines without the system feeding energy onto the grid.

The solar electricity is routed to a back-feed breaker in the home’s main electrical panel from the disconnect. This allows the home to use the solar energy produced to run the current energy needs of the home. If the home needs more power than the solar can produce, the additional power is consumed from the grid and the solar power. If excess power is generated over the home’s current needs, the excess power is fed back onto the utility power grid and used by others. In states with net metering, this excess energy can be credited to the home’s electric bill.

For states without net metering, the excess energy produced can be fed into a battery backup system and stored for future use.

Experienced and certified electricians complete all electrical work performed for Sun City Solar installations. In addition, sun City will acquire any needed city/county permits and ensure the project passes inspection.

Utility Smart Meter

After the solar installation is complete and all inspections have been completed, most utilities will install either a net meter or a bi-directional meter to replace the current utility meter on the home. Net meters show the net consumption of power in the household. A net meter does not tell you how much solar electricity you pushed out to the grid or how much “regular electricity” you took from the grid. Instead, it indicates the difference between the two, or the “net usage.”

Bi-directional meters have three display screens. One is a test screen where all lights are on. The second shows power coming in from the grid, and the third shows power going out from your solar into the grid.

Monitoring System

A monitoring system for your solar array ensures that everything is operating efficiently and alerts you to any problems that may arise. A monitoring system will ensure you are getting the most out of your solar investment by allowing you to make sure the system is operating as designed and intended. For example, if a module or inverter stops working properly, the monitoring system will show an error alerting the owner to a potential issue. It allows the error to be diagnosed and fixed quickly to ensure minimal downtime and lost production with real-time error alerts.

Monitoring systems installed by Sun City Solar allow a solar owner to have detailed real-time information on their system through both a smartphone app and a web-based site. Detailed information includes current energy production and detailed historical production on a daily/weekly/monthly basis.

To view the solar production details online, the monitoring system must be connected to the internet.

Why Choose Sun City Solar Energy?

Choosing us means choosing a partner committed to guiding you through the journey of solar energy. Our team of experts is dedicated to providing personalized solutions that meet your unique energy needs, whether you're a homeowner or a business owner. With our deep understanding of the solar landscape and our commitment to using high-quality components, we ensure that your transition to solar is seamless and beneficial. Our commitment doesn't end with installation; we provide ongoing support and maintenance to ensure your system performs optimally. With Sun City Solar Energy, you're choosing a sustainable, cost-effective future powered by the sun.