How Does a Solar Electric System Work?

Solar is the most plentiful source of energy anyone could use on Earth. When your solar panels use the sun’s energy and turn it into electricity for your home or business, solar energy is not only a great way to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels, but also a key component in helping put a stop to polluting our planet. Therefore, many homes or business owners want to know more about the solar electric system. However, before you invest in a solar panel system at home, it’s important to know how they work.

What is Solar Energy?

Solar power works by transforming light from the sun into electricity. The electricity generated will power your home.

How Does a Solar Electric System at Home Work?

After installing a solar panel system in your home, this is how you can expect it to work.

Step 1: Your solar panels are made up of silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells. After installation sunlight will hit your solar panels, and the solar PV cells will absorb all of the sunlight’s rays. This means electricity is produced! However, the electricity being produced (Direct Current) is not the energy used by your appliances, instead, it is directed to your inverter... which leads us to our next step.

Step 2: From there, your inverter is now able to make the electricity that you want in your home by converting the DC energy into Alternating Current (AC) energy. The AC energy is then pushed into your switchboard.

Step 3: Once the AC gets to your switchboard, it'll be sent to the appliances in your home. Your switchboard makes sure everything runs smoothly for energy in your home. It will always make sure that your solar panel system at home first powers your home, and then accessing additional energy from the grid if needed.

Step 4: Every home is required to have a bi-directional meter (utility meter), it records all of the energy used in the house, but also keeps track of the solar energy being exported back into your grid. Exporting electricity back into the grid will earn you a credit on your electricity bill.

Contact Us

The great thing about a solar electric system is that you don’t have to turn it on or off every day. Your system does it all on its own, and with all of the steps we listed above, your system will do it on its own! This means that a solar panel system requires very little maintenance. You will barely know it’s there and it will last a very long time. If you have any more questions, Fun in the Sun can help. Contact Fun in the Sun today for more information. For assistance with scheduling and service information, please contact us directly: 407.696.5292, 352.578.1386, or 1.866.381 WARM. You can also click here for a FREE estimate!