Rooftop Solar Power
How rooftop solar can power your entire home
Many Australians are familiar with the fundamentals of how rooftop solar systems work. The illustration above shows the basic principles and components of a solar powered home. These principles are the same for both business and industry solar power.
System designs and components will vary according to your situation and needs. For example you may benefit from the extra efficiency provided by micro inverters rather than a string inverter. Furthermore, your location may mean you should consider battery storage.
In addition to this article, you can also read this Livescience piece entitled: How do solar panels work?
Let’s take a quick look at the various key components. What they do and why are they important? This will help you better understand the process when you have your property assessed. It will also help you when considering the recommendations and costings for a rooftop solar installation.
PV Cells
The solar panels you see on more and more rooftops every day are the foundation of any solar system. Every silicon photo-voltaic (PV) cell contained within gathers light energy from the sun and transform it into DC (direct current) electricity.
There’s no motor, no moving parts, no noise. Solar panels and their PV cells are long life and require minimal maintenance.
In other words, you will never have to refuel them . . . EVER!
The quality of your PV panels is critical because it will determine;
- The output of your system
- The efficiency of your system
- How long they will perform
Your PV cells need to deliver the power you need without degrading. For as long as possible.
For premium quality rooftop panels, expect 20 to 30 years of FREE electricity from the sun.
While PV panels are the largest component of your solar system, battery storage can be the most costly.
But the good news is that research, technical breakthroughs and the benefits of large-scale production have dramatically reduced the cost of rooftop panels while also increasing their efficiency.
Lower component costs are the key to making solar energy the world’s cheapest form of new electricity.
Country Solar NT has access to the entire solar panel market. We are not tied to any particular brand or manufacturer and we keep abreast of new and improved solar technologies and products.
We also know which manufacturers consistently deliver quality and reliability and always recommend the best solar panels for your particular situation.
Questions for your solar panel provider
Be very wary if a solar installation company doesn’t specify the brand of solar panel. You wouldn’t buy a car without knowing the manufacturer and the model, and solar is no different.
Likewise, if you are actually provided with the name of the panel but you can’t find information about it easily online, reconsider the purchase. There’s a plethora of information on solar panels made leading manufacturers.
Large scale solar farms around the world only source rooftop solar panels from large “Tier 1” solar manufacturers. They do so for good reason and you should follow their lead.
The video above by Richard Komp has been published by Ed-TED and explains some of the basic physics of rooftop solar and some interesting statistics
Some of the PV panel brands we currently recommend
We are continually trialing promising solar products as they become available to assess their suitability under Northern Territory conditions.