Types of Solar Power Systems For Private Or Commercial Use

By: Adrian Fletcher

By utilizing solar energy you can generate electricity that can power your home or commercial property. It can even power your RV. There are all sorts of solar power systems that can be used. This article will list some of the solar power systems available and cover what conditions they are best suited for.

If we consider an RV, for example, the ideal solar power system would be a portable system. These systems are economical, as they have a smaller number of solar panels and batteries than a larger stand-alone system. They may be moved around so that they can make the most of the sunny conditions depending on your location.

A stand alone solar power system is configured with a number of solar panels. The more solar panels the more electricity can be created. The electricity is stored in a battery or a series of batteries. The batteries store DC current and this needs to be converted to AC current using an inverter.

The grid tie system is a popular option for many people new to solar energy or don't want total responsibility for creating their electricity. A grid tie system has all the components of a stand alone system but it is still connected to the utility grid so that electricity can come from either the solar panels or from the more traditional utility companies.

In this system there is generally no need for a series of batteries because the electricity that is created is essentially stored by the utility company. This obviously makes it a lot easier to operate and maintain as the utility company will install and maintain it.

The natural progression as you become more experienced with using solar power is to go totally off grid. This has obvious advantages. You will save money as you don't use the utility companies resources and your system will be environmentally friendly. However you will have more responsibility. The bucks stops with you when it comes to supplying power to your home or business and this may be too much for some people.

A completely off the grid system will have more than one inverter. In most cases this will be two so that the solar power system can handle energy heavy appliances like heating and air conditioning systems. Two inverters also makes the system more robust such that if one inverter was to fail the system as a whole would still be operational.

Another reason for going for an off grid set up is when there is no grid to connect to. This is the case in isolated areas where the utility companies have not got round to installing a network. In these situations the solar power system would be the primary source of electricity and would be a vital to the home or business that it operated in.

Hybrid systems are also useful in remote areas or if you are planning to go self sufficient in creating energy. A hybrid system uses two methods of energy generation to double the total amount of created. This may include a solar/wind power option if you want to go totally green. Otherwise you may go for a solar/generator system. The generator would be a portable generator powered by diesel, propane or gasoline. Provided you have a reliable supply of these fossil fuels then this hybrid system is probably more reliable than the solar/wind option.

It makes sense to have as many contingencies to your solar power system as you can afford. The sun can't always be relied on. However introducing three or four different methods of creating electricity significantly increases the complexity and may not be worth the effort in maintaining them for the benefits that you may receive.