Panels

How you wire your panels impacts the performance of your system, and determines the choice of inverter and charge controller. First, let's remember that: W = V x A. The important difference between wiring panels in series or in parallel is that it affects the voltage and amperage of the resultant circuit. In a series circuit, you sum the voltage of each panel to get the overall voltage of the array. However, the amperage of the overall circuit stays the...

  The general notion is that North-facing solar panels (in the Southern Hemisphere) is the most effective way of mounting solar panels. Have you ever considered mounting your panels East & West? Source: solarquotes.com.au   Roof orientation The direction of your panels in relation to the sun, also referred to as the Azimuth angle, is important for the amount of sunshine that your solar panels will receive over the course of the day.   The best way to determine the direction...

  What is a charge controller? A solar charge controller is a regulator for your solar battery that prevents it from overcharging. Batteries are rated for a certain voltage, and exceeding that voltage can lead to permanent battery damage.   Types of solar charge controllers There are two types of charge controllers to consider: Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) controllers and Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) controllers. PWM controllers are generally less expensive and can only be used for smaller systems where the voltage of your solar...

Why clean solar panels?Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels require minimal maintenance once they are installed, and are designed to operate for a really long time. However, it is still important to keep them clean to continue achieving optimal power generation. Accumulated dust, dirt, leaves and other debris on solar panels can result in energy losses, from 10 to 25%.When to clean?The most obvious way to tell when solar panels need cleaning is when the efficiency of the system begins to decline,...

Bifacial (“two-faced”) Solar Photo-Voltaic (PV) panels can capture solar power from both sides of the panel. Bifacial solar panels offer many advantages over traditional solar panels. Power can be produced from both sides of a bifacial module, increasing total energy generation. In general, more power can be generated from bifacial modules for the same area. Traditional solar panels capture sunlight on one light-absorbing side. The light energy that cannot be captured is simply reflected away. Bifacial solar panels have solar...