Solar System Tutorials

A solar Photo-Voltaic (PV) system includes the following elements:   - Solar PV panels- Racking and mounting system for PV panels- Batteries- Inverter- charge controller- wires- switches- performance monitoring system   Photovoltaic panels (or simply solar panels or PV panels) collect sunlight and convert it into electricity. Sometimes it is mounted on a roof, but it can be placed anywhere there is sun. The larger the surface of the solar panel, the more electricity it collects when the sun shines....

There are plenty of options available when it comes to selecting an inverter. Inverters vary in size, efficiency, performance, and capabilities. So what’s the best solution for you? The key questions you have to answer are the following:   Do you have a single phase or three-phase electricity supply? Do you want back-up power from a battery? What is the size of your solar panel array? How much power are your appliances using?   What is an inverter? An inverter...

Are you also confused? Is it Lithium Ion or Lithium Iron? And what is LiFePO4? A lithium-ion battery (or Li-Ion) is rechargeable kind of battery with a variety of cathodes, for example, a Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Dioxide (LiNiMnCoO2) cathode for NMC batteries or a Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) as a cathode for LiFePO4 (LFP) batteries.LiFePO4 and NMC batteries are currently the most common lithium battery types installed in residential solar installations in the country. A lithium-iron battery is also a...

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,...

DC Fuses and how to size them.What is a Fuse?A fuse is an electrical safety device. It protects an electrical circuit against high currents. The fuse is placed in the supply cable to an electrical device. As soon as current flows through the fuse that is higher than its current rating, for a certain amount of time, the fuse will blow. Once the fuse has blown, no more current will flow into the circuit.Higher than expected current situations can occur when...