In the world of energy, especially the solar market, Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) are rapidly becoming omnipresent and is widely used to replace conventional building materials in roofs and skylights. BIPV are basically photovoltaic materials which are incorporated into the construction of new buildings as a principal source of power. The advantage of integrating BIPV into [...]
Introduction With the gaining popularity and awareness of the multifold benefits of solar systems, one of the questions faced by many potential users is deciding on the capacity of the solar system. It is not wise to simply take a decision of the solar system capacity based on a general notion or just because some [...]
Most solar panels carry a 25 years warranty. This warranty is intended to protect and secure the customer’s solar panel investment so that they continue to get desired returns and performance from the implemented solar system.While high quality solar panels are supposed to be rugged, reliable and designed to withstand harsh outdoor conditions like UV, IR, [...]
What is Net metering? Net metering is a type of metering methodology commonly used in solar systems in many countries around the globe. It allows residential and commercial customers of utility grid power to implement solar on-grid batteryless systems without having to worry what do with the extra power. Because net metering allows them to [...]
Parameter Consideration points Technology selection One of the first points in choosing the right solar panel is to make a selection from the range of solar photovoltaic technologies. There are 2 predominant technology categories today for solar photovoltaic panels. (a) Crystalline silicon. This has 2 further sub-categories i.e. Mono crystalline and Poly crystalline (Multi crystalline) [...]
What is PID (Potential Induced Degradation)? Potential induced degradation (also called PID) is a performance degradation in crystalline solar PV modules, induced by potential (voltage). This effect may cause power loss in the power rating of a solar panel by up to 40 percent. The cause of the harmful leakage currents, besides the structure of the solar cell, [...]
Introduction Solar on-grid inverters are today the most popular inverter topology for solar systems. They are basically solar inverters which have a solar controller (usually MPPT nowadays) plus a conversion section and then a synchronizing and control section to regulate and manage the AC Output power being generated. Solar power system installers and owners often [...]
Technology Monocrystalline Polycrystalline / Multicrystalline Image Solar cell image Visual identification Monocrystalline solar panels are quite easily recognizable by an external even coloring and uniform look and usually a black or deep dark blue color of the solar cells. Further they usually have the small cut on the corners of the solar cells resulting in [...]
Solar photovoltaic technology works on DC power. So basically the power coming out of a solar PV panel is pure DC (Direct current) power. The DC power coming from a solar panel is unregulated power , and hence it can not be used directly for any useful application. We do need some kind of electronic [...]
Preamble Solar technology is gaining popularity in many applications such as Rooftop systems, power plants, pumping systems, street lighting systems, etc. One of the important aspects to be kept in mind is the continuous maintenance of the system. An important point is the regular cleaning of solar panels. The solar panel has a toughened [...]
