Depending on solar energy, wholly as part of off-grid living is rapidly gaining traction among people who are seeking freedom and want to live sustainably.
With an off-grid system installation, you no longer depend on electricity companies or the government for power supply. Have you been envisioning the big shift to off-grid solar? Keep reading to understand what it entails, its benefits, and its drawbacks, among other factors.
For a long time, most people have been dependent on utility companies and the government for energy provision. However, now with the off-grid solar system you don''t have to depend on the grid system for electricity supply.
The off-grid solar system allows you to generate your electricity by harnessing the sunlight. Therefore, an off-grid solar system works independently from the grid system to generate power for homes, businesses, RVs, and institutions.
More people are embracing the off-grid solar system to become energy-independent, reduce their carbon footprint, and minimize or eliminate electricity costs in the long run.
An off-grid solar system utilizes photovoltaic (PV) panels to charge the power storage systems, i.e. the batteries and solar generators.
An effective off-grid solar system must be able to provide electricity continually at night, during cloudy days, and in winter.
An off-grid solar system is composed of four key essentials, i.e. the solar panels, battery, charge controller, and inverter. All four elements are configured to work in harmony for an efficient off-grid system.
Solar panels or photovoltaic modules are the primary factors of a solar system. When hit by the sun, the solar panel cells produce DC (Direct Current). The DC is then changed into usable AC (Alternating Current), which is then used for lighting and powering appliances.
Shifting to off-grid living demands a robust power storage system, i.e. the batteries. Your storage system must be large to store enough power to keep you powered during the night and on cloudy days.
Solar Charge Controllers
The charge controller is tasked to standardize electricity voltage and current from the solar panel to the battery. It prevents the battery from getting damaged by excessive current.
There are two categories of charge controllers, the PWM (Pulse-width modulation) and the MPPT (maximum power point tracking). With PWM, the solar panels and batteries'' voltage must match. In MPPT, you can charge a battery with a higher-voltage solar panel.
The solar panels produce and batteries store electricity in DC form. Home appliances require AC electricity to operate. Therefore, the role of an inverter is to convert the DC electricity to usable AC electricity.
As stated above, the off-grid solar system comprises four elements, solar panels, inverter, charge controller, and batteries.
The solar panels are positioned in an open place or at the rooftop. They receive sun rays, which are then transformed into electricity. The solar charge controller transforms the electricity from DC to AC. If the electricity is generated in excess or unused, it is stored in the battery.
Here''s a step-by-step breakdown of how an off-grid solar system works:
Here are some advantages and setbacks of an off-grid solar system.
The on-grid solar system or the grid-tied system refers to a system where you get electricity supply from an electric grid, usually provided by a utility company. The on-grid system provides a reliable source of power.
With the grid-tied systems, you can benefit from net metering, which involves channeling excess solar power back to the grid, thus minimizing your electricity bills.
Off-Grid Systems: With an off-grid system, you 100% rely on the sun to generate electricity. If there is surplus electricity, you can store it in the batteries for future use. The electricity generated and stored is all you can rely on in an off-grid solar system.
On-Grid Systems: With an on-grid system, you can access electricity all the time, unless the grid system is down. If your off-grid system is not producing enough power, you can incorporate an on-grid system to supplement it.
If you have a relatively large off-grid system, you can generate more electricity than you can consume. Having a robust storage system is crucial for the storage the surplus electricity for future use.
However, most off-grid systems are designed to generate a certain amount of electricity in a day. Even though the systems are designed to be accurate, the weather may sometimes be unpredictable. There are days when the solar panels cannot generate electricity and the storage system is depleted. During these times, you can fall back on alternative sources such as on-grid systems.
If you are connected to the on-grid system, excess electricity is not channeled to the batteries like in off-grid systems. The surplus electricity is reversed back to the grid. Then you are compensated for the excess energy.
The system through which you can channel the excess electricity to the grid is referred to as net metering.
About United states off-grid systems
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