Photovoltaic solar power: the Basic Information and Components
Many are puzzled about the photovoltaic solar power products. Some people even mistakenly regard this kind of commodity as the ordinary solar panels out there. Maybe this is because when people see a solar panel, they think that they are all the same. Well in fact, solar panels have different kinds. It can either be for photovoltaic solar power or for thermal application. These two (2) kinds of solar panels will be explained further below.
What is Photovoltaic solar power?
On the one hand, the solar thermal panel is the one that refers to any system that utilize the heat coming from the radiation of the sun in producing hot water for houses, buildings and commercial establishments. This usually has different built from the other kind of solar power system. The differences and similarities between their components will be discussed briefly below.
On the other hand, another kind is the photovoltaic solar power system. If you will only research on the origin of its name, you will find out that the term means light while the voltaic means voltage, which is being used in electricity. If you will interrelate these two terms, you will realize that the photovoltaic concerns the generation or production of electricity and not just producing hot water. During the early times, this kind is actually only being used for medium to large scale applications. This is because the capital investment is really costly and very few are manufacturing panels for distribution to the market. Most of the time, solar farm sites are only being constructed in order to produce electricity that are directly connected to the grid and not for personal consumption only. However, due to the technological advancements, even small scale development using photovoltaic solar panel is now possible.
Now, what are the features and components of the photovoltaic solar power system and how does it differ from thermal systems? Let us take their components one by one.
The first component of the system is the solar radiation. This is actually very important but often forgotten by most people to include in the solar power system. Maybe this is because it is too basic so people just ignore it. Nevertheless, this first component is being used both by thermal and photovoltaic solar power systems.
Secondly is the solar panel. There are many types of solar panels depending on their efficiency. The efficiency rate will, of course, depend on the kind of materials used for the panel. There are some specific materials that can generate electricity or absorb heat even under the shadows. Hence, these are considered as more efficient. However, this type is still expensive today.
The third component would be the inverter. This is only applicable to the photovoltaic solar power system. This is because this inverter is only being used to convert the direct current from the panel into an alternating current. This current will then be transported through a power line to the substation. The substation can have power up or power down transformers. The power will then be transported to a transmission line from the plant or farm up to the grid for distribution to the houses and end-users.
Learn more about Photovoltaic solar power by watching the video below: