The Solar Energy Process Explained

Once mounted on your roof, solar panels operate by producing energy via the cells in these arrays. This occurs by something called a photovoltaic effect, where the sunlight produces electricity in materials by knocking on their exterior electrons.

From there, the electricity produced by these panels is guided to your inverter (or micro-inverter – depending on what platform you have). This source is then converted to AC electricity for use in your house.

The inverter mounted on your property will only use the solar power you first generated, and would only pull extra energy from the grid if it really requires it.

Some excess electricity that you have produced and do not use will be added to the grid for which you earn a designated feed-in tariff.

When your system is installed, your retailer will install a ‘bi-directional’ meter that tracks all aspects of incoming and outgoing electricity from your array.

When you collect your bills, they should take into consideration the lower sum of energy you require from the grid, plus any credits created from what you manufactured and did not use.

You don’t need to turn it on in the morning or off at night to get the best out of your array. It’s going to do its own thing to automatically power on and off when it’s needed, so there’s no need for you to monitor that closely. In fact, you ‘re not going to notice anything special in how your house functions with the way these panels operate – it’s discreet enough not to interrupt your routine, but it’s substantial enough to have a beneficial effect on your existing energy bills.

You’ll be able to see a variety of data about the system every day, like how much energy is generated in real-time, and the overall since it began running. Many inverters do provide detailed information on other components, depending on the setup you select.