You may be at the very beginning of your solar power journey and planning to become energy independent by investing in renewable energy. Or, you may even already have solar panels installed and have taken a moment to ask yourself, how does solar energy actually work? Whatever stage you are at, Recharge Renewable aims to provide visitors a detailed look at how solar energy is turned into electricity and how it can be used for your home or business. This is information you can use to be more confident when investing in solar power, or when looking at your own existing systems.
So, where do we start with this? Letâs start from the source, the sun.
Solar energy originates from the sun, which emits vast amounts of radiation, including visible light, infrared, and ultraviolet rays. At this stage, most people will remember their GSCE science days and recall that sunlight is key to many aspects of sustaining life on earth. Just as plants absorb sunlight for energy, so too can we harness the suns energy to create electricity. Solar radiation interacts with the earth in several ways. Some of it is absorbed by our atmosphere, including the Ozone. Some solar radiation is scattered but much of it is transmitted to the Earthâs surface which is where solar energy systems on the ground come in.
Donât worry, solar radiation does penetrate through clouds, rain and snow. That means, yes, your solar panels do work on a cloudy day. The thickness of clouds and rain do of course effect how much solar radiation reaches your solar panels. But they still absorb what comes through and can continue to produce energy. On average you can expect solar panels to absorb 10-15% their full capacity on a cloudy day.
This leads us onto perhaps the most important aspect of solar energy systems, the instruments of energy collection. Solar energy systems, including photovoltaic (PV) panels and solar thermal collectors, rely on the absorption of solar radiation to generate electricity or heat. PV panels utilise semiconductor materials to convert sunlight directly into electricity through the photovoltaic effect, while solar thermal systems absorb solar radiation to heat a fluid or medium for various applications, such as water heating or space heating.
The photovoltaic effect, wherein photons from sunlight strike the surface of solar cells within the panels, cause electrons to be dislodged from their atoms creating an electric current. The electric current produced by the photovoltaic effect is captured and channelled through conductive materials within the solar panels to generate direct current (DC) electricity. Thus you have just converted solar radiation into electricity.
In a final step the DC electricity is then converted into AC electricity which is suitable for homes, commercial buildings and the grid. This step is done by a component called the Inverter.
While all this energy transfer and conversion is happening, you are able to use the electricity inside your home and store it with solar batteries if necessary. A 3 bedroom house can be powered by a 3.5 kWh solar panel system, which is roughly 10 solar panels. Please feel free to get a free quote from us as every home or business will have its own unique requirements.
You can get solar batteries during or after the initial installation of solar panels. This helps to store the surplus of electricity you may accumulate during period of low energy usage. This helps greatly on those cloudy days as, even though your solar panels will still produce energy, the output of energy is reduced. It reduces your household or businesses reliance on the grid during low energy yielding periods. We go into more detail about solar batteries in our Batteries for Solar Power Storage blog. [link]
If you donât have solar batteries installed, you still get a benefit from the surplus energy that you donât use. That AC electricity that you donât need can be fed back into the electricity grid. This allows you to get credit from electricity companies. What this means is when you do need to get energy from the grid during low energy yielding periods, youâll have credit that can used towards the cost from previous surplus months. Thus effectively paying for your use of the grids electricity.
You can check your eligibility or find more information on that from the Governmentâs SEG programme.
Seems like a win, win to us!
We could speak to you all day about the benefits of solar power. In fact, be sure to save or bookmark our page as we will be bringing out more informative blogs in the near future explaining some of these points in more detail. For now however, we will just cover the basics. As we alluded to earlier, there are real monetary gains from using solar panels. Your household or business wonât have to rely on the gridâs energy, which is a rather attractive prospect in times of a âcost of living crisisâ. In addition, your surplus will get you credit from energy companies for situations where you eventually do need to borrow from the grid.
Of course, the one closest to everyone’s heart â saving the planet. We truly mean that when we say it. At Recharge Renewable we believe in the power of solar and renewable energy and its longevity. It is the future, not just because of the changing social and political opinions. We have seen this sector grow for the past 10 years and donât see any signs of it slowing down. More and more UK citizens not only want to be energy independent but want to live off clean, sustainable energy.
Naturally, there are limitations as always and we would not be doing our job if we didnât point them out. While there are government and even private grants for solar panels, it still requires an investment. You should still expect to pay a sum up front for the materials and solar energy systems. While it will be repaid in time, not everyone has the up front costs to hand. It also requires you to own your home. With that, you have to consider the space needed. Not all roofs are built the same so installation can vary in cost or difficulty. Larger houses have a bigger roof area, so more panels can be installed. But each house needs to be treated on a case by case basis which is why we always recommend speaking directly with your chosen installer about your requirements.
To wrap up, solar energy is an excellent option for home owners looking to invest in their long term energy savings. It is also a great choice for business owners of warehouses or bricks and mortar establishments who want to use their commercial space wisely and rely less on the grid. In both cases there is money saving effects and a better carbon footprint for your home or business.
Feel free to look at our Solar Panel service page for information on what Recharge Renewable can offer, or get in touch below.
If youâd like to discuss a quote or have any questions or queries please give us a call, send an email or use the contact form. We look forward to hearing from you!
