The word solar means “having to do with the sun” or “produced
or coming from the sun”.
This means that your solar system needs the sun. It does
not work in the rain, or during a snow storm, it can’t
be shaded, and it produces very little, or no power,
on a cloudy day.
There are three main aspects of a solar system:
#1. Solar Panels
#2. The racking or mounting of the panels to your roof
#3. The inverter
If you are using the solar system as a way to power your "off grid" home or cottage, and not
for the MicroFit program,
then we would have a 4th item, and that would be batteries.
The panels will take in the suns energy and convert it to DC power where it is then
transferred to the inverters. The inverters will then convert the energy from d/c to
a/c.
Solar systems need unobstructed access to the sun.
This means no shading if possible. Solar panels don’t
like being in the shade. Trees, overhanging roofs,
vent pipes, chimneys, other buildings, all can create
shade, so its important to carefully review your site
to access solar potential.
For the best production of power your roof should be facing South-East, South or South-
West. A North facing roof is not a suitable location for a solar system. To know if your
roof faces South, you can use a compass, or look at the sun at 12:00 noon. The ideal
roof has the sun shining directly on it between 9 am to 3 pm.
Solar systems are not 100% efficient at producing energy from the sun. By the time the sun's
energy is converted to electricity, and it reaches your meter, you will have
lost 25% of the energy through inefficiencies.
A good quality solar panel from
an established solar manufacture should produce energy for 30 years or more. There are no
moving parts in a solar panel. The inverter
has some electrical components that can wear out over time, this is why the inverter is
the only item that may need to be replaced during the MicroFIT contract.
A 425 watt solar panel x 4 hours per day = 1700 watt hrs per day. Then when you
subtract the inefficiencies for wiring, dust on the panel, connections, atmospheric
conditions such as smog, you are left with 1700 - 20% = 1360 watt hrs per day.
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