Solar PV system has a various components that can be adjusted according to your needs. The main components of PV systems is consist of:
- – Solar panels are used for converting sunlight into DC energy.
- – Solar charge controller for adjusting the power voltage from the solar panels to the battery and prevent overcharging in the solar battery.
- – Solar inverter, to convert DC power into AC for household appliances.
- – The battery for storing electrical power and supplying power.
Design your solar PV system
Here are the steps before you buy a solar power system
1. Determine solar power needs
The first thing to do in designing a solar PV system is to determine how much power is used in a day. How to calculate the number of watts per household equipment used per day. By knowing how much power is needed, this will help you to determine the number of solar panels needed, how many capacities of inverter installed and how much battery size to buy.
2. Determine size of solar panel
The second thing is to determine the size of the solar PV panel by looking at how many peak watts each panels has. It aims to see if the power generated by the panel is sufficient to operate the equipment. For example, if a house requires 3kW and a panel has power 250W, then it takes about 12 solar panels to power the house.
3. Determine size of inverter
Then determine the size of the inverter. The input value of an inverter should not be less than the total watt of the equipment. At least the size of an inverter should be 25% to 30% greater than the total watt of the equipment. For residential scale usually require 2-4 kW inverters. Make sure the inverter has been tested for safety and proven quality.
4. Determine the solar battery
Next is specifying the type and capacity of the solar battery. In the present time, there are two types of batteries for PV systems on the market; lithium battery and lead battery. When discharging, lead battery never discharge more than 80% while lithium battery can discharge almost 100%. So that lithium solar battery are believed to be more effective than lead solar battery. When determining the battery also determine the capacity of the power shield and how long it will take to fully charge the battery.
5. Determine the solar charge controller on the battery.
There are two types of solar charge controllers: PWM and MPPT. PWM is used if panels and solar battery produce the same voltage. While MPPT can be used if the voltage between the panel and battery is different.
