Creating Solar Power Systems For The Home And Recreation

The sun's energy can be used to create electricity to power homes, businesses and many remote devices and vehicles. There are quite a few systems around these days and while in many cases it is obvious which system is the best fit for your needs this is not always the case. This article will cover some of the solar power systems and discuss which one is more suited for your requirements. If we consider an RV, for example, the ideal solar power system would be a portable system. These systems are economical, as they have a smaller number of solar panels and batteries than a larger stand-alone system. They may be moved around so that they can make the most of the sunny conditions depending on your location.

A stand alone solar power system is configured with a number of solar panels. The more solar panels the more electricity can be created. The electricity is stored in a battery or a series of batteries.

The batteries store DC current and this needs to be converted to AC current using an inverter. The grid tie system is a popular option for many people new to solar energy or don't want total responsibility for creating their electricity. A grid tie system has all the components of a stand alone system but it is still connected to the utility grid so that electricity can come from either the solar panels or from the more traditional utility companies. In this system there is generally no need for a series of batteries because the electricity that is created is essentially stored by the utility company. This obviously makes it a lot easier to operate and maintain as the utility company will install and maintain it.

Eventually, as people become more experienced with solar power they will move towards a completely stand alone system. That is an off the grid system. They will become completely self sufficient for energy needs. Of course this requires more management by the individual and more responsibility but it is cheaper than using grid power and more environmentally friendly. A completely off the grid system will have more than one inverter. In most cases this will be two so that the solar power system can handle energy heavy appliances like heating and air conditioning systems.

Two inverters also makes the system more robust such that if one inverter was to fail the system as a whole would still be operational. Off grid systems are often installed in outlying or remote areas where there is no grid system to connect to. The solar power system could be the only source of electricity and would be essential to the survival of the individual property or the community in the area. Hybrid systems are generally the best way to go when attempting to go self sufficient in energy creation or when in an isolated area. A hybrid system uses two or more energy creating systems in conjunction.

So you may use your solar power system during the day and then rely on wind power at night. Or instead of wind power you might use a normal generator that is powered by diesel or gasoline. Again, it depends on how much time or money you have but to have as many contingencies to your solar power system is the best way to go as you can't always rely on the sun. So why not have a solar/wind/generator system.

This would be more complex to operate but would cover your energy needs no matter what type of weather you experienced.

Learn how to live with an off the grid solar power system and information on heating with solar at my solarpowerappliances website.