Basics of Solar

The energy conversion process has always fascinated us. So to begin, we start with sand, particularly the Silicon in the sand. When solar cells are formed they are formed with pure silicon that is doped with impurities such as phosphorous or boron to create N-Type and P-Type cells, respectively. This creates the crucial positive and negative differential needed for the energy in photons to push electrons from the N-Type side to the P-Type side, thus creating a steady flow of electrons, or electricity. This technology was originally discovered by nineteen-year-old French physicist Edmund Becquerel, while experimenting with an electrolytic cell made up of two metal electrodes. Since then the technology has been developed and refined to be the efficient powerhouse that it is today. Thanks Edmund!

Now that we have our steady flow of electrons, or electricity, its time to convert it into a form your home can use. This is what's called Inversion. When your solar modules generate energy, it's generating DC or Direct Current electricity. Unfortunately, thanks to Nikola Tesla, your home does not run on DC, but on AC or Alternating Current. So when the energy comes from your panels, in order to use that energy, we must convert it from DC to AC. There are a few different types of inverters that are common in the industry today, Central Inversion and Micro Inversion. There are a few crucial differences between these two processes, essentially location of inversion, and the effect this has on the efficiency of the panels. Here we will go into the difference between the two inversion processes as well as some analogies to help you visualize what is really going on.

Once the energy is converted to AC, it simply is wired into your breaker with respect to National Electrical Code or NEC. Your home or business is now literally running off of the sun. What a fantastic world we live in where we can pull useful energy from our infinitely renewable resource, the sun. Because the majority of electrical work for most homes have already been done it is easy to wire in the energy generated by the Solar Modules. But now you might be asking yourself, "What happens at night?" or "What happens to the excess energy that my system will generate?"

For all intents and purposes, you can think of the grid as your own personal Solar Energy Storage System. When the sun is at its peak, and your Solar System is generating energy at its maximum, you are producing more energy that you are using. But where does that energy go? Back to the grid! Yes the energy that you produce in excess goes right back to the grid through your meter, your meter tracks how much goes in and come out of your system, creating a net balance "Bank" that you essentially deposit and withdrawal energy from. This allows you to supply energy to other homes that are wired to the grid when you are generating more than you need, and use that credited energy when your system isn't producing, like at night.