What are the advantages of solar generated electricity?

 

Solar electricity generates energy without polluting the environment: no emissions, no noise and no waste. Solar panels require very little maintenance.  The amount of electricity produced by a solar system varies depending on the amount of sunlight available yet it produces long-term, reliable electricity.

 

A solar system can be installed almost anywhere under direct sunlight, making it more versatile than other renewable energy sources.  Sun Earth PV systems have been installed from small household rooftops to large utility scale power stations around the world.

 

What is Vertical Integrated Production?

 

A PV module manufacturer achieves vertical integrated production when they oversee the entire production process of solar modules.  It starts from silicon mining, ingot production, wafer cutting, to manufacturing solar cells and assembling modules. With this vertical integrated progress, the manufacturer controls the quality of every single aspect of the manufacturing process. Sun Earth manufactures solar modules using a vertical integrated production. This is how Sun Earth guarantees the highest quality of solar modules with a 25-year warranty.

 

 

 

Will a PV system work in cold weather?

 

PV systems also work well in cold weather. In fact, PV generates electricity from light, not heat. It will perform even better in cooler areas than in a hot area with the same amount of sunlight. Sun Earth’s 500kW system in Carano, Italy has a very good performance with temperatures under zero degrees Celsius.

 

How long will PV modules generate electricity?

 

The life cycle of a PV module depends on the quality of the solar cell. Top quality modules, such as the Sun Earth solar module with its own quality control in cell production, are designed to generate electricity for at least 30 years. With the Sun Earth 25 years limited warranty, solar modules are warranted to produce 80% of their original minimum power rating. In fact, most of the Sun Earth modules installed 20 years ago are still working perfectly now, producing over 95% of their original performance.

 

How to choose a PV module?

 

There are several important factors to consider when choosing a PV module.

 

The first is verifying the quality of the module through their certifications.  In Australia, the International Electrotechnical Commission’s Standards (IEC) is the authority for solar module certification.  Solar modules must also comply with IEC61215 and IEC61730 (Class A) in order to apply for Australian government rebates. There are some other safety standards widely used around the world, like Underwriters’ Laboratories (UL) and CE. The next step is check construction of the module.  It should feel solid when lifted.  Check that the junction box is firmly attached. Pay attention to the length of the warranty and make sure the company who manufactured it has a good reputation.

 

Investigate whether the solar module company has total operational control of their products.  Do they manufacture the module only with outsourcing the solar cell? Do they have an established business that will be operating into the foreseeable future?  Have their products proven reliable in many years of operation? Finally, what are the price points of the module and how do they compare?

 

What is the difference between mono-crystalline and poly-crystalline modules?

 

In general, the solar cell efficiency of mono-crystalline is slightly higher than the poly-crystalline. Sun Earth’s cell efficiencies are at about 16% and 17%.  However, when comparing the characteristics and performance of Sun Earth mono-crystalline and poly-crystalline modules, they are very similar. Sun Earth tests every single cell in our manufacturing process to ensure the power generated by both types of modules is as indicated on the label. That means the power performance of a 175Watt mono-crystalline module is almost the same as a 175Watt poly-crystalline module.

 

What is the warranty on the solar modules?

 

The warranty on Sun Earth solar modules is 25 years 80% power guarantee, 10 years 90% power guarantee, and 2 years materials and workmanship warranty.

 

How does a solar cell work?

 

Solar cells convert light into electricity.  To convert sunlight into electricity light must be absorbed in the solar cell.

 

Collecting sunlight to make electric current at the junction of two substances, photovoltaic (or PV) technology is the most harmless method of power generation.

PV is a direct current (DC) generator powered by the sun. When light photons hit the surface of a solar cell, electrons roam free in the silicon crystal structure forcing them through an external circuit (battery or direct DC load), and then returning them to the other side of the solar cell where the cycle recurs. The voltage output from a single solar cell is about 0.5V with an output that is directly proportional to cell's surface area (approximately 7A for a 6 inch square for a typical solar cell).30-36 cells are wired in series (+ to -) in each solar module. This produces a solar module with a 12V nominal output (~17V at peak power) that can then be wired in with other solar modules.

 

Once a light generated carrier is collected, it can be either extracted from the device to give a current, or it can remain in the device and gives rise to a voltage.  Generally, some of the light generated carriers are used to give a current, while others are used to create voltage. The combination of a current and voltage give rise to a power output from the solar cell.

 

 Do solar cells produce more energy than is used during their manufacture?

 

Yes. A module can regenerate the energy used in its manufacturing process in just one to four years, depending on the application and location. Solar cells have an energy payback time ranging from a few months to 6 years, depending on the type of materials, the type of solar cell and where it is used.

 

 

Is PV economical?

 

PV becomes increasingly economical as the size of the load becomes smaller and distant from grid power. If grid power is not available and the required energy is that of a typical household load, a PV system is usually the lowest cost option.  For consumer appliances, PV can be up to 100 times cheaper than battery power. For cases where reliable grid power is readily available, PV is usually not the lowest cost option, unless environmental impacts are factored in.  Even in these cases, the economic viability of PV varies.

 

PV is not technically or economically suited to large base-load power for utilities, but may be suited to power production for individual houses in locations with high peak electricity prices occurring during the day. For grid-connected applications, the costing of a PV system for a particular location and application needs to be considered on a region-by-region basis.

 

What are the advantages and disadvantages of PV?

 

In a number of applications, PV systems have several important technical advantages that make them the best choice for electricity generation. PV panels are extremely reliable and require low maintenance, they can operate for long periods and they are suitable for both large and small loads.  These characteristics make PV an ideal choice for both remote power and remote residential electricity applications. For such remote applications, a PV-based system is usually the lowest cost choice. There are a number of other advantages, such as the distributed nature of PV power production and the low lead times to installation, which may be beneficial in grid connected installations.  PV electricity generation is also environmentally friendly, with the lowest environmental impact of any of the electricity generating technologies.

 

The disadvantage of PV is its high cost compared to many other large-scale electricity generating sources. This applies to the use of PV for applications that are already tied to the electricity grid.  Another concern is that the power density of sunlight is relatively low. This means PV tends to be less suited to applications that are physically small compared to the amount of power they require. Although solar cars, solar trains, solar planes and solar boats have all been made and used, in general these applications are difficult for PV or other solar-based systems.

 

What are the components of a photovoltaic system?

 

The possible components of a PV system are a power conditioning sub-system, a storage mechanism, and other general components called “balance of system” (BOS)components. The power conditioning sub-system serves two functions.

One component of a power sub-system is often called a charge controller, which ensures that a battery in the system is charged from the pv array. The second component is an inverter, which converts the low DC voltage of the pv system into the same type of power (higher voltage AC) produced by a utility company Depending on the type of application, the inverter may also serve several other functions, such as battery charging or may disconnect the system from the utility when necessary. Another possible component of a PV system is the storage system. When included, this is usually battery storage, consisting of lead-acid batteries modified from those in cars in order to allow large amounts of energy to be drawn from them. Other system components are usually grouped under the term BOS and include the wiring of the array, the array mounting and battery housing.

 

The components of a PV system depend on what the system will be used to power. If the load is DC, then the inverter (which converts AC to DC) is not needed. Similarly, if the system is connected to the utility grid, the storage (and hence a charge controller) is not needed, while the inverter is.

 

Is there enough sunlight to make a contribution to the world’s energy needs?

 

Yes. The earth receives more energy from the sun in just one hour than the world uses in a whole year.