Your Solar Electric System and Size

For people considering going off the grid to live the biggest obstacle after deciding where to go is how to go from traditional electricity that requires nothing more than the flick of a switch to using a source of power that may require more thought such as solar power. There are a lot of factors to consider if you are ready to go solar so you can better understand the choices you have in front of you.

First you should understand what your solar electric system looks like. A solar system consist of several components to make it run including solar cells, panels or modules, arrays and a balance of system equipment.

It’s fairly easy to break down the basics of a solar system to understand it better. Your solar panels are made up of solar cells. Small cells are grouped together to create a panel and those panels or modules are then grouped together to create an array. How many cells, panels and arrays you will need will depend on a wide variety of individual factors including your geographic area, how much direct access you have to sunlight and how big of an area you are attempting to run with solar power.

Other factors that will affect your solar electric system size include how much space do you have to put your system in and what type of balancing system do you have in place? Your balancing system requirements will dictate to some degree the size and number of arrays you need. For example you can choose to be grid connected in which case you are still hooked up to a power supply as a back up source of energy or you can opt to have a stand alone balancing system. If you have a stand alone system you’re drawing all of your homes energy from solar power.

You can also elect to use a hybrid system that works with a combination of solar electric power and wind power to run your home.
The type of balancing system you use will depend on what you want and what is available to you. If you are looking at a remote location where electricity is not available you may be limited to a hybrid or stand alone system. Wind power is still catching on as more consumers move towards less traditional power sources it and may or may not have become available in the area you live to consider using as a hybrid source of electricity.

When you are investigating solar electric systems, the size you will need will depend on a wide variety of individual factors, so there is no one answer fits all solution. Your best bet is to talk to organizations or people in the area you live in or are considering moving to and find out as much as possible from them. What works, what doesn’t work and what they would do differently are all questions that can help you form a better answer to your own solar electric needs.