How Solar Power Electricity Works

With the rising cost of electricity many homeowners are looking for alternative ways to generate the power they require, and lower their energy bills each month as a result. Home solar power systems are a great alternative energy solution for anyone looking for a clean and efficient system to provide the power their home requires. Modern solar power electricity systems are less expensive and more efficient than ever before and provide a near perfect alternative energy solution that can help you lower or even eliminate your monthly electricity bill by using nothing more than simple sunlight for fuel.

More Flexible and Less Expensive
These modern solar power electricity systems have seen dramatic improvements in recent years and are more flexible than ever before and less expensive as well. Because of this, many homeowners are installing one of these home solar power systems and dramatically reducing the amount of power they need to pay for each month. In addition to the savings, they can also feel good about using an alternative energy solution on their homes that is helping to eliminate the pollution associated with traditional power generation methods such as coal or oil.


How It Works
The way a typical solar power electricity system works is fairly straightforward and only requires a few components to provide your home with free power from the sun. It all starts with the solar panels that do the actual conversion of sunlight to electricity. They are able to perform this conversion through the use of photovoltaic solar cells that can generate a small current when exposed to sunlight. Each panel is a collection of these solar cells that have been connected together to provide a good bit of power as a complete panel. The power these solar panels produce is direct current (DC), which needs to be converted to alternating current (AC) before it can be used by the home.


Current Conversion
The conversion of the DC current supplied by the solar panels to AC current that can be used by the home is done by a device called an inverter. The inverter is typically a large device that is located near the electrical panel of the home. The inverter has a few responsibilities in a solar power system and the conversion of power is one of them. Another thing the inverter does is supply this converted power directly to the home for use. It is typically connected between the solar power electricity system, the home and the local power utility. It has the ability to switch the home between the power being supplied by the solar power system during the day and the local utility for power in the evenings.


Spinning Your Meter Backwards
The inverter is also in charge of directing any excess power your system generates during the day that is not being used by the home, back up the power lines to the local utility. The idea is to generate more power than you are using when the solar power electricity system is active and send the surplus to the local utility. This excess power will generate a credit for your home that can be used in the evenings to offset the cost of power you need to purchase when your system is dormant. If your solar power system is sized correctly, this back and forth trading of power should cancel each other out and you'll be left without a utility bill each month. In some areas you can even be paid for any excess power you generate beyond your home's needs!