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Consider the sun as being a giant star in our solar system. It provides heat, light and ultimately life to our planet. Every day, as the sun’s heat washes over Planet Earth providing a form of solar power. In order to make use of this free and infinte resource, we must first understand What is residential solar power and how does it work?

The Basics of Residential Solar Power

The energy imparted from the sun arrives as heat radiation to the earth and other planets. This is known as UVA or UVB radiation. The benevolent sun is showering the earth with its warmth and light.

Most of the sun’s rays are bounced back into space as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere, but enough of is absorbed by the earth, giving us enough energy to fuel every home across the planet. Sadly, we still have not yet achieved this level of solar power production.

All those solar panels you see on rooftops and in back yards. They are a lot more streamlined these days. There was a time when only the rich could afford solar power for homes.

I’m about to get technical with you now. Don’t worry. I’ll go slowly!

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand how residential solar power works.

Residential Solar Power - The Science

Each solar panel is composed of a grouping of photovoltaic cells. These cells are usually made of silicon or other semi-conductive material. The cells are arranged uniformly with a positive and a negative end to create the solar panel device.

For best effect the panel should be placed to the south of the building. That way, you can capture the most amount of sunlight. When the sun hits the panel, the heat is absorbed into the solar cell as energy.

Scientifically, the light energy (aka ‘photons’) strikes the solar cells forcing electrons to be knocked loose.

Now that they are freed up, they rush to the other end of the array and in their motion, the selfsame electricity you use to power your appliances in your home is made.

Right now though, the electricity is still in a DC format (aka Direct Current). Traditional houses require AC current (aka Alternating Current), so some more work needs to be done to render this a useful operation.

Here, the residential solar power system starts to work its magic. The electricity from the solar panel is sent to a DC disconnect device. This device interrupts and changes the flow of the electricity from the array.

At this point you have the choice to use one of two methods to direct the electricity around your home. Should you choose to directly connect your residential solar power system to your homes electricity system, you will then need to pass the electricity through an inverter. This will transform your DC current into AC current for use around the house.

You are almost ready to use the electricity. It passes through the inverter to be used by your AC outlets in your home.

Your other option is to buy a few good quality deep cycle batteries and direct whatever extra solar energy you don’t use in the day into them so they can store it all up for a later date when maybe you might need it more.

In Conclusion

Using solar power for homes will lower your home electricity bills. When you establish your very own residential solar power system you will be pre-empting the future that undoubtedly will require sustainable alternative renewable energy.