Solar Powered Generator – How It Works

The way a typical solar power generator 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.  And it needs to be stored for when the sun is down (solar batteries).

Solar Powered Generator – 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.

Solar Powered Generator – Sell Electricity Back To The Power Company

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!

And if you use solar batteries to store some of the direct current electricity produced by the solar panels, you will have solar electricity to use when the sun goes down.

All of this depends upon the sizing of your solar powered generator.  If you can easily build a solar powered generator that can produce an excess of electricity year round, you will be able to make money selling your electricity to the power company.  If you can’t build one that large, you will at least be able to offset some of our electric bill.

Also see Solar Power Information – Cost of Installation

A solar powered generator is your secret to delivering “free solar electricity” to your home or office.