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How Solar Power Systems Work
A residential solar power system converts sunlight directly into electricity and is made up of 5 main components.
- Solar PV Panels
- Solar Electricity Inverter
- Mounting System
- Cabling
- Meterbox and Switchboard
1. Solar PV Panels
Numbering anywhere from 6 to 54 panels (or more) and connected in series solar panels convert the sun’s rays into DC electricity. Solar power panels can be mono, poly or thin film with each having its own performance characteristics.
Mono-crystalline solar power panels tend to have the best characteristics for Australian conditions with longer lifespans, higher power output and space saving advantages.
At Sunterra we have hand picked quality solar panels for our solar power systems from personally inspected producers overseas. Our main supplier, Solarfun is one of the worlds top 10 panel manufacturers and is listed on the New York stock exchange.
2. Solar Inverter
The solar inverter is an essential part of your solar power system and converts the DC electrical current produced by the solar panels into AC electrical current suitable for supply to your home and the electricity grid. Inverters can be transformer based or transformer less with transformerless inverters being smaller, lighter and more efficient than transformer based inverters. We exclusively use transformerless inverters for our solar power systems.
3. Mounting System
The mounting system secures your solar PV panels to your roof and shouldn’t be overlooked when choosing your solar power system. We use Clenergy mounting brackets that are designed to last a lifetime and require no drilling through tiles.
4. Cabling
Using the right cables and minimising cabling distance ensures maximum efficiency of your system. Our experienced installers use only premium quality cable and know how to design a system in such a way as to maximize its efficiency.
5. Meterbox and Switchboard
Your meterbox and switchboard connect to the solar power system to the electricity grid to enable you to participate in the energy buyback scheme and feed in tariffs in operation. In most cases a new meter is required and this can be easily arranged through your utility company (don’t worry we show you how).
Like to know more? Find out how the performance of your solar system is affected by conditions at your home here and then find out how much you can save here.