SOLAR POWER

It is very common question by solar customers "Do solar panels work on cloudy days" 

Read on for a few of the possible scenarios-  Scenario 1: Net metering Scenario 2: Feed-in Tariff  Scenario 3: Parallel Generation

Photovoltaic solar panels are designed to be very simple and durable. Mainly these five layers are involved for solar panel manufacturing  - 1. Anti-reflective glass ( High light transmission) 2. EVA encapsulent layer (Protection for solar cells) 3. Crystalline silicon cells (collect & transmit solar energy) 4. PVF back sheet (Durable final protection layer) 5. Junction box (waterproof wiring container)

By Ranveer Yadav This question pops up in the FAQs of nearly every solar-related website and seems to be a great source of fear for many considering the switch to solar. Fear not, however, as we’re going to break down all the required maintenance for solar panels! Whether you live in the ever-dependable rain of the Pacific Northwest, the snowy Midwest, or the relentless sun of the South, read on to soothe that nagging fear of the unknown. The first thing to know is, if you sign up for a  solar lease or Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) , your solar company should include all necessary maintenance in the monthly payments you make. After all, they own the system, so they have a vested interest in keeping it working in tip-top shape. If, on the other hand, you own the system through a loan or cash purchase, you’ll need to know about regular maintenance. Read on! Periodic Maintenance Unless you installed some fancy sun-tracking equipment, your solar system will ha...

By- Ranveer Yadav Despite the tumultuousness of the so-called “solar coaster,” the solar industry’s growth trajectory is incredibly promising. Over the last seven years, solar's share of U.S. electrical generation grew from a paltry  0.1 percent to 2 percent . Of course, that still leaves a huge potential market for solar contracting companies. Despite the room for growth, being a solar salesperson comes with a number of challenges. Many customers have little knowledge of solar energy, and the size of the investment may make them hesitate. So, when you are selling solar installations, you need to embrace both traditional and contemporary methods in order to produce the sales numbers you need. In today’s article, we explore a variety of sales approaches that solar companies have found to be successful. Partnerships As every sales person knows, selling is much easier when you have solid leads--so it’s helpful to think creatively about partnerships that can help you id...

If you work in the solar industry, you know that the amount of solar energy available at a proposed project site is one of the most fundamental factors for determining whether installing solar makes sense for a customer. Obviously, the amount of solar energy—also referred to as irradiance or insolation—where the array will be sited will determine how much energy it can potentially produce. By-Ranveer Yadav There are a number of different metrics for expressing the amount of solar energy at a given location, however. Whether you’re new to the industry or are just looking for a refresher on some of the key terms and metrics for expressing how much sunlight will reach your solar array, today’s article has you covered.   Irradiance maps, like this one above, which visually communicate how much solar energy is available at each point on a roof. (Brighter colors indicate greater irradiance.) 1. Irradiance and Insolation Irradiance and insolation are perhaps two of t...

Solar vs. Coal, a Tale of Two  Trains by Ranveer Yadav Clickable references: 1. Average size and weight of coal trains –  Trainorders.com 2. Pallet of SolarWorld SW320XL panels –  Wholesalesolar.com 3. EIA Energy Review for 2016, tables 7.2b and 7.3b –  US EIA 4. 1 ton of freight 470 miles on 1 gallon of fuel –  CSX 5. ~940 miles per train trip –  Association of American Railroads , 2013 6. Assuming 320W STC per panel, 4 hours peak sun per day, 20% loss from wiring/inversion, 365 days per year 7. Assuming 14,400 tons of coal per train, 1 kWh per pound (see reference #3). 8. LCA of Photovoltaics –  National Renewable Energy Laboratory 9. 4,350 tons per acre, when the coal is 30 inches thick –  Kentucy Coal Education 10. 980 g CO2-eq/kWh –  Journal of Industrial Ecology , 2012 11. Environmental impacts of coal power –  Union of Concerned Scientists 12. 13,000 k...

By- Ranveer Yadav Costs Associated with a PV System In order to determine financial returns, it is important to have a solid understanding of the basic economics that dictate PV system costs. There are two general categories of PV systems costs: capital costs and operation and management (O&M) costs. Capital Costs Capital costs refer to the fixed, one-time costs of designing and installing the system. Capital costs are categorized into hard costs and soft costs. Hard costs are the costs of the equipment, including modules, inverters, and BOS components, as well as installation-related labor.  Soft costs include intangible costs such as permitting, taxes, customer acquisition costs, etc. Figure 1. Cost breakdown of PV systems. Figure 1 illustrates the relationship between soft and hard costs, and breaks down hard costs into its components. According to SEIA, while hard costs have come down dramatically over the last decade, soft costs have remained largely c...

Effects of Shade on PV output Since PV systems generate electricity based on the amount of sunlight they receive, it makes sense that when a shadow is cast on a panel, for example by a nearby tree, its power output decreases. However, the decrease in power could be a lot worse than it initially seems. Figure 1. Solar panels in partial shade. Intuition suggests that power output of the panel will be reduced proportionally to the area that is shaded. However, this is not the case. In book  Renewable Energy and Efficient Electric Power Systems  demonstrates how shading just one out of 36 cells in a small solar module can reduce power output by over 75%. Water Flow Analogy To conceptualize why shading results in such severe losses, it is helpful to use the analogy of water flowing in pipes. The flow rate of water through the pipe is constant, much like the current through a cell string is constant for a given irradiance level. Figure 2. Analogy of a water pipe t...