Building PV friendly houses. East-looking roofs will cost you less

Due to the development of renewable energy sources (RES), the growing environmental consciousness of society and government support, more and more entrepreneurs decide to invest in the construction of solar photovoltaic stations. Today, you don’t have to be an oil tycoon or even mine coal to make money on energy. It is enough to find a piece of land and correctly use the sun’s rays. It reach the surface of the Earth in sufficient quantities throughout the year. The rules for the construction and operation of solar power plants, as well as the possibilities for generating and selling green energy, are clearly regulated by legislation in each country.

In most countries of the world, the return on investment in solar energy systems for homes and solar energy installation remains quite high. Moreover, due to high electricity prices and declining prices for solar energy for homes, a solar farm today is profitable much faster. The success of the project depends not only on the price of electricity produced, but also in many respects on optimally selected components, a well-thought-out method of financing, and the effective development of investments.

Engineering design of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.

A modern home solar PV system consists of many photovoltaic modules, as well as elements that adapt the generated direct current to the needs of the consumer (transformer substations). If the system is to supply electricity at night, the engineering team must design an appropriate energy storage system (batteries).

Components of photovoltaic systems include:

• Solar cells and panels.
• Support structures.
• Voltage controllers.
• Current inverters.
• Protection systems.
• Batteries.

Solar cells and panels.

The basic electronic device used to convert solar energy into electricity through the photovoltaic effect is called a photoelectric cell or solar cell.

It is like a semiconductor material in which, as a result of the absorption of radiation. Silicon is the most prevalent material utilized in the production of solar cells today. The highest efficiency is in gallium arsenide (GaAs) cells. But these chemicals are very expensive and therefore used mainly in space projects.

A typical solar cell consists of a crystalline or polycrystalline silicon semiconductor wafer with a barrier, such as a PN junction. The thickness of the element plates is 200-400 microns. There are metal connections on the front and back of the plate. Which are contacts and allow the plate to act as a photovoltaic cell.

Monocrystalline solar cells have the highest conversion efficiency of any silicon cell. But they are also the most costly to produce. Cells made of polycrystalline silicon consist of cubic silicon blocks produced using a special technology.

Accumulators for solar systems.

The easiest way to store the energy produced in photovoltaic systems is to use rechargeable batteries. Especially since photovoltaic cells generate a constant current suitable for charging such batteries. A charged battery guarantees power supply in the absence of insufficient solar radiation.

Compared to the demand for other batteries, the market for batteries for photovoltaic systems is very small today. Most batteries used in photovoltaic systems are inexpensive lead-acid devices.

Today, investors can expect quality batteries of this type to last 7-8 years. Today, this area is actively developing with the participation of battery manufacturers such as Tesla. At the same time, non-standard technologies are being developed, such as cryogenic energy storage.