What is Solar PV?

Solar Photovoltaic panels, or Solar PV, turn daylight into free electricity. What is Solar PV? Solar PV refers to panels that create electricity.

The term ‘solar panel’ can refer to panels that generate electricity, and those that generate heat. 

A DC electrical current is generated when light strikes the Solar PV panels. 

This DC current then travels to an inverter, which converts the electricity from DC to AC.

This will power your business from lighting to industrial electrical needs. 

Below, we explain exactly ‘what is Solar PV’.

How solar pv works

So, How Does Solar PV Work?

Step 1: What is Solar PV? – How The PV Panels Work

Every day, the sun radiates more energy than the world uses in an entire year. Because of this we can harness this renewable energy source by using solar PV systems use cells to convert sunlight into electricity.

This is made up of one or two layers of a semi conducting material, usually silicon. It creates an electric field across the layers causing electricity to flow. The greater the intensity of the light, the greater the flow of electricity.

PV cells are referred to in terms of the amount of energy they generate in full sunlight which is known as kilowatt peak or kWp. 

The solar cell is the basic building block of Solar PV technology. These cells are wired together to form a module (PV solar panel). What 

Step 2: What is Solar PV? – The Job of The Inverter

The modules gather solar energy in the form of sunlight and convert it into Direct Current, or DC electricity. An inverter can convert this DC power into Alternating Current, or AC power, which is the type of electricity used in your home.

PV modules are joined together to form a PV Solar Panel system. Large PV systems can be integrated into buildings to generate electricity. The revolutionary SolarEdge DC-optimized system integrates solar energy production with battery storage and smart energy products. Which is all under the control of a single SolarEdge PV inverter.

In any PV system, each module has an individual maximum power point. Differences between modules are unavoidable in PV installations. With traditional inverters, the weakest module reduces the performance of all modules.  

With SolarEdge, each module produces the maximum energy, and mismatch-related power losses are eliminated including more PV power, higher system visibility and advanced safety features.

Step 3: Where the Electricity Goes From The Inverter

From there, The AC power goes into the appliences within the home (Lights, Washing Machine, Kettle, etc). From there the Solar Panels will begin to charge your battery, which will be used as the power source at night or when there is little to no day light outside.

Delivering free, real-time remote monitoring and comprehensive analytics at the module, string, and system levels, SolarEdge ensures that the installation is performing to the best of its ability at all times. With pinpointed and automatic alerts for immediate fault detection, accurate maintenance.  

Step 4: What Happens With any Excess Electricity?

Any excess electricity that the system produces goes into your battery. As a result, if the battery is full and you keep producing electricity, it then goes back to the grid.
 

The SolarEdge system topology enables efficient use of all available roof space through unprecedented design flexibility, for both commercial and residential projects.

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About us

SolarCo is now Ireland’s leading Commercial Solar PV installer. Our goal is to help you futureproof your business and make huge savings on your electricity bill by generating your own  free, clean electricity.

With reference sites across Ireland and
hundreds of happy customers, you know that you can count on us for reliable and efficient service.

SolarCo is a member of the Micro Renewable Energy Federation and is registered with Safe Electric Ireland.
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