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Articles
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| In the Neighborhood - August 2007 |
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remintola writes, "What on Earth is Photovoltaic?
Photovoltaic (PV) is actually just what it sounds: photo, from photon, which is the unit light particle and in this case, from the sun; voltaic from volt, the unit of electricity (pressure) which drives electrons. So, this is the form of direct current electricity derived from sunlight."
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Photovoltaic (PV) is actually just what it sounds: photo, from photon, which is the unit light particle and in this case, from the sun; voltaic from volt, the unit of electricity (pressure) which drives electrons. So, this is the form of direct current electricity derived from sunlight. Photovoltaic panels or modules contain solar cells made from silicon, similar to silicon semi-conductor chips, and capture the sun's energy by converting photons into direct electrical current by knocking electrons from the semiconductor to create electron flow. I am sure you have seen the PV panels, otherwise know as solar panels. PV panel is a more accurate term as "solar panel" can be confused with the hot water variety.
I wanted to write this article to let people know a little more about PV electricity, because I believe it is an up-and-coming trend which will allow people to derive power from the sun to flow back to the electrical grid, known as grid-tied or grid-connected, and could allow them not to pay for electricity. This kind of grid-tied system uses no batteries for electrical storage and is called "net metering", where an electrical meter will monitor the amount and flow direction of electricity to credit the consumer if there is an overage.
Currently, there are many local and federal incentives for installing and using these kind of systems. In the US, a great resource to determine what is available to you where you live is the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency.
General Steps to a New PV System
*Electrical usage assessment
*Energy audit
*Energy offset plan
*Site analysis
*Budget options
*Installation
The first thing to do when considering a PV system install, is to determine your current electrical usage and to find if there is any way to increase efficiency. You should know that most Americans use more electricity than is really necessary, due to avoidable energy losses like; poor home insulation, inefficient windows and appliances, incandescent light bulb use, etc. It doesn't cost much to consider wasteful situations and make changes (everyone should try and do this without a solar PV install anyway). Typically, for every dollar you save improving your home's energy efficiency, you'll save 3 to 5 dollars on solar system costs.
Energy offset is "just how much electricity do you want to produce with your PV system to offset your adjusted usage" (your more efficient use of electricity, if you are not already as efficient as you could be).
A site analysis would take into account how much sun reaches your house based on geographic location, angle of home/PV panel location to sun trajectory, how much of sun is blocked by trees of reaching the intended PV panel placement, and some other considerations such as panel mounting, inverter type, etc.
Budget options: electricity production from solar PV is not inexpensive and the payoff for a typical system varies, but is about 13 years. So you have to take all of this into account along with the incentives offered in your location. Also, the more efficient you can make your home, the sooner the payoff.
PV system installation will require contracting a company that is properly insured, trained in PV system design and installation, and can provide all of the above preliminary steps to ensure that the desired PV system outcome is achieved.
I am hopeful that this little article was useful information for people who may be interested in deriving some streaming energy that the sun has made available to all of us for so long. If nothing else, just taking an inventory of how wasteful our current electrical usage is would help save so much CO2 emissions.
If you live in or around Boulder, Colorado and are interested in more PV solar information or having a site inspection/assessment, you can check out www.flatironsolar.com, or call Bob at 303-775-4574.
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Posted on Jul 06, 2007 15:24pm.
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