Re: Solar Electricity

MarcB wrote:
Doug Laidlaw wrote:

My Retirement Village is switching to solar power. Applications have gone
in, but I don't know when it will happen. Excess solar power will be fed
back to the grid.

I missed the residents' info session, and my questions would have been too
technical, anyway. I really have only two at this stage:

a) In the specifications, the details for a battery were blank. Could
that
be right? Some details were omitted if standard, but these specs are to
support a Government grant. Perhaps we use the grid when the panels don't
output enough, but I would have expected a battery to even out short-term
fluctuations, e.g. when a cloud passes the sun.

b) Is my computer likely to be affected? It is a tower with a standard
switch-mode PSU. Only a model number for the inverter is given, but with
only one in the house, it would have to be suitable for everything, so I
would expect it to be sine-wave.

Doug.

I have solar panels at home myself.

The reason why you don't see battery specs is that your system is connected to the grid.
So solar panels and the grid are both working at the same time
The moment you consume more than the panels produce, extra power is taken from the grid. When the panels produce more than you consume, the surplus power goes into the grid and your meter is counting backwards.
There is no switch that switches either to the grid or to the solar panels,
both are continuously connected.
There is a safety regulation that forbids solar panels feeding power when there is no grid power is off.
The reason is that if grid power is cut for maintenance works, people with solar panels continue to feed power onto the grid and maintenance workers risc being electrocuted.

When a solar panel system works in "island mode", there is no connection to the grid and surplus power is used to charge batteries. when there is no sun the batteries will take over and feed power.
Normally this mode is only used for stand alone appliances like a phone booth, a parking ticket machine and things like that.





Excellent explanation!


here is a shot of a local system that belongs to a friend of mine

http://www.tdlelectronics.com/Barn/Barn%20Solar.html
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Force Automakers To Go Electric
    ... sources as well as power consumption points. ... V2G systems are part of grid management systems. ... I just bought a Camry Hybrid, and the battery pack has a better warrenty than the rest of the vehicle. ...
    (sci.energy)
  • Re: Solar Electricity
    ... the details for a battery were blank. ... Perhaps we use the grid when the panels don't ... So solar panels and the grid are both working at the same time ... The moment you consume more than the panels produce, extra power is taken ...
    (comp.os.linux.hardware)
  • Re: Stop giving ex-wives these undeserved millions, says Baroness Deech
    ... It has a market value. ... magically make oil and coal disapper with magical solar and wind power. ... standards favored in-state electricity generation which burned natural ... tree-hugger magic bean power and getting it from the grid from hundreds ...
    (soc.men)
  • Re: [Full-Disclosure] east coast powergrid / SCADA [OT?]
    ... >> power outage. ... >> to the next in a grid is a closed network. ... >> MSblast did not cause this, there have been warnings for the last ... >> around in the form of a hudge surge. ...
    (Full-Disclosure)
  • Re: Wind farms power questions
    ... Many of my friends use Solar ... I did research into keeping my future house in TX off grid. ... use of PG&E power you can get a grid tied inverter and go without ... Over all cost was mainly ...
    (misc.invest.stocks)
Loading