Increasingly, Russian residents are equipping their homes and apartments with autonomous power or water supply systems. This is not surprising at the rate of growth in utility bills. For example, if there is no way to save on electricity without installing additional equipment, a good solution could be to purchase a powerful solar panel with panels for powering the entire house or a cheaper one that can provide power to part of the apartment. Of course, here you can not do without initial investments, but they quickly pay off. It is about such autonomy that will be discussed today.
Solar battery - what is it?
To be precise in the definitions, then such a battery in itself is useless for home autonomy. In order for the system to function, additional equipment is required. To convert ultraviolet radiation into electrical energy, you will need a set of solar panels, which is most often mounted on the roof of the house or on the outer sunny side of the apartment's balcony.
The power of the battery itself is very important - it is she who determines the amount of equipment that will work from such equipment. However, a lot depends on how many sunny days per year in a particular region. All the energy received per day by the elements for the solar battery (panels) is accumulated in the battery and consumed in the dark.
Them of which the solar battery consists
A similar system consists of 4 main elements:
- Panels that receive ultraviolet rays and transmit them to the transducer.
- An inverter capable of generating alternating current from direct current.
- Rechargeable batteries that store energy from panels.
- The sensor that controls the charge. It prevents the battery from absorbing excess energy and increases the efficiency of the entire system.
The cost of solar panels for a home can vary significantly, depending on their power and capacity (a set of 1 battery for 60 W, a battery, a controller, and an inverter will cost from 27,000 rubles without installation, while a set of 4 batteries for 230 W is more 300,000).
Advantages and disadvantages of such installations
If we compare the number of positive and negative qualities of solar panels (power does not matter here), then there are much more pluses than minuses. The main advantages include:
- no need to pay for electricity, which significantly saves the family budget;
- durability;
- maintenance is not required during the entire period of work;
- noise arising, for example, during the operation of a conventional generator;
- sufficient coefficient of performance (COP);
- Electricity generation is environmentally friendly - there are no emissions into the atmosphere.
The negative point of using such systems is the rather high price of solar panels. As well as weather dependence and the need for installation and wiring experience.
The price of solar panels and its dependence on efficiency
It should be noted right away that you should not expect too high a coefficient of performance from such systems. On average, it is 9-19%. The cheapest type of power generation (from 70 rubles per 1 W) can be called panels made of cadmium telluride - their efficiency is 11%.
A little more expensive (from 200 rubles for 1 W) will cost film products, the coefficient of which is about 9%. However, they are the easiest to install.
The most expensive are single-crystal silicon panels (1 set from 20,000 rubles.). They are more difficult to install, but have an efficiency of up to 19%.
Criteria for choosing equipment by capacity
Depending on what equipment the panels will be used for, their parameters are selected. That is why, before calculating the power of solar panels for the home, you should rewrite the characteristics of household and lighting devices on a separate sheet. After that, all power indicators are added up, and 30% is added to the obtained value. This is done so that there remains the possibility of connecting new equipment, which is becoming more and more in apartments every year.
When choosing, it is worth remembering that low-power batteries are used only for lighting a house and charging several devices. The middle class is already able to provide electricity to all household devices in the home. But solar panels of high power make it possible to additionally connect heating. If similar batteries are installed and the number of panels is correctly selected, this will ensure complete autonomy and independence from centralized power supply.
How to check the output power of the solar battery (panel)
Quite often, consumers complain about the mismatch of the declared equipment parameters with the real ones. This is especially true of photocells purchased on Chinese Internet resources. In order to make sure that the technical data are correct, you can use several methods. Of course, the most accurate, but at the same time expensive, is to turn in the panel to a specialized laboratory. But in Russia people are used to dealing with all issues on their own. In addition, extra costs are useless here, which means it is worth considering other options.
A more sophisticated way of self-checking
For its production, a special MRTT controller is required. The equipment is not cheap, but those who have encountered a similar problem know that the measurement error when using it is only 5%. You also need to have a slightly discharged battery on hand. All measurements are made in sunny weather at a temperature of at least +18 ° C. The procedure is as follows:
- the panel is installed at an angle of 45 ° to the sun's rays;
- the controller is connected to the battery, after which a photocell is connected to it;
- the parameters received on the display (voltage and current) must be recorded;
- indicators are multiplied.
The result will be the real power that the panel can produce.
It is worth noting that the readings of the MRTT controller will be true only if the panel current is higher than the battery capacity. Otherwise, the final power data should be multiplied by 0.95.
The simplest option for power tests
It does not require the use of expensive equipment. A normal multimeter is enough. Before checking the power of the solar battery, it must be positioned similarly to the previous version, and then set the tester toggle switch to maximum direct current. Having recorded these readings, you need to switch the multimeter to 10A and again record the data. It should be understood that the final result will have an error of about 10%. At the last stage, we multiply the product of the fixed indicators by a factor of 0.78.
Placement and switching of solar panels
Many believe that if the battery capacity is sufficient, the centralized power supply can be completely turned off, but this is not so. Such provision of electricity depends on weather conditions that a person cannot regulate. Indeed, if in winter there will be cloudy and snowy weather, which will linger in the region for 2-3 weeks, then regardless of the capacity of the solar battery or its capacity, one day the house will remain without electricity. Therefore, the system must be mounted correctly. This will allow (in case of lack of sunlight) to switch to centralized power without any problems.
The main work on switching is performed by the inverter. The wires of the centralized power supply and the solar battery are connected to it. Using special microcontrollers, such a device will independently switch the source if the battery is discharged and vice versa. Thus, the owner and his equipment are fully protected from power surges or voltage drops.
Even if in the region where solar panels are installed, there are always more sunny days, and the weather practically does not bring any surprises, do not forget about the possibility of equipment failure. No one is safe from breakdowns, and hardly anyone will want to be left without light and heat in the winter.
Battery switching options based on panel type
Here you can draw an analogy with LED strips that can operate on different voltages. Most often it is 12, 24 or 36 V. The only difference is that solar panels can produce 12, 24 or 48 V. It is on this that the option to connect the batteries will depend:
- at a voltage of 12 V, everything is simple - more than one battery is switched in parallel, which increases their capacity;
- 24 V - 2 batteries are connected in series. Installation of four, six, etc. is possible. The number must be a multiple of two (paired);
- 48 V - 4 (8, 12 ...) batteries with serial connection of 4 pcs.
Many prefer the latter option, but do not underestimate the voltage of 48 V - it is already considered dangerous to human life and health. For this reason, experts do not recommend the installation of such systems in the absence of proper experience and knowledge of electrical safety technology.
Some tips for placing batteries and panels
When installing such equipment, do not try to close the entire roof area. Placing the panels on the sunny side is quite justified, but where the rays rarely get, photocells are completely useless. The batteries themselves must be protected against moisture. Direct sunlight is also harmful to them. Child safety should also be considered, if any, in the home. Despite the fact that the voltage of 12 V is almost harmless for an adult, such discharge can cause serious damage to the baby’s health, even death, not to mention 24 and 48 V.
The best location for the battery will be the attic. If you plan to place on the balcony, then you can install batteries hardly along the walls. As for the general installation, rather detailed information is presented in the next video.
To summarize
Reducing utility bills is the dream of almost every resident of our country. If everything is correctly calculated, then installing solar panels with sufficient power to provide all the necessary devices and equipment with electric power will be the first and most basic step towards the complete autonomy of the house and independence from centralized power supply.
In the future, having drilled a well in the yard, the owner will be able to almost completely refuse the services of utilities. The only thing autonomy at home depends on is financial capabilities. After all, initially a fairly decent amount will be required, which will pay off only after 2-3 years. This means that it can be stated with full confidence that solar panels are a long-term investment, which over time will bring quite substantial dividends.