How Solar Generation Works

Many cells or tiny crystalline semiconductors made from silicon, boron, and phosphorous, combine to make a solar panel or module, and multiple solar panels combine to make a solar array. Solar panels are referred to as photovoltaic’s or pv for short (photo = light & voltaic = energy). Sunlight stimulates the solar panels which in turn absorb the sun’s energy. This occurs because the protons from the sunlight knock electrons into a higher state of energy, thereby creating DC (direct current) electricity. This DC electricity is sent to your power inverter which converts it to 120V AC (alternating current) electricity which is the type your home uses. The AC electricity is now available for consumption by your home. When you produce more power than you use, the excess power passes through your electrical meter and the meter will actually spin backwards as the power is sent back and recorded by the electric utility grid. During a sunny day you will most likely send excess electricity to the grid, and during the night you will consume your electricity from the grid. This is called net metering as you will both consume and also send electricity into the grid.

Going Green – Save The Planet:

The average system installed in NJ eliminates 10,000 lbs of CO2 (carbon dioxide) gasses every year. This is the environmental equivalent of planting 1.35 acres of trees for each year your system is in use. Installing solar today will help decrease your carbon footprint (the amount you as an individual contribute to carbon based pollution by way of your home, car, etc…) immediately. Energy production and consumption is a major global problem as demand is increasing while supply is alternately decreasing, which means higher pricing for energy. The cost of electric power has doubled in the last 7 years. That’s a rate of 9% per year. These numbers will continue to rise like this unless we do something about it now.

By going solar you are choosing to support the generation of renewable energy sources that diversify our energy supply and help create a healthier environment, better climate, and a better NJ. Diminishing resources, the increasing cost of fossil fuels, and the impact on the environment make choosing solar more important than ever before. Recent natural disasters and world events reinforce our need to tap into clean, renewable, and available energy sources. Reduced demand for fossil fuels will improve the environment by reducing air and water pollution as well as the heat-trapping gases that cause global warming. You will greatly reduce your carbon footprint and benefit in the long run because the sun is 100% free and will never run out as a fuel source.

Use of solar energy releases no CO2, SO2 (sulfer dioxide), or NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) gases and doesn’t contribute to global warming. Photovoltaic’s are now a proven technology which are inherently safe, as opposed to some dangerous electricity generating technologies. Over its estimated life a photovoltaic module will produce much more electricity than is used in it’s production, and a 1000W, (this number being used for example purposes), module will prevent the emission of over 1.8 tons of CO2 per year of use. Photovoltaic systems make no noise and cause no pollution in operation. Solar energy is clean, silent, and freely available.
As long as the human species lives on earth, the sun will continue to shine and provide the necessary heat and huge amounts of energy. Unfortunately, this energy is mostly going to waste. No one is taking advantage of it, so the dependence on electric companies is on the rise. Luckily, solar panels will capture the energy of the sun. These panels can help you save energy, save money, and save the environment.

Energy saving is something every person in the developed world should be trying to do. Most everyone has heard about compact fluorescent light bulbs, turning off the lights, and buying energy efficient appliances, but they are limited in the amount of energy they can save. Solar panels do not consume energy, they produce energy. They provide energy for your appliances, so you need less electricity from the electric company.

Money has become a big issue mostly due to the large rise in oil and coal prices. The electric companies can not withstand the rise in the price of these natural resources so they continue to raise the price of electricity. As a result, every watt you save from your energy consumption can make a huge difference in your pocket. Solar panels allow you to use sun energy as well as energy from the electric company to power your home. As a result, you use less electricity from the electric company and, consequently, pay less. The energy produced from solar panels is free, of course. Furthermore, if you produce more energy than you consume, you can sell it to the electric company and get paid for it.

The environment is a big issue these days, and some of the biggest polluters are the electric companies. The only way to minimize their pollution is to reduce the use of their service. This is exactly what solar panels do. They provide you energy so you can reduce your dependence on electric companies and save the environment.

Due to the growing demand for clean sources of energy, the manufacture of solar cells and photovoltaic arrays has expanded dramatically in recent years. Photovoltaic production has been doubling every 2 years, increasing by an average of 48% each year since 2002, making it the world’s fastest-growing energy technology.

NJ Energy Master Plan:

Energy plays a vital role in the health of NJ’s economy and environment. Over the past several decades, energy challenges have repeatedly awakened us to our growing demand for energy and regional and global competition for supply, and to our resulting vulnerability to high prices, supply shortages, and environmental impacts. Families who are barely getting by paycheck to paycheck can’t bear ever-increasing energy bills. Businesses need reliable supplies of energy at affordable and predictable prices to remain competitive. The production, distribution and use of energy, unless wisely managed, can threaten the economy of this state, the quality of our air and water, and the health of our residents.

Planning for this more responsible future must begin with understanding our current energy environment and challenges, and understanding what the future will look like if we continue on our current path. The consequences of our current path will result in an energy environment that will be less reliable, environmentally irresponsible, and will threaten to undermine economic growth in the state.

NJ’s goal is to establish reliable energy supplies that are both environmentally responsible and competitively priced. Building that future will require not only long-term actions, but also immediate investments that will help to ease our energy costs in the short term, create jobs, grow clean energy businesses, and establish the clean energy industry as a cornerstone of the state’s economy.

Growth in the supply of electricity has not been keeping up with the growth in demand. Our ability to maintain reliable, competitively priced supply is threatened by the fact that we have, over the past decade, consistently and dramatically increased our electricity demands at a time when the resources needed to supply this demand have consistently been reduced. Larger homes, more computers, plasma televisions, and other devices have increased our demand significantly and are likely to continue to fuel a higher demand that is not matched by growth in the capacity to satisfy this demand. Between 2002 and 2007, electric generation capacity in NJ increased annually at an average annual rate of .71%. Peak demand is expected to keep growing faster than supply has grown. It has been calculated that peak demand in NJ from 2008 – 2018 will grow at an average annual rate of about 1.75%. This projected growth in peak demand is about 2.5 times as fast as supply has grown in recent years. We need to continue progress in fixing this system by using renewable energy.

The price of energy, along with becoming increasingly volatile, has increased substantially over the past few years, and this trend is expected to continue. Without action, our contribution to global warming and other pollutants will continue to increase. The state has much less authority over the supply and price of electricity than it used to. If nothing is done to address these challenges, total energy consumption will cost customers close to 96% more than 2005 prices by 2020, and greenhouse gas emissions would increase more than 7% during the same time period.

We must maximize energy conservation and efficiency. Reducing energy consumption through conservation and increasing energy efficiency is the most cost-effective way to help close the gap between supply and demand, lower energy costs, increase reliability, and lower the state’s contributions to global warming and other air pollutants. Reducing energy consumption by at least 20% by 2020, as Governor Corzine has directed, would yield annual electricity savings of nearly 20,000 GWh (1 gigawatt hour = one billion watt hours) per year and annual heat savings of nearly 110 trillion BTUs (british thermal unit or unit of measuring energy). This reduction in energy consumption will result in significant cost savings, and thereby fuel economic growth in the state.

Reducing peak electricity demand is something else we can do. Supplying electricity during the hours of peak demand is much more expensive, due to the need to call upon more expensive sources of generation, than electricity supplied during times of non-peak demand. During these times, wholesale electricity prices may increase by anywhere from 100% to 1,000%. Solar panels will drastically reduce the peak demand because of the solar electricity generation, which occurs mainly during these times.

* Sunpower corp and pseg – have good pics of how solar works.

by Campbell’s Construction

If you are looking for a professional New Jersey solar panel contractor, please call us today at 732.623.9790 or complete our online request form.