At a time when greenhouse gases and carbon emissions are severely harming the environment, clean energy is gaining popularity swiftly. Since 2011, two-thirds of the world’s solar power capacity has been built. India has, thankfully, kept up with the fast growth of clean solar energy. According to reports, solar energy production in India grew by an astounding 86% in 2017.
Solar energy is currently optimal not only for business but also household applications. Installing a solar power system has constantly decreased in price, but you may always choose for the do-it-yourself approach to keep expenses down. You may save money by installing a solar photovoltaic (PV) system yourself by following our straightforward guide to installing solar electricity. Here is a comprehensive look at how to construct and instal a solar energy system for your home:
Step-by-step guide to set up solar power unit
Step 1: Gather solar power components
Gathering the essential components of a solar power unit is the first step. You will need solar panels, a charge controller, an inverter, and a battery pack. In addition to these devices, you will also need a circuit breaker, a metre, an MC4 connection, and fuses. Remember that reading the solar panel module instructions is vital.
Step 2: Calculate your power load
Before beginning the solar installation process, it is essential to assess your home’s energy use. This is not complicated. You only need to make a list of the household equipment you use on a regular basis, such as the television, lights, fan, etc. Next, add the daily operating time of these appliances. Check the consumption length or run time, as well as the power rating, of your home’s electric equipment by perusing the specifications chart.
Calculate the Watt-Hour by multiplying the appliance’s runtime by its power rating. Follow this procedure for each electrical appliance, and then add the individual watt-hour values to obtain the grand total. You may also use an online off-grid load calculator to simplify this computation.
Step 3: Select and charge the battery
A significant disadvantage of solar energy is that it cannot produce electricity after the sun goes down. However, this issue can readily circumvented by utilising a battery. A lead-acid or lithium-ion battery stores daytime-generated solar energy and releases it at night. Assuming you have chosen the optimal battery storage capacity, this offers a constant source of energy. You will need a power controller to monitor the charge of your battery. These are located between the solar panels and the battery. These controllers are often equipped with a tiny LED light that indicates the battery’s charging status, and they regulate the amount of electricity that flows into the battery.
Step 4: Set up the inverter
Direct current (DC) is generated by solar panels, whereas alternating current (AC) is utilised by electrical appliances (AC). Inverter is a life-saving equipment that allows you to utilise electrical devices without adaptors. Inverters are available in various wattages and kinds, such as square wave, modified sine-wave, and pure sine-wave. The output of a modified sine wave is incompatible with some appliances, such as a refrigerator, whereas square waves are incompatible with others. Consequently, a pure sine wave inverter is the ideal option for your solar system.
Step 5: Fix the solar panels on your roof
Once the battery, controller, and inverters are ready, solar panel installation must commence. Choose the optimal location for the solar panels on the roof or on open land that gets an unobstructed supply of solar radiation. You may either create your own mounting stand or purchase one from the market. The tilt of the mounting stand should be about equivalent to your latitude angle. The correct orientation of the solar panels is essential for their functioning and upkeep. Therefore, it is crucial that the solar panels face the sun throughout the day.
In the last portion of this procedure, the solar panels are wired. A little connection box may be seen at the rear of the solar panel. The junction box contains both negative and positive polarity indicators. In the junction box of a large-sized panel, terminal wires with an MC4 connection are also present. If you utilise tiny solar panels, you will need to align the junction box with exterior cables manually. Use the black and red wires, respectively, for negative and positive terminal connections.
Connect the solar panels to the battery in Step 6.
The solar panels must be connected to the battery. In certain PV systems, these components are bundled, eliminating the need for further work. In situations when a single unit is not provided, you must construct series and parallel connections. You may create a series connection by connecting the positive terminal of one device to the negative terminal of another device. For a parallel connection, you must connect the negative terminal of one device to the negative terminal of another device, and so on.
Step 7: Setup stands for inverter and battery
Your domestic solar system is inadequate without battery and inverter stands. Again, you have the choice of building or purchasing the stands. Once the designated locations for the inverter and battery have been prepared, you may begin the wiring process. Start with the controller’s wiring. The leftmost connector is used to connect the controller to the solar panels. The second connector allows the battery to be paired with the controller. Connecting the controller to the direct DC load connection is the last connection.
A separate MC4 connection is required for connecting the solar panel to the charge controller. After connecting the controller to the battery, its LED lights should illuminate. Similarly, the inverter terminal must be connected to the battery terminal.