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The Science of How Solar Power Generators Operate

A solar power generator uses photons from the sun and converts them into usable DC electricity. For a user friendly system, you must include a battery bank and an inverter to utilize the power in a form that we use daily.

Author: Jason Smith
Date: Nov 16, 2011 - 10:24:21 AM

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Solar power is free if you have the right hardware set up, but you must know how solar power generation operates to establish a proper plan.

A solar power generator converts photons produced by the sun and converts them into usable DC electricity. If you want a user friendly system, you must include a battery array and an inverter to use the electricity in a form that we use daily.

Our buildings and equipment run on AC power. Alternating Current, not Direct Current, is what we depend upon in our daily lives. To alter DC into AC an inverter is used. The inverter rectifies the electrical power and creates normal AC current for you to operate appliances normally.

The battery bank is used to store the DC electricity that is captured by the photovoltaic cells of your solar panels. The batteries which are usually similar to car batteries hold 12V and based on the size can produce “X” number of Amps for an hour. The larger and more expensive the battery, the more Amp-Hours you get.

Basically, you can picture a solar power generator as a series of devices that alter sun light into usable electricity: the photovoltaic cells change the sunlight into DC electricity, the DC electricity keeps the batteries charged, when you turn something on, the inverter taps the battery bank and delivers AC electricity to you.

Often times a solar power generator is pictured as running small appliances like camping stoves, outdoor lighting and is sometimes used in emergency backup situations. However, there are very large solar power generators that do supply a huge amount of power to commercial businesses. These have been used to power nearly all of a hospital in Haiti, they have been used to set up emergency power generation in disaster zones and they have found further applications in small island villages.

Whether you are trying to find a green solution to power generation or trying to supplement inadequate power for your needs, a solar power generator could be a possibility. Even using this technology on an industrial roof top will provide significant power to run refrigeration and lighting. Therefore, if you think a solar power generator is a good idea for your application, consult an experienced professional.

Especially if you’re alternative energy need is for industrial and commercial use, experienced engineers can help you establish the bottom line for such a project and make sure you get the right system designed for your needs now and into the future.

Jason Smith is a writer-advocate for solar power generator, alternative energy sources, water purification systems and more engineering topics (click the link to find out more). Smith helps small municipalities and island nations find the right fit for their basic needs in terms of water, electricity and renewable energy.

View all articles by Jason Smith

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