Photovoltaic installations
Discover the secrets of how to transform sunlight into energy and savings.
You've probably heard about renewable energy more than once and how it helps maintain our current lifestyle, offering the planet and our wallets a well-deserved break. However, beyond having seen some installations and knowing the main source of their resources, do you really know how solar energy works?
Solar energy is generated by harnessing sunlight using photovoltaic panels, which convert solar radiation into direct current electricity. This energy is transformed into alternating current through an electrical inverter, ready to power the appliances and electrical equipment in your home or business.
Types of facilities
Nowadays, photovoltaic installations (better known as solar panels) carried out in Spain are mainly for self-consumption or isolated consumption. This type of installation is where the client adds devices to take advantage of solar energy while remaining connected to the general electricity grid.
These installations are divided into two distinct groups: those connected to the grid and those that are autonomous.
In grid-connected installations, the electricity generated by the panels is consumed during the day, while normal consumption from the electrical grid is used at night or during production surges. In addition, this connection allows the surplus energy produced to be injected into the electrical grid, thus offering an alternative way of using it through financial compensation for the energy produced and not consumed.
- Pay only for electricity that comes from the grid, greatly reducing your bills.
- Get compensation on your electricity bill for the generated and unconsumed energy that you pour into the grid.
- There is no need to invest in energy accumulators or batteries.
Autonomous installations are those that have an isolated system, using only the energy generated by the connected panels. For this reason, this type of installation is usually accompanied by the use of batteries, in which all the unused energy produced is stored for later use, such as during the night and hours without sun.
- Continuous supply even in remote or rural areas where there is no access to the electricity grid.
- Ability to maintain energy even during times of low solar production, such as at night or on cloudy days.
- 100% free electricity, regardless of the electricity price market.
- Generate and consume clean, renewable energy, significantly reducing carbon emissions.
Elements of a photovoltaic installation
Therefore, although they may seem different, the photovoltaic installations we see every day work in the same way in residential or single-family homes, in company buildings, in industrial warehouses, and even in livestock areas, among many other locations.
Solar panels
They are the basic equipment in any solar installation. The solar panel is responsible for capturing sunlight and transforming it into direct current electricity through its photovoltaic cells.
Electric inverter
The electrical inverter is the component responsible for transforming the direct current coming from the solar panels into alternating current, ready to be used by the household appliances. In addition, the electrical inverter is responsible for monitoring the photovoltaic production of the solar installation. The electrical protection panel, necessary in a photovoltaic installation, will be placed next to the inverter.
Accountants
The electric meter of a solar installation is the device responsible for recording the electricity taken from the electrical grid, as well as the surpluses produced in the solar installation itself and eventually fed into the grid. It is, therefore, a bidirectional meter.
Batteries
Normally used in installations disconnected from the electrical grid, they are the elements responsible for storing the electricity that is generated and not consumed in an installation disconnected from the electrical grid; at night they dump the accumulated electricity.
Despite the complexity of the systems, the installations basically consist of the same elements and components, varying only in quantity, form or power according to the needs and resources of each client.
We carry out complete projects
However, the assembly of all the elements is only the initial part of an installation. It is necessary to correctly adjust the installation to the actual consumption of a client in order to truly take advantage of the potential of solar energy and thus maximize energy savings.
For this reason, it is advisable to rely on a company like Frida Solar, which is specialized and has proven experience in this type of project. As a solar engineering company, we carry out and size the project that best fits the profile and needs of each client.
We manage, at no additional cost, everything from the first permit that must be requested from the City Council, to the final report to obtain the public subsidies that may correspond to you (although it is the public bodies that, finally, grant the subsidies, but we request and manage them free of charge for our clients).
Whether for homes, businesses or communities, our wide range of solutions allows us to create customized systems that optimize comfort, reduce energy costs, and actively contribute to caring for the environment. A goal that we continue to follow and fulfill during more than 10 years of specialized experience as a solar engineering company.
