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Photovoltaic
Photovoltaics (PV), the technology which converts energy from sunlight into
electricity, is one of the fastest growing sectors of the renewable energy
industry.
 How it Works:
1. When sunlight strikes the semiconductor materials in a solar module
the solar energy knocks electrons loose from their atoms. The electrons travel
in the circuits built into the modules creating direct current (DC) electricity.
2. The DC electricity travels through conductors to an inverter where it
is converted into the alternating current (AC) electricity that is used in your
home.
3. When you are creating more electricity than you use your electric meter
spins backwards. When you are using more electricity than you are producing
the meter spins forward.
4. All the electricity that you produce with solar creates Alternative
Energy Credits (AECs) that can be sold for additional revenue.
Arvak Energy Solutions installs a wide variety of PV equipment and brands
and will work to find the most cost effective solution for your particular
needs. Contact
us today for a free estimate.
 Because its fuel is sunlight, a PV system reduces the amount of electricity
homeowners must purchase from the utility. The basic building block of
photovoltaics is the cell, usually made of doped silicon. The photons of
light cause electrons to flow in the cell producing about 1/2 a volt of
DC electricity under load. Cells are then wired together to form a module
or panel which are wired together during installation to form an array.
There are several types of PV systems including off-grid and grid-tied systems.
An off-grid system’s energy must be used or stored via on-site battery
and are generally only used in remote locations where connecting to the electric
utility would be too costly. Grid-tied systems, or grid-interactive systems,
have inverters that allow the system to feed AC electricity back into the power
grid when excess electricity is being produced and pull power from the grid when
there is a shortage. This ability to utilize the grid for storage eliminates
the need for maintaining expensive batteries.
A system's size is based on the nameplate wattage of the installed panels. The
nameplate wattage is simply what the panels would produce in perfect conditions,
not the less than ideal conditions that the panels will be operating in when
installed. In addition, a system will have other inefficiencies, or derate
factors, such as small power losses in the wiring and in the conversion of
DC electricity into usable AC electricity in the inverter. Arvak will
design a system that will keep these losses at a minimum, but many are unavoidable. As
a result, a typical system that is properly oriented will produce an average
of approximately 2.8 – 3.2 Kwh per day in southeastern Pennsylvania per
1 kW of panels installed. This equals roughly 1000 kWh per 1 kW of panels
installed over the course of a year.
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