Energy Management – Solar PV System

31 Jul Energy Management – Solar PV System

Why is energy management important?

Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) are rapidly gaining popularity around the world as the technology behind them improves and as small-scale solar power, battery storage becomes more viable.

Energy management is the means to controlling and reducing your energy consumption.

reducing your energy consumption is important because it enables you to:

• Reduce costs – this is becoming increasingly important as energy costs rise.

• Reduce carbon emissions and the environmental damage

• Reduce risk – the more energy you consume, the greater the risk that energy price increases or supply shortages could seriously affect your day to day living. With energy management you can reduce this risk by reducing your demand for energy and by controlling it you enable yourself to not be venerable to the current supply issues we deal with daily.

How does an energy PV Solar system work?

Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels use cells containing a semi-conductor material to capture the sun’s energy and convert solar radiation into electricity. The most commonly used semi-conductor material is silicon, which is an abundant natural resource found in sand. When light strikes the cell a certain amount of energy is absorbed within the semiconductor material, knocking electrons, the negatively charged particles that form the basis of electricity, loose.

Most PV cells have two layers of semi-conductor material, one positively charged, and one negatively charged. When light shines on the semi-conductor, the electric field across the junction between these two layers causes electricity to flow, generating direct current (DC). By placing metal contacts on the top and bottom of the PV cell, we can draw that current off for external use.

Solar PV electric panels do not require bright sunlight in order to operate, meaning that you can still generate electricity on cloudy days, however in general the greater the intensity of light the higher the flow of electricity. Although, due to the reflection of sunlight, days with slight cloud can result in higher energy yields than days with a completely cloudless sky.

It is important to realise that you can only use your free solar electricity when it is being generated – so unless you also invest in batteries to store power for use in the evenings and at night, you will need to pay for your energy use as normal when the panels are not producing electric.

How is the electricity converted for use?

Direct Current (DC) needs to be converted into alternating current (AC) so it can be used in a domestic building; this is performed by an inverter. The AC electricity then passes via the generation meter, which measures how much electricity has been created, and on to the consumer unit where it can be fed into the property for use or exported back to the national grid via the electricity meter.

A typical grid connected roof mounted system consists of several components, as shown in the diagram.

Components of energy management:

Photovoltaic Solar Panels or Tiles

Solar panels form the heart of every PV system. Triangle EDC can offer a choice of industry leading solar panels.

Inverters:

Inverters convert the DC current produced by the solar panels into AC current which is then fed into the electricity supply for use in the home, with any surplus electricity fed back into the national grid. Triangle ECD can supply industry-leading inverters.

Generation Meters / Monitoring Systems:

In order to conform to regulations and qualify for feed-in tariff payments, you need a meter or system that will accurately register the total kWh of PV electricity generated by the solar panels. Triangle EDC offers a range of compliant systems from industry leaders.

Mounting System:

Triangle EDC offers solar panel mounting systems that allow us to mount the panels in a place that suits your requirements – whether that is on top of your existing roof tiles (on-roof), flush with roof tiles (in-roof) or on a flat roof or the ground.

What are the benefits of reducing energy consumption?

There are many reasons why homeowners should consider energy efficiency, from the clear environmental and financial benefits of cutting energy use to potential improvements in mental and physical health. In fact, energy efficiency has become one of the common features that homeowners look for.

Whether your motivations for energy conservation are economic, environmental, or personal, the benefits of energy efficiency will have something to offer for everyone. Here are the top five reasons why energy efficiency is important for your home and why it is important to conserve energy:

• Significantly reduce your utility bills.

• Earn a great return on your investment.

• Increase your property value.

• Protect the environment.

• Insulate yourself from rising electricity prices.

Conclusion of energy management:

It has been proven that growing power consumption and a reliance on the old method of increasing capacity has resulted in an inefficient market for electricity and high electricity prices. An energy management system would have the ability to dramatically lower the costs of energy consumption. This would result in significant cost savings for consumers. Although the initial cost of developing and installing such a system can be high, the potential for long-run benefits clearly outweighs the costs.

In the future energy management products will become popular and perhaps even standardised, the argument for independent household power management systems will continue to become stronger and could be the cause for costs to go down due to mass production and a higher level of integration. Ultimately, we envision that an energy management system will be installed in every household, making sure that consumers pay an economically efficient price for their electricity and therefore ensuring the electricity market is run as efficiently as possible.

Triangle EDC is proud to announce that we can supply, install, and advise on all your energy management requirements. From doing an analysis of your needs to advising on your products.

We supply quality products sourced from all over the world to meet budgetary constraints.