Solar power/Photovoltaics

Solar power means using energy from the sun to produce electricity. These pages show how that energy is turned into electricity, the components needed and various possible types of systems.

How it works

Part 1 - From the sun to the panels

Part 2 - From the panels to the inverter
(and an explanation of AC and DC electricity!)

Types of systems

Solar power systems can be configured in a variety of ways to meet different needs. The following are the most common configurations.

Off-grid - getting all your power from solar power with an optional generator as backup
Feed-in tarriff (or solar premium or standard offer program) - selling power to the grid/being a mini-power utility and being paid for it while also using power from the grid. This is a form of grid-tied system.
Net metering - feeding power to the grid and using power from the grid, paying for only the difference. This is a form of grid-tied system.
Solar backup (or grid interactive) - getting power from the grid with solar power as a backup
RV solar - powering a recreational vehicle (RV) or motorhome with solar power

Harvey's motorhome system
using Harbor Freight kit

Full off-grid system on motorhome
Arnprior Solar Farm - a solar farm is a collection of a huge number of solar panels, typically for feeding power to the power grid. This Arnprior solar farm consists of 312,000 solar panels.

Incentive programs

One of the highest paying incentive programs is the Ontario microFIT/FIT Feed-in Tariff program which pays up to $0.802 per kWh for power which is fed onto the Ontario power grid. This is a lot, given that consumers pay around $0.20 per kWh for power from that same grid.

Building your own components

You can make your own solar cells using copper but they don't give enough power to be useful. They are a fun experiment though.

Sample installed systems

Here's a small sample of solar power systems I helped install with Ottawa Solar Power.

Just another day installing solar power in the Ottawa, Ontario area...