Learn How Solar Energy Can Save You!
Solar energy has countless benefits that are both long lasting and felt immediately. As a result we would like briefly explain how solar panels work and can drastically help you.
Benefits of Going Green
- Our sun produces enough energy in ONE hour to power your house for an entire Year!
- Solar Panels not only produce energy without you asking them to but they also manage to raise your property value…Neat Eh?
- Utility rates WILL go up and by simply hiring Raneri And Long to install your solar panels your are setting your self up for a much Greener future, not only for the environment but also your wallets.
- San Diego Ranks first among the California cities in Solar Production.
- Today, California boasts 51,000 solar roofs – more
than double the number of solar roofs installed in the state just three years ago.San Diego Solar Fact Sheet From the Mayor!
- And Many more…
How Does Solar energy Work?
From the Sun To the Panels
The first part of this process begins with the suns rays hitting the solar panel causing a reaction within the panel that excites the Ions and as a result creates a current. The current generated is DC, or Direct Current, which then travels to the inverter where it is converted into AC, or Alternate Current, which is what we use in our households. Depending on what sort of system you design you can produce anywhere from 1KWH to 5 KWH(KiloWatt/hour).
Raneri and Long will asses your energy usage and work with you on what your budget is and setup the best system available, we’ll have you producing clean and reusable energy in no time.
Inverter and Beyond
Once the inverter has converted your the DC current produced from your solar panels using the suns rays the power is then routed to your Meter which is then routed to your house where it is used to power what your appliances.
If your panels produce more energy than you are using at the time then it goes out to to the power company, in this case or our customers San Diego Gas and Electric – who credit you for the energy produced; this is known as Net Metering.
Solar panels are capable of producing electricity in cloudy or sunny weather, naturally the rate of production is higher in sunny weather however they nonetheless produce free energy from an vastly untapped resources.
Helpful Solar Energy Terms
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Net Metering
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Direct Current (DC)
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Alternating Current(AC)
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Amperage (Ampere, Amp, A)
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Anenometer
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Array
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Azimuth
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Capacity
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Cell
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Current
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Datalogger
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Energy
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Energy and Power
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Expected Production
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Facility
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Generator
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Inverter
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Generation
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Generation Attributes
Net Metering
At any time of the day, a customer's renewable energy system may produce more or less electricity than their home or business needs. When "excess" electricity is produced by the system, it will automatically go through the electric meter into the utility grid to be supplied to other customers. When this occurs the meter runs backwards. At other times of the day, the customer's electric demand may be higher than the renewable energy system is producing, and the customer relies on the additional power needs from the utility.
Over a 12 month period, the customer has to pay only for the net amount of electricity they use from SDG&E over-and-above the amount of electricity generated by their renewable energy system.
Here is a simple equation to help you see what we mean here:
Electricity you use - Electricity you produce = Net Metering
as you can see if you produce more then you use then you receive a credit check from the SDG&EDirect Current (DC)
A one-way flow of charge through an electrical conductor. Current is caused by a flow of negatively charged electrons along a metallic conductor.
Alternating Current(AC)
Electric current which repeatedly changes polarity from negative to positive and back again. The most commonly used form of alternating current does so in a sine wave pattern.
Amperage (Ampere, Amp, A)
A unit of electrical current (I). The relationship between power, current and voltage is expressed in the Power Equation, P=IV. The relationship between voltage, current, and resistance is expressed in Ohm's Law, V=IR.Anenometer
A sensor that measures wind speeds.Array
PV modules wired together in series and parallel to produce desired electrical characteristics. PV arrays connected to a single metering point constitute a system.
Azimuth
The orientation of a PV array relative to direction, in degrees, in which 180 refers to due South, 90 refers to due East, and 270 refers to due West.
Capacity
The maximum amount of power a system or its component parts is expected to be capable of producing over a short time period.
Cell
The basic building block of a PV system . Individual PV cells are wired together in series and parallel to make modules.
Current
The flow of charge through an electrical conductor, usually measured in Amperes (A). The relationship between power, current and voltage is expressed in the Power Equation, P=IV. The relationship between voltage, current, and resistance is expressed in Ohm's Law, V=IR. In fluid systems current is analogous to the flow rate (measured, for example, in gallons per minute).
Datalogger
A device that records and transmits data sampled by sensors.Energy
Usable heat or power. The amount (or average amount) of power produced, consumed, or delivered over a specified time period. Typically measured in watt-hours (wh), kilowatt-hours (KWH), or megawatt-hours (MWH).
Energy and Power
A good analogy for the relationship between energy and power is a car's odometer and speedometer. The odometer is similar to a PV system's KWH meter in that it tracks the amount of work accomplished (distance covered, kilowatt-hours produced) over some interval of time. This is a measure of energy. A car's speedometer is similar to a PV system's power output display in that it shows the rate at which work is being accomplished (speed of the car, kilowatts produced by the PV system) at a given moment. This is a measure of power. In fact, the mathematical relationship between distance and speed is the same as that between energy and power.
Expected Production
We use NREL's PVWatts Model v. 2 to estimate monthly and annual expected production for every system. PVWatts generates monthly expected production figures based on the system size (DC capacity), module tilt and azimuth, and location. We use each system's zip code as an input into PVWatts, as well as the model's default 77% DC-to-AC derating factor. PVWatts generates estimated monthly production based on Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) data on solar radiation, temperature, and wind speed. TMY data is derived from 30 years of historical weather conditions from 239 sites around the U.S. More information on PVWatts can be found by following the link below.Facility
The physical location of a system.Generator
The owner of a system and/or its generation or generation attributes.Inverter
A device that converts DC electricity into AC electricity.Generation
The electricity generated by a system as recorded by a KWH meter, recorded in KWH or MWH.Generation Attributes
Characteristics of generation not including the electricity itself. Examples of generation attributes include the type of fuel used (solar, wind, coal, hydro, etc.), the air emissions associated with the generation, and whether it qualifies as "renewable" or "green energy" under various state, regional, or national statutory, regulatory or voluntary standards.
