Autonomous electricity and solar-powered lighting: advantages and features of use for the home. How to get electricity from solar panels.

Global change in the Earth's climate is not only due to the work of industrial enterprises, throwing into the atmosphere millions of tons of various harmful substances. All these enterprises require in huge quantities electric power, whose production is growing every year, and not always this build-up is done in ways that are environmentally friendly.

The construction of hydroelectric power plants violates the water balance of the region, the appearance of new reservoirs leads to unpredictable and irreversible consequences for the geological structure of huge areas of the earth's crust, the natural ecosystem is disturbed.

Nuclear power plants are a constant potential source of dangerous radioactive contamination of the environment. It is enough to recall the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and Fukushima. Tidal power plants are very expensive facilities, which, like hydroelectric power stations, violate the natural ecosystem and the water balance of the region. Wind power plants with their wind power plants radically change the direction of the air currents of the locality in which they are installed, which also leads to irreversible changes in the ecological system in this region.

And only power plants that use solar energy are practically flawless in terms of ecology. Without violating any global parameters, these power plants are successfully operated at various points of our planet. Solar power plants can produce electricity in various ways.

The modular construction principle allows the construction of solar power stations of various capacities. There are gigantic ones, with a generated capacity of hundreds of megawatts, and there are individual power plants with an output power of several tens of watts. And if large power plants provide power supply to whole cities, large industrial enterprises, individual installations supply autonomous electricity to small houses, cottages, subsidiary farms.

Industrial photovoltaic systems

The construction of such industrial installations that convert solar energy into electricity is economically justified in areas where the sun shines almost all year round. One such place is Africa. In 2009, a consortium was established to implement an ambitious project - the Desertec Industrial Initiative. For this project, a network of solar power stations with a total capacity of 100 gigawatts should be built on the territory of Tunisia in the Sahara Desert. The energy produced by solar panels  It should be transferred to Europe via the Mediterranean via ultra-high voltage cables and provide 15% of Europe's electricity needs.

Construction under the Desertec Industrial Initiative

At the end of November 2014 in California, the world's largest Topaz power station on photocells was launched at full capacity. It consists of 9 million solar cells, which are located on an area of ​​almost 10 square kilometers.

The capacity of this power plant was 550 megawatts, which is enough to provide electricity for more than 150,000 homes. But this power station did not last long. In 2015, the maximum capacity of 580 megawatts was the Solar Star power station. In the same year, earned at full capacity - 550 megawatts - another power plant Desert Sunlight. All these power plants are in California.

Topaz

European scale is more modest than California. And there are fewer sunny days here. Nevertheless, the energy industry is trying to use every opportunity to put the free energy of the sun into service. In Switzerland, between the cantons of St. Gallen and Glarus is the amazing lake of Valensee. Some slopes of the mountains were bare rocks.

And one of these slopes was decided to be used for the construction of a helium power plant. There was even a competition for the best design of the slope, which should be decorated with a pattern of solar panels. And here the mountain slope of the shore of Valensee was decorated with solar panels. Of course, the power of this power plant is not great, but, nevertheless, the town of Vesen, located on the shore of this lake, began to consume significantly less electricity from the common network.

Solar power plant on Lake Valensee (Switzerland)

In Russia in December 2014 in Altai, in the village of Kosh-Agach, a solar power plant with a capacity of 5 megawatts was launched. Given the specifics of this region, as well as the fact that the Altai Territory has always been energy-deficient, this event has become a landmark event. Moreover, this was the first and quite powerful installation for the Altai Territory. Electricity supply problems for remote areas of Siberia and the Far East have always been quite acute.

Solar power station in the Altai Territory

And the construction of such helium installations, though not very powerful by world standards, to some extent helps solve these problems. So, in June 2015 in the village of Batagay, that in Yakutia, they launched a solar power plant. The total power of its solar panels is 1 megawatt. This is enough to provide the village with electricity. In the future it is planned to increase its capacity by 4 times. And then energy can be accumulated, which will allow to provide the village with electricity all the year round.

Solar power plant Batagay in Yakutia

Individual photovoltaic systems

To provide a home, a dacha, a small part-time farm, large capacities are not required. Here it is quite possible to manage the capacity of several kilowatts.

A standard set of such an installation is a solar battery, a battery, an inverter, a charge controller. Bosch has now released a hybrid device VRT-S 5, which combines an inverter, a charge controller, and contains a set of six lithium-ion batteries with a total capacity of 13.2 kW / h.

In addition, the control device regulates the flow of electricity depending on the time of day and the loads in the network. Such an installation provides electricity to the cottage with a total area of ​​up to 200 square meters, with all household electrical appliances.

As electricity is accumulated, surpluses can be given to the general electrical network. In the case of a lack of own reserves, the missing energy can be taken from the common network.

Morning. The energy received is distributed around the house and charges the batteries

Day. The batteries are fully charged. Excess is given to the network

Evening. The energy saved up for a day is spent for house needs

Night. If there is a shortage of accumulated energy, a common network

As the solar cells can be used as a conventional silicon single crystal panels, and panels made using the technology "Eye Moth", which significantly increases their power.

Solar energy is increasingly entering our life. Including light, TV, iron, few people think about where the electricity came from. But sometimes it is worthwhile to think that huge power is now produced in an ecologically clean way from the energy of the sun, allowing to reduce the harm that a person does to nature.

The sun is an inexhaustible source of energy that mankind is increasingly trying to use as an alternative to electricity produced in the traditional way. Solar panels. How effective is their use for power supply of a country house?

A solar battery is a device for direct conversion of solar energy into electricity using semiconductor photocells. It consists of several photovoltaic solar cells connected to each other by means of conductors and having output terminals for connecting an external consumer.

The main material used to make photovoltaic cells is silicon. Solar panels can generate electricity for 20 years or more. A properly installed solar battery will be a quiet, reliable and environmentally friendly source of energy for many years.

Solar panels can be both the main source of energy, and the backup in the case when the centralized power grid is working with interruptions or produces an unstable voltage. If you use small solar modules, it will provide the most important load (refrigerator, TV, computer ... - optional).

How to install?

The amount of energy produced by solar modules depends on a number of factors, including the angle of their tilt and the orientation along the sides of the world.

Possible mounting options:

Inclined (on the roof with any angle of inclination);

Horizontal (flat roof);

Free standing (located on an independent supporting structure);

Integrated (panels connected to the network of the system can become building elements of the building).

The maximum amount of energy is perceived by the solar module with the location of its plane at a right angle to the direction of insolation (irradiation of the surface with sun rays). Since the angle of insolation directly depends on the time of day and the time of year, then in what season or at what time of day it is necessary to obtain a maximum of energy, and orient the plane of the battery. Most often for our latitude, the angle of inclination is from 35 to 45 degrees. A deviation of the plane of the solar battery from the direction to the south is acceptable within 45 degrees to the southeast or southwest. Naturally, shading of panels by neighboring buildings or trees should be avoided.

So, is it possible to provide a small standard house in two floors (approximately 100 sq. M.), Located in the Leningrad region, to provide energy only at the expense of solar panels, provided that you live permanently? This question we asked the leading engineer of the company "Alliance-Neva" Kirill Prunenko. The specialist believes that in the course of the year the solar panels will not be able to meet the energy needs. In November, December and January will need an additional source - a backup generator.

If the owners live all year round, and not seasonally, then to provide the house with electricity it will be necessary to install on the southern slope of the roof about 40-50 square meters. m solar panels (it turns out that half of the roof should be covered by them), which is not so little and will require a solid financial investment.

Batteries, battery, controller, inverter

The electrical network, which is powered by solar panels, consists of the solar panels themselves, the battery, the charge controller and the inverter.

But since the electricity produced by solar batteries is not spent constantly during the day (we sleep, we go to work) or some devices do not turn on, to autonomous solar systems be sure to connect the batteries. They come in different capacities and different types. As a rule, use acid batteries. For a medium-sized home with a resident tenant, there is enough battery for 4000 amperes / hour.

All acid batteries have the property of self-discharge. Even if the battery is not connected, it is self-discharging. A good, properly connected battery will be discharged for about 3-4 months. But for the service life, its ability to discharge and charge also affects the temperature regime in which it is operated.

Solar battery generates d.C.  and can directly send it to consumers, but without automation it's still necessary - it will distribute the flows. You must install a charge controller batteries  - he will protect them from deep discharge  (if they are completely discharged, they will fail). There are batteries of deep discharge, which can be discharged at 80% of their capacity, and a regular battery - only 50%.

The charge controller has a function of protecting the batteries. In addition, it can directly transmit energy, if at the moment there is enough of its generation and there is a consumer of direct current, and in parallel to charge the battery. If there is no consumer, then the electricity goes directly to the charging of the battery.

Given the appearance of surplus energy, it can be directed to heating water, if you install a drive with the TENs, then the electricity will be converted into heat.

In the house, as a rule, there are still more consumers alternating current, because there are not so many DC-powered devices, and in Russia this market is not yet sufficiently developed, so it is necessary to install an inverter capable of converting DC to AC. In principle, modern inverters can combine all the functions of the battery controller and still control the automatic backup generator - if necessary, run it. Expensive good inverters can turn off certain consumers. For example, the owner will determine the priority outlets, to which the current must constantly flow, and all other consumers, if there is a shortage of energy, will be disconnected.

Price list

Solar panels are a very convenient system using a renewable energy source, but so far this pleasure is quite expensive, even in comparison to the fact that the connection to the central power grids of a new consumer in the Leningrad region is worth a lot of money.

The peak kilowatt of installed capacity of such a complex (when the active and maximum effective sun, and the sun's rays fall to the surface perpendicularly - in the summer) will cost about 4,5-7 thousand euros. Accordingly, in the rest of the year, in cloudy weather, in the morning or in the evening, when the sun is at a different angle, this power is less. And for the production of a kilowatt of peak power, about 9 square meters are needed. meters of solar panels.

Experts believe that using solar installations  for partial generation of electricity is economically unprofitable. Because their service life is within 20-25, and the payback in this case will also be 20 years.

But scientists are constantly improving the technology of generating energy from sunlight. Thus, in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was found a way to increase the performance of low-cost solar cells by almost a third. With their mass production, a kilowatt will cost a little more than a thousand euros, then, after a number of improvements, you can still lower the price.

Among the world's most famous manufacturers of solar panels: Sharp, Kyocera Siemens, Solarex, BP Solar, Shell ... In Russia, solar panels are produced in Moscow, Ryazan and Krasnodar (known as "Sunny Wind").

According to the scientists' forecasts, in ten years the capacities comparable to the total power produced by all Russian power stations will be produced by solar batteries.

And our neighbors

In many countries around the world, governments support the development of alternative energy.

"In Spain, for example, the state has adopted a program for the development of alternative energy and encourages citizens who are ready to install solar panels and wind generators in their homes," says Nikolai Plekhanov, general director of Invert. "The promotion is quite mercantile. The fact is that Xantrex XW inverters have a special function, in which they can return energy back to the network. Thus, if a day has been collected more energy, than could spend, the system will return a current to the general network, and the counter in a panel of the house owner will rotate back. At the end of each month, the owner will still receive money for surplus electricity, transferred to other consumers. Therefore, in the same Spain system alternative energy  on solar batteries worth 20-30 thousand euro pay off for 5-7 years and begin to bring their owners a net profit!

Of course, in our country we are still far from this, and the climate is not the same, but there are enthusiasts who install solar panels on the roofs of their dachas and cottages. Will it pay for the costs? To date - rather no. Does this make sense? Real experience says that - yes, since additional autonomous electricity can be obtained in any case.

Text: Marina Ivanova

Consultants: Alliance-Neva, Invert

"Country building" № 11-12 (51-52), November-December 2009

One of the main problems of mankind today is the shortage of energy resources.

The main solution at the moment is the use of renewable energy sources, such as wind, water and the Sun.

The most accessible in this area are devices aimed at obtaining electricity from solar radiation.

  The solar valley in France is a photoelectric generator that converts solar photon radiation into electricity.

(A photon is an elementary particle of electromagnetic radiation, for example, of solar radiation). Usually the battery is made in the form of panels.

Dimensions can be very different, depending on the required quantity and power of the final product conversion. Today, solar panels are used even for souvenirs, measuring from a few cm2.

The area of ​​the panels can reach several tens of m2, when it is necessary to obtain energy of several tens of kilowatts.

The construction of solar batteries began in the middle of the last century, mainly for the needs of space exploration. The first satellites needed an autonomous power supply, for this the most suitable type of this source was.

Installed solar panels on the Lunokhod and Mars rovers, as well as on other space vehicles. All this is actual today, since the search for other, more suitable, generating more power sources has not yet been crowned with success.

  The world's largest solar-powered ship Planet Solar Türanor No less popular are solar batteries on Earth. Here they have a very wide application, in almost all areas where electricity is needed.

Thanks to solar panels, entire cities are provided with electricity, ships are floating, and airplanes are flying.

Autonomous power supply at home

  Solar cells on the site A big trend was the resettlement of people outside the city to the blessings of nature and the lack of civilization. This entails a large cost, especially for the supply of electricity at home.

Well, if you move to a settlement, then you can jointly solve this problem and connect to the central, most often expensive, electricity, having combined the funds.

Connection is possible and in more secluded places, but it will cost even more. Because many today are being solved on the territory of their site, as this is ultimately the most profitable enterprise from different points of view.

Reasonably it's still for localities, where there is enough sunlight for constant energy production. You can, of course, use it, but it will take more space. In addition, the area of ​​the solar battery should be much larger than in the area with large illumination.

Of course, and all this will be more expensive, and then one should already think whether it is worthwhile to base an autonomous power supply at home on solar energy.
  It is worth remembering that solar batteries have, though affordable, but quite high cost.

Advice of specialists:  when buying, pay attention to the country of the manufacturer. You should not save by buying from unknown people chinese manufacturers, since they often produce goods of questionable quality. It is better to pay attention to the batteries of Western companies, albeit produced panels will be in China.

  Solar panels on the roof of the house Most often solar panels are installed on the roofs of houses, which, of course, saves space.

To do this, the roof slope should be at least 30⁰, the best 45⁰. It's also worth taking care to remove all objects that create shadows in the settings.

Keep in mind:  it is necessary to remember the reinforcement of the roof, because solar cells have a fairly large weight. Significant pressure and has snow in winter.

Complete sets of solar power stations

If all conditions for the arrangement of the system are created autonomous power supply, then you can choose one of the following types of home power plant:

1. Autonomous contours of solar generators.  They are installed to provide energy for pumping equipment. They are small in size and are inexpensive.
2. Non-volatile installations with batteries.  They are most often used for autonomous and complete power supply of private houses.
3. All sorts of combinations solar modules  with other sources of energy.  It can be wind and diesel generators, also with central power grids.

You should carefully consider all the factors that influence the choice of a particular species.

Pros and cons of using solar panels

Positive sides:

1. Ecological compatibility.  Undoubtedly, the use of solar energy does not cause pollution of nature, and also replaces the ways of obtaining energy that negatively affect the environment.
2. Autonomy.  The possibility not to depend on the central power supply is definitely a virtue, especially in remote areas.
3. Affordable price.  The opportunity to take advantage of this advantage is provided if there is great sunlight throughout the year. Helps and sharing with other sources of electricity. In other situations, the purchase of batteries can be costly, though often the payback.
4. Durability.  High-quality solar panels have a long shelf life (minimum 25 years).
5. Do not take up much space directly on the roof of the house.

Negative sides:

1. Not practical in low light.
2. Despite the ecological compatibility, solar panels can damage the surrounding flora and fauna. For example, the largest solar power station  in the world causes the death of birds flying over it. But this minus does not apply to small domestic power plants.

See the video, which in an easy and informative way tells about the features of receiving electricity from solar panels: