Solar Power, or Photovoltaics (PV), is the production of electricity using special semiconductor crystals exposed to sunlight.
Solar power is entering a new era of cost effectiveness. This is due to increasing electricity costs, government incentives designed to help battle global warming plus increased mass production brought on by an exploding world demand.
The traditional use of solar power has been for stand-alone systems. These are systems that incorporate batteries to store energy for use during night time and cloudy weather periods. These systems normally supply a single house or small
community that is not connected to the electricity grid. They are also used for industrial applications such as remote radio communications towers, caravans / motor homes, and boats.
The exploding world demand is now being driven by grid connect systems. These systems don’t normally include batteries. The D.C. Solar Power is simply converted to A.C. power by an inverter, and then fed directly into the electricity grid through a domestic or industrial switchboard. The owner of a grid connect system can reduce their electricity bill by a substantial amount, especially with the generous government incentives available world-wide, including Australia.
