• Before purchasing a solar electrification system, what are things to consider?
• Which situation can use the solar electrification system?
• If I want to install the solar electrification system, how much does it cost?
• Does the solar system work when the sunlight is not visible?
• To describe the reasons why will use the solar systems
• Is it saving to have a solar system on my house?
• Are solar systems difficult to use?
• What components do I need to install a solar system for my house or the office?

If you are deciding to purchase a solar electrification system, the first thing to do is to ask yourself why you are interested in purchasing a solar electrification system.
There are many different reasons such as

• You want to generate the clean energy for environment.
• It is the cheapest source of energy.
• You want power when the electricity grid goes down.
• You want to be independent from the electricity grid.

Moreover, there are other things to consider e.g. the quantity of energy you need, the cost of system installation, the best place to mount the solar panel(s), including warranty, service and maintenance. The local Solar Energy System Sales Company can suggest you for answer these questions.

Solar electrification system are used in two basic forms as follows

1. In areas where an electricity grid is available but you want to generate your own electricity (e.g. for reducing the use of electricity from the electricity grid, generating clean electricity or backup power).
2. In remote area where no electricity grid is available and you need electricity (e.g. for household purposes).

The uses of two above-mentioned forms are several objectives, and also the advantages and values are different.

1. In areas where an electricity grid is available, the solar electrification system that creates the great benefits and widely spread in Europe and Japan is called "Grid connected or Grid tie solar energy system". The investment cost of this system will be recovered in short term only when the government offers the subsidy programs (especially Europe).
   Nowadays, Thai government does not have any policy to support this matter so that you must purchase the system without any rebates for installing a solar electrification system. A 3 kilowatts peak system cost varies from 750,000 to 900,000 bahts and you can produce approximate 10-15 kWh/day. That means the payback period for this solar electrification system is very long.
   If you DO INTEND to generate clean energy to reduce the carbon dioxide emission and to be willing to install the system, we are also pleased to serve you as your purposes.
2. In remote area where no electricity grid is available; the solar electrification system that should be selected is "Stand-alone solar energy system". The decision for using this system is the right choice for long term investment and environmental friendly as well. Comparing this system with a diesel generator, this system is more costly initially. You can find more information about this system in our product section.

If your house is connected to the electricity grid, we do not recommend you to select "Stand-alone solar energy system" because it is over investment and you do not make use of the solar cells efficiently.
In case that you only want to backup power from solar electrification system to use when power fails, we have other solutions which is more cost effectiveness for you.

No, this because the solar system will generate the electrical energy during the day and will not generate energy at night or sunlight is not visible, but it can supply energy. The stand-alone solar system which battery is needed to be store backup energy, it used to be the supplied energy source. The grid connected solar system which is hooked to utility power line, DC energy form generating will be delivered to inverter and convert to AC energy during the day. The utility power will be drawn at night or sunlight is not visible. This system can be installed with the battery backup energy as required.

The solar systems that produce electricity is using renewable source, the sun, that is free, no limiting and clean energy without emitting pollutants. The reasons to consider the solar system applications are

• No use power supplying from the utility power line, but require power for using in a house. The solar home system is right way for your house.
• Use power supply from the utility power line, but want to produce green power from your own house. The grid connected solar systems should be selected.
• Use power supply from the utility power line, but want to store backup power during the power failure such as blackout and brownout, etc.

You will be surely safe, because a solar system is using a renewable power source that is known as the environmental-friendly system. Because it does not cause hazardous radiation or exposure to harmful materials. Especially, if the solar system consists of standard components, also installed by the expert electricians, the solar system will work virtually anywhere and be safe. For more details of the solar system installation, directly contact to solar systems manufacturers or distributors or click here to find our products.

Definitely not. Although manufacturing solar cells requires advance technology, but they are very simple and easy to use. Solar cells are low voltage device with no moving or wearing parts. Once installed, it requires periodic maintenance and from time to time. In case of solar systems are connected to the other components, they requires individual maintenances such as battery which you need to clean its terminals and fill distilled water, etc.

Installation a solar system depends on users' daily power loads. In order to calculate the solar system components, users should know what appliances will be used, how much power each appliance needs, how long they will be operated each day and how much backup power in batteries when solar panels cannot produce power.

For example, a house with a solar system has three 36 Watt fluorescent lamps with electronic ballast used three hours per day and a 21" 120 Watt TV used four hours per day.

The solar system components consist of

• Solar panels
• Charge Controller
• Battery
• Inverter

The sample sizing calculation

1. Inverter
   To select the inverter size, should be more than capable of supply the combined load required (In case of usage time is not available.). The total watts of inverter is

=

(36 Watt X 3) + (120 Watt) = 228 Watt

The appropriate inverter size should be 228 watt or greater, it depends on inverter on the market. There is LEONICS APOLLO S-102A rated 360 Watt that is compatible with 12 Volt batteries.

2. Battery
   Deep Cycle batteries are suitable for using in solar system. The calculation of the battery size is

Ah	=	Total Watts of power consumption / [battery voltage X 0.6 (% of battery discharge limit) X 0.85 (inverter efficiency loss)]
	=	{(36 W X 3) X 3 hours} + {(120 W) X 4 hours} / [12 Volt X 0.6 X 0.85]
	=	131.4 Ah

The batteries selected should be 12 Volt 131.4 Ah or greater. There is a model of LEONICS Deep Cycle battery, SOLARCON BD 205 12 Volt 205 Ah.

3. Charge Controller
   The charge controller size must be equal or larger than the current flowing through the battery, but not be over 0.1 time the battery capacity (Ah).
   As an example, the charge controller chosen will be 13.14 Amps or smaller. There are two models of LEONICS charge controller, SOLARCON SE-1210 and SOLARCON SE-1210T.
   
   
4. Solar panels

   	=	Total Watts-hour of power consumption / 5.5 hours (Average sun hour per day)
   	=	{(36 W X 3) X 3 hours} + {(120 W) X 4 hours} / 5.5 hours
   	=	146.18 W

   The solar panels needed should be 12 Volt 146.18 Watt or greater. There is a model of LEONICS solar array, Solarmax LEC-5048. Connect 4 panels of 50 Wp solar arrays in parallel to get 12 Volt 200 Watts of power.

Remark:

If the users want to backup power during the solar panels cannot produce power, users should be increase the battery size for storing backup power.