Solar Basics
Why an array is often larger than the inverter it feeds
Fitting more panel capacity than the inverter can pass looks like a mistake and is usually deliberate…
· 4 min read
Solar Basics
Panels, orientation, shading and what a quoted figure really means.
20 articles · page 2 of 2
Solar Basics
What moves in underneath a solar array
The gap between panels and tiles is sheltered, warm and inaccessible, which makes it attractive to birds…
· 4 min read
Solar Basics
Judging an array that somebody else had installed
Inheriting a system with a house means assessing hardware of unknown age against records that may not…
· 4 min read
Solar Basics
Cell technology matters less on a domestic roof than the datasheet suggests
The industry has moved through several cell architectures in a decade, and only two or three of the…
· 4 min read
Solar Basics
A solar thermal collector and a photovoltaic panel want the same roof
Heating water directly with sunlight is more efficient per square metre than making electricity, and that…
· 4 min read
Solar Basics
Trees complicate a solar site in a way that gets worse each year
A shading survey captures one moment, while the tree causing it is still growing, and the difference…
· 4 min read
Solar Basics
Where the annual yield figure in a quotation comes from
A predicted generation number is a model output built from historical weather, a geometric shading…
· 4 min read
Solar Basics
What happens to a solar panel when it finally comes off the roof
A module is mostly glass and aluminium wrapped around a small quantity of silicon, and the difficulty of…
· 3 min read