A Simple Guide to Understanding Your Solar System

The technology behind solar energy has come in leaps and bounds in recent years, and it’s thrilling to know that the average Aussie home can now run pretty much entirely “off the grid” when it comes to electricity consumption.

But, while the science and mechanics needed to make this happen has become increasingly complex, the overall process is actually fairly simple and easy to understand.

To help you get your head around how your solar system works (and how a sunny day means you can run your washing machine), the team at Natural Solar have put together this guide to understanding your solar system:

First, the sun needs to shine. Ok, so this might seem a bit obvious, but it really is the most important part because without energy from the sun, we don’t have solar. Luckily, Australia has an abundance of glorious sunshine, making us one of the best spots in the world for generating solar energy.

The energy from the sunshine is then captured by solar panels on your roof. It’s essential the panels are positioned in such a way that they capture as much energy as possible, so our team at Natural Solar carefully tailor every installation to make sure that we always get the very best results.

The panels convert the sunlight into DC (Direct Current) electricity, which runs through an inverter, which converts it into AC (Alternating Current) electricity before going to one of two places: either into your home appliances such as TVs, lights and whitegoods, or into a Tesla Powerwall, where it is stored as DC energy for future use (such as at night time, or on cloudy days when the panels might produce less power).

Any energy that is not used up by your household will flow through the meter and be fed back to the grid, in return for which you will receive a small credit.

At night, the DC energy stored in the Tesla Powerwall can flow back through the inverter getting converted into AC energy that is available for use in your home, thus providing you with clean solar energy around the clock.

So that’s it. What did we tell you? Pretty easy to understand, right?

Of course, there is a bit more to it so you may want to view our Tesla Powerwall FAQs here and our Natural Solar engineers would be more than happy to give you a more detailed explanation any time – just give us a call on 1300 060 928 and we’ll happily talk you through it.

Get your solar quote now!

By ChrisWilliams | January 7th, 2016 | Categories: Tesla Energy Powerwall
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These costs are based on the SA Power network in Adelaide but prices may vary depending on your circumstances. This comparison assumes a general energy usage of 4000kWh/year for a residential customer on Energy Locals Time of Use Tariff – (TOU – Peak, Off-Peak & Solar Sponge).

The reference price is set by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) for a financial year in relation to electricity supply to residential customers in the distribution region and is based on an assumed annual usage amount. Any difference between the reference price and the unconditional price of a plan is expressed as a percentage more or less than the reference price. The terms of any conditional discounts are shown, along with any further difference between the reference price and the discount applied if a condition is met, expressed as a percentage more or less than the reference price.