Off-grid photovoltaic power plants
Off-grid PV power plants are the types of photovoltaic systems designed to stabilize the voltage supplied from an autonomous station. A stand-alone solar panel inverter acts as a stabilizer, with which you can equalize the voltage on the line and thereby prevent damage to equipment at your home or business. An autonomous solar inverter is a mandatory element for an autonomous energy supply system. Without it, the voltage supplied directly from the solar panels will not be able to ensure the stable operation of your equipment.
Fully autonomous solar power plants are the least common specialized solutions that require the use of special equipment and have a higher specific cost.
Off-grid PV power plant elements:
Solar Panels
Solar panels are the main component of a solar power plant. They consist of photocells that directly convert the sun’s energy into direct current.
The panel has the following sequence of layers from top to bottom:
- glass plate;
- sealing material;
- photocells;
- sealing material;
- protective film or glass.
On the inside, there is a block of input-output devices with electrical contacts for connection.
Solar Mounting Structures
Solar mounting structures are critical components that ensure the efficiency of a solar power system in both utility and rooftop applications.
Mounting structures for solar batteries can be ground, roof or hinged. For different locations, it is important to choose the right type and take into account various factors.
For example, when mounting system placed on the roof or facade of a house, the weight of the structure is important. When installing on the ground, the geological features of the area, topography and climatic conditions are taken into account.
Off-Grid Inverter
Their functional purpose is to convert direct current (DC) coming from solar batteries into alternating current which are not connected to an external electrical network. The current is transformed through the battery chain. The energy generated in this way is used to power various household (or other) devices that are usually connected to the network.
Solar Batteries
The main purpose of a solar batteries is to store energy at the moment of its excess. As a rule, this process takes place during daylight hours, when the sun gives the maximum amount of light, the accumulated amount of energy is spent in the evening.
In addition to accumulating and storing generated energy, batteries perform other important functions:
- overlap peak loads, which are higher than the generation of solar panels;
- reduce dependence on external mains power;
- increase comfort and your safety.
For the correct operation of your system, it is necessary to calculate correctly the consumption of your house and choose the required capacity of the batteries.
Solar Power Plant Monitoring and Control System
It is intended for monitoring the parameters of operation, as well as the serviceability of all components of the SPP. Modern control systems allow remote continuous monitoring of all station parameters, equipment diagnostics, real-time display of all necessary information, and storage of all information about the state and operation of both the solar station itself and individual elements.
Charge Controllers – MPPT
Charge/discharge controllers are devices that not only control the process of charging batteries, but also allow optimizing the energy supply process for consumers when working from a battery unit, minimizing losses and extending the period of autonomous operation of the object.
The main advantages of off-grid solar power plants:
- the possibility of using PV systems in places where the laying of a centralized power transmission line is either difficult or requires unreasonably high costs (for example, it can be objects of tourist infrastructure high in the mountains, on islands, or objects of construction at the initial stage, etc. .).
- silent operation and absence of mechanical wear of the equipment.
- the minimum level of maintenance and the absence of the need to involve expensive highly paid service personnel.
