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General information about photovoltaic power plants

The number of fans of photovoltaic plants (FES for short), often referred to as "solar panels", is increasing from year to year across the globe. What is the attractiveness of this energy source and the advantage over traditional counterparts? Buy solar panels because of their many advantages, including:

reliability - in any climatic conditions, including highlands, PVPs are able to operate continuously (other sources: power lines often break under snow and ice in winter, generator fuel freezes in frost);low cost of operation - ideally, PV power plants do not require maintenance during the entire life cycle of 25 years (other sources: generators always need to replenish fuel supplies, wind generators need to replace worn-out elements due to friction);environmental friendliness and safety - FES are made from widespread pure natural materials, do not emit harmful substances, operate silently, focus on almost eternal raw materials (other sources: electromagnetic fields of power lines, exhaust gases of generators, low-frequency sound of wind generators pose a threat to the biosphere);independence - the owner of the FES gets the opportunity to reduce his costs for the purchase of electricity up to a complete refusal to connect to the network; several small power plants dispersed over the territory make its power supply less dependent on the potential problems of the centralized power system of the country.

Photovoltaic plants usually consist of the following main components: solar panels, charge controllers, batteries, and inverters.

Компоненты фотоэлектрических станций

The panels are used to convert solar radiation into electrical current. This process is based on the photoelectric effect, well known from school physics textbooks: light is a stream of charged particles of photons, which, when they hit the surface of certain substances, transfer their energy to the electrons contained there, as a result of which they leave the limits of the substance, forming a current. The panels are made of silicon with the addition of boron and phosphorus. First, cells of a crystalline structure with a size of about 15x15 cm are formed from them, the cells are connected in panels (in the technical literature, the term "modules" is used) with an approximate size of 1.5x1 m, several modules form an array.

The voltage at the output of the array almost never matches the operating voltage of the load. Of course, by combining modules of different characteristics, you can achieve such a coincidence, but there is one more thing: the energy of the sun is unstable, during daylight hours it changes its intensity depending on the time of day, weather conditions, shadows from the objects surrounding the array. As a result, the load will not receive the necessary fixed power, moreover, the main need for it arises after sunset. To solve these problems, the system needs to use batteries and charge controllers. The former gradually accumulate the available energy of the sun in order to then ensure the stable functioning of the load. The latter control the battery charge level to avoid damage and ensure that the voltages of the array and the rest of the system are compatible.

In most cases, the load in the system is powered by AC current, while other components (panels, controllers, batteries) generate and store DC current. To convert a constant signal into an alternating one, inverters are used, which are the most important component of FES: the quality and durability of all connected devices depends on the purity of the signal they generate. In some cases, inverters combine the functions of a battery charger and a protective relay that switches the load from the main source to the standby source.

In addition to those listed in photovoltaic plants, many auxiliary, but no less important components are used: junction boxes, cabinets for batteries and equipment, monitoring and control system, wiring, circuit breakers and fuses, and much more.

There are several types of FES, the choice of one of which depends on the specific needs of the customer:

autonomous (off-grid) - they work only from solar energy, are disconnected from other power sources;backup (backup) - use the usual AC network as the main power source, and solar panels as auxiliary;interactive (grid-interactive or grid-tied) - they function both from the AC network and from solar panels, if the power of the latter is sufficient; either accumulate surplus solar energy in batteries for its subsequent use, or transfer these surpluses to the AC network, partially compensating for electricity bills (in this case, batteries are not used);hybrid (hybrid) - in addition to panels, they are equipped with another backup power source: for example, a fuel generator.

Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that solar panels are a very interesting, useful, promising, but rather complex technology, for the implementation of which in practice it is necessary to take into account many nuances, have specialized knowledge and experience. In such a case, any customer cannot do without a reliable professional partner - such as the "Optictelecom" group of companies. You can buy products such as a solar panel, a charge controller, an inverter in Almaty. We offer our clients a complete list of materials and services for the creation of turnkey photovoltaic power plants that meet the smallest individual needs:

inspection of the facility and measurements of electrical loads on it,selection of an appropriate solution for the placement of panels and other components,drawing up an estimate and approving it from the owner of the object,system design, selection of equipment and materials,calculation of metal structures for fixing panels,ordering, delivery and customs clearance of all system components,their delivery to the object, installation and commissioning works,warranty and post-warranty service of the finished PV power plant.

In our projects for the creation of PVPs, we use the equipment of the North American company "Outback Power" - one of the world leaders in the development and production of renewable energy systems and backup power supply. As part of the Alpha Group, a well-known alliance of independent companies, our partner shares a philosophy with him: to create only best-in-class solutions for industry, commerce and individual customers. Membership in the alliance provides access to ISO certified manufacturing facilities, which gives Outback the ability to produce innovative, relevant

 

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