Solar Panels and Power Outage: Everything You Need to Know

 Once the solar panel is installed on your rooftop, there are chances to get tied to the electric grid in your area. In that case, you draw power from the utility company when there are weather conditions such as rains and storms or if there is less sunlight and panels can’t make as much energy as you generate electricity through the grid. 

What happens if the electric grid gets shut down due to lightning or extreme conditions such as rain or heavy winds? Then the electric grid might get shut down if electricity demand exceeds the availability. This power cut-off might affect your solar panel as well.

The main reason for this shutdown is to protect utility technicians sent to fix damaged power lines. The reason for the shut down of solar panels is that the solar system is connected to the grid with the help of a solar inverter. The solar inverter works on a smart meter that records the amount of energy used by you and the excess solar energy, which is sent back to the utility. So your solar panel will stop working if the grid shuts downs.

 

There are a Few Options for Using Solar Panels During a Power Outage

Most solar systems come with a battery, storing energy that you don’t use or export to the grid. A battery set up correctly can be used to power your home during a blackout.

Your solar battery can be a good option when you are disconnected from the electric grid of your area. This is referred to as ‘islanding’: an island of power with no connection to the wider grid. This allows you to use power without it being dangerous for anybody, and you can use your electric appliances with the help of this solar battery backup.

However, depending on these batteries during a blackout might prove very expensive to you.

So it is better to use only those appliances you want to provide power. These could be things like refrigerators or personal electronics/chargers. Unfortunately, installing solar batteries to keep your home or business running for a few days might cost more than you are willing to spend.

If you are looking for backup electricity but not willing to spend so much, generators are a better option. These backup generators are less expensive as compared to batteries. Therefore, it is easy to run your household or business at less price.

However, these generators use fossil fuels to generate electricity which is non-renewable and can damage your environment. Another option called Off-grid solar requires enough batteries to ensure you have enough electricity stored to survive in a blackout. However, off-grid solar is not a wise investment for most homes and businesses.

It might be difficult for you to generate electricity from the grid if your solar panel fails to produce the required electricity. Off-grid solar is a good option in far away areas such as farmhouses where there is no availability of an electric grid.

 

Aus-Brite is the best solar power installer in Sydney. If you are interested in installing solar panels for your home, contact our experts.

How to Recognize Quality Solar?

We pride ourselves on choosing only the best products to offer to all of our valued customers, those whom we believe will stand the test of time and deliver only the best results. But how do we choose these products? Well, there are a lot of things that come into play when deciding whether to stock a product, let us break it down for you.

How to recognize quality solar?

Choose once, choose wisely

When we decide to work with a product manufacturer, it is not just about stocking their products; it is the beginning of a relationship. Thus, before deciding to work with a brand, we take the time to understand it, to judge its longevity and quality. After all, once we engage with a supplier, we plan to get to know their products and store them for a long time, develop our experience with them, their warranties, and service procedures.

Make sure support is available

Regardless of a brand's reputation, if it is not present in Australia, it is unlikely that we will decide to store your product. We have seen too often that some solar panels providers, unfortunately, stock products from manufacturers who do not have support offices in our sunny country.

These are the types of providers that tend to come and go too quickly. By allowing your customers to ship their systems overseas when warranty issues arise, it can be more economical at that time to simply purchase a new system.

Take a long-term view

We've been in this industry for a long time and we've seen a lot of fads come and go. So we have the experience to know if a product will be of value to Australian solar users. The conditions in Australia are quite unique there, so we always make sure that the products we have in stock are suitable for Australians.

Price is not the only factor

Price does matter, Solar Installers should have products to suit all customers and all budgets, but there is more. Energy efficiency, warranty options, specifications, materials, and even aesthetics. All of this plays a role in our decision to stock a product in addition to its price. So you can be sure that no matter what price a product they offer sells for, it is the best-selling product at that price.

So there you have it, with all of this combined, I can rest assured that this information will help you to choose the Best Solar Provider that will only bring you the best in solar energy.

Learn More about the buying guide of Solar Panels.

Top 10 Reasons Why Home Solar Really Pays off

When you first think about switching to solar energy, it is normal to ask yourself: "Is the solar panel system really profitable?" Well, solar panel systems are a great way to offset your energy costs and contribute to energy independence that comes with many benefits.

In fact, Australia has the best conditions to produce abundant solar energy. A public survey conducted by the Institute of Australia shows that solar energy is the most popular energy option of the future, with 63% of people ranking it as their preferred energy option.

This trend will continue to increase in the near future due to the many benefits that solar panels offer.

We are going to go into detail on how solar panels can really be profitable for your home in order to get the Best Solar Plans NSW.

Top 10 reasons why home solar really pays off

Get a more predictable energy bill

Do you have the impression that your electricity bill is increasing every year? Every year, the trend of electricity increases by almost 16%. Using solar panels for your homes can reduce your electricity bill by up to 50% per month.

Its solar energy system is efficient at producing electricity during daylight hours and returning excess energy to the grid. After that, an energy supplier will credit you for exporting electricity, and this credit will help offset your electricity bills.

Additionally, solar power companies offer solar packages that offer lower rates than what you are currently paying. So switching to solar power is never a bad idea.

Get electricity credit through net metering

Net metering is a great way to save money!

The net metering system gives you credit for putting solar energy back on the grid and offsets the electricity you take from utilities in the future. It helps you get the full economic value of all the solar energy you produce.

When you're using more electricity than solar panels produce at night or on a cloudy day, you can easily disconnect electricity from the grid to power your meters. In the end, your electricity supplier pays you net for what you put on the grid. This way you can get an electricity credit.

Help improve the grid security

Switching to solar panels means fewer blackouts or brownouts. Every home in Australia, equipped with solar panels, works as a small power plant to provide us with greater security of the electricity grid.

Why choose Aus-Brite Solar?

Aus-Brite Solar is the best platform to get the best solar deals in NSW. We are working on the vision of making solar systems available to every home in Australia.

Read More: Top 10 reasons why home solar really pays off

A beginner’s guide to how electricity is produced from solar energy

Solar panels may look simple to the eye, but how does something this thin convert sunlight into energy? to seek out out, let’s probe the method of how electricity is produced using solar energy?

Solar energy is gaining ground over the past few years. it's a step ahead towards a clean energy future. Amazingly, the daylight is out there in abundance, so you'll harness this energy and convert it into electrical power. Further, the sun gives us much more energy than we'd like to power everything on earth.

A beginner’s guide to how electricity is produced from solar energy

The increasing demand for solar power is encouraging more people to put in solar panels at home. However, it's ideal to notice that producing electricity from solar energy isn't an easy-breezy task. The electricity production hugely depends on the efficiency of your solar array. 

Before exploring the functioning of solar panels, let’s take a sneak peek into several factors which will impact your solar electricity production.

Factors that impact solar electricity production are:

Seasonality: solar power production varies between days and months. A cloudy day won't be as productive as a sunny summer day. Therefore, it’s essential to specialize in the year-round picture for better electricity production.

Tilt: Solar panels can enjoy good tilting. The direction your house is facing, its location, and even your roof’s pitch significantly impact how well a solar array will work. Ideally, the solar array should be at an equivalent angle because of the latitude where they're mounted. 

Azimuth: From where the daylight arises is what determines the solar azimuth angle.

It is estimated that the incorrect azimuth angle could reduce the energy output of a solar home panel by up to 35%. An azimuth of zero-facing is typically the simplest option to produce maximum solar electricity. 

Therefore, with solar panels, your rooftop can generate your own power and provides you energy freedom. But have you ever checked out your solar panels on the roof and wondered exactly what they do?

Well, these high-tech panels add an efficient way to harness the sun’s renewable energy to deliver electricity to the house within. to understand how electricity is produced using solar power, we've come up with a guide.

Step-by-step guide how solar power is converted into electricity?

Step 1: Sunlight activates the panels

The process of electricity generation begins when sunlight travels about 93 million miles and falls on the solar panels. Each panel is formed of a layer of silicon cells, a metal frame, and wiring.

The photovoltaic cells convert light into current using the photovoltaic effect. The panels are grouped into “arrays” and are placed on rooftops for max impact. then, the solar cells absorb sunlight during day hours to activate the panels.

Step 2: Cells produce electrical current

Solar cells contain thin semiconductor wafers made up of two layers of silicone. One layer of the photovoltaic cell is charged, and therefore the other one is charged to make an electrical current. 

When the energy from the sun strikes a photovoltaic cell, it causes electrons to become loose within the semiconductor wafer. Those electrons are set in motion by the electrical field surrounding the wafer. Hence, this motion creates an electrical current. 

Why choose Aus-Brite Solar?

At Aus-Brite Solar, we provide clean energy solutions to all the households in Australia. you'll get the Best solar panel deals NSW based on your energy needs.

Read More: A beginner’s guide to how electricity is produced from solar energy

Tips to protect Solar Panels From Environmental Damage – Ausbrite

 Solar panels are an smart investment in your home. find out how best to guard your investment from wild animals and inclement weather with these following tips!

Tips to protect Solar Panels From Environmental Damage – Ausbrite

Snow and Solar Panels
Connecticut averages 37 inches of snow per annum , 32% more snow than the national average. But does more snow equal the necessity for seasonal protection for your solar panels?

Does snow affect solar panels?
Solar panels are typically installed at an angle to naturally allow snow to slip off because it melts. This keeps your solar panels clear to continue generating power in snowy conditions, but creates another problem within the process. Large amounts of snow slump the panels at an equivalent time can harm the integrity of your roof.

Many residential and commercial roofs in North America are built with asphalt shingle roofs. Asphalt shingles are designed with granules—in the winter, these granules help melting water flow off from the piles of snow without dislodging large sections of snow and ice at an equivalent time.

Solar panels have a glassy surface, which creates little resistance for melting snow and ice. It’s not uncommon for giant sheets of snow and ice to start out melting and fall from the panels all at once—landing on your roof, vehicles, landscaping, and other investments.

What are snow guards?
Snow guards are a further piece of kit installed in between or on the sides of rooftop solar panels. They’re designed to catch the snow because it slides off your solar panels and release smaller amounts of snow because it melts—preventing the hazards that accompany large sheets of snow falling from your roof.

Do i want snow guards in Connecticut?
Snow guards aren’t typically considered a necessity—until you’ve been burned (or buried) from a scarcity thereof. Because solar panels are darker, they heat up more quickly than other areas of your roof. Once the panels begin to heat up, the snow and ice will reduce before there’s really time for much of it to accumulate.

The real danger comes within the sort of snowstorms, blizzards, and other extreme weather scenarios. When many inches of snowstorm within a matter of hours, there might be big problems.

How to Protect Your Solar Panels From Wild Animals
Nesting creatures like birds and squirrels can use your solar panels as shelter—causing damage to wires within the process.

Install Critter Guards
Critter or squirrel guards and bird netting are an excellent thanks to prevent animals from calling your solar panels their home. This mesh-like array should be installed by knowledgeable to make sure proper installation.

Critter guards are installed between the surface of your roof and therefore the solar panels, which helps block off the underside of your panels from animals and dried leaves, pine needles, and other debris that would create a fireplace hazard near the wiring of your panels.

Trim Trees
Fruit and nut trees are both sources of food for squirrels and bridges to your roof and residential . Keep your tree branches trimmed back to stop animals from gaining access to your roof and solar panels.

Clean Your Gutters
Gutters collect the staple supplies animals got to build their nests, like leaves, twigs, pine needles, and other debris—so confirm you clean your gutters regularly to stay the supplies inaccessible to animals.

Aus-Brite Solar is Committed To Quality Solar Service
Aus-Brite solar team’s priorities are an equivalent today as once we first went into business—to help local businesses and farmers go solar to lower the value of operations, create revenue, and reduce their carbon footprint. inspect a number of our past projects and get in touch with us to Get Best Solar Panel Deals Sydney.