Solar Batteries - A Simple Introduction
Solar batteries are an extremely effective technology, having the ability to store massive amounts of energy in times of power outages. They can even supply power for whole buildings. The only real limit of solar batteries is their limited capacity. Although they are cost-effective, they also have a high maintenance cost and need to be stored carefully to avoid overcharge and undercharge situations. This leaves them as a very expensive way to store power. Click for more details.
Solar batteries work on the same principle as the more common conventional batteries. Solar cells contain three electrodes, a positive and negative plate, a thick sheet of silicon, and a thin layer of dye-substrate. The material between the plates is referred to as a conduction layer. It usually contains potassium, sodium, or phosphorus and changes conductivity depending on the concentration level. The final stage in the life cycle of the battery is that the conduction layer becomes positively charged and releases energy as electricity.
Although this sounds very simple, it was not always that way. When solar batteries first arrived on the market they were constructed in a similar way to the incandescent light bulbs in homes. The early systems were problematic because the accumulated energy could not be stored efficiently and the resulting power would often lead to undercharges. The need for more efficient systems meant that engineers had to develop new materials that would make it easier to control the stored energy. This lead to the development of the solar PV system, which involves using thin flexible diodes that capture the sun's energy and change it into DC current which can be used in modern home devices such as blenders, fridge freezers, computer power chargers, and portable appliances such as radios and tumblers. Click to read more here.
Solar batteries have evolved over the years to where they are today. The original glass mat-based electrolyte sealed lead-acid battery was replaced by the polysulfide-based cells used in today's solar batteries. Polysulfide-based cells are made from an inexpensive polymer that has the ability to release energy when electricity is applied to them. These modern-day solar batteries use special discharge plates which allow them to release stored energy more effectively and at much higher voltages.
Solar batteries have the ability to store a lot of charges when they are in a fully saturated state. The maximum capacity that a battery can hold will depend on the thickness of the silicon within the battery and the thickness of the glass mat that the battery is stored upon. Newer PV cells now utilize what is called thermogold lining which is similar to the lining that is placed in electric cans to prevent leakage. The thermogold causes the batteries to release a lower voltage in order to prevent the cells from reaching their maximum potential and in turn, the performance of the battery will be less than optimal.
An important component of a fully saturated battery bank is a charge controller. A charge controller will limit the amount of energy that the batteries are allowed to store until it is needed and then will shut off the system until the batteries are ready again. An inverter will be required if you intend to connect a microinverter to your battery bank as well as a charge controller. The microinverter will bridge the gaps between the battery bank and the microprocessor, which in turn bridges the differences in the output voltage between the battery bank and the inverter. There are other components such as a battery charger if you intend to connect your charging system to your home solar panels.
Find out more about this at http://www.wikihow.com/Change-a-Car-Battery.
Solar batteries work on the same principle as the more common conventional batteries. Solar cells contain three electrodes, a positive and negative plate, a thick sheet of silicon, and a thin layer of dye-substrate. The material between the plates is referred to as a conduction layer. It usually contains potassium, sodium, or phosphorus and changes conductivity depending on the concentration level. The final stage in the life cycle of the battery is that the conduction layer becomes positively charged and releases energy as electricity.
Although this sounds very simple, it was not always that way. When solar batteries first arrived on the market they were constructed in a similar way to the incandescent light bulbs in homes. The early systems were problematic because the accumulated energy could not be stored efficiently and the resulting power would often lead to undercharges. The need for more efficient systems meant that engineers had to develop new materials that would make it easier to control the stored energy. This lead to the development of the solar PV system, which involves using thin flexible diodes that capture the sun's energy and change it into DC current which can be used in modern home devices such as blenders, fridge freezers, computer power chargers, and portable appliances such as radios and tumblers. Click to read more here.
Solar batteries have evolved over the years to where they are today. The original glass mat-based electrolyte sealed lead-acid battery was replaced by the polysulfide-based cells used in today's solar batteries. Polysulfide-based cells are made from an inexpensive polymer that has the ability to release energy when electricity is applied to them. These modern-day solar batteries use special discharge plates which allow them to release stored energy more effectively and at much higher voltages.
Solar batteries have the ability to store a lot of charges when they are in a fully saturated state. The maximum capacity that a battery can hold will depend on the thickness of the silicon within the battery and the thickness of the glass mat that the battery is stored upon. Newer PV cells now utilize what is called thermogold lining which is similar to the lining that is placed in electric cans to prevent leakage. The thermogold causes the batteries to release a lower voltage in order to prevent the cells from reaching their maximum potential and in turn, the performance of the battery will be less than optimal.
An important component of a fully saturated battery bank is a charge controller. A charge controller will limit the amount of energy that the batteries are allowed to store until it is needed and then will shut off the system until the batteries are ready again. An inverter will be required if you intend to connect a microinverter to your battery bank as well as a charge controller. The microinverter will bridge the gaps between the battery bank and the microprocessor, which in turn bridges the differences in the output voltage between the battery bank and the inverter. There are other components such as a battery charger if you intend to connect your charging system to your home solar panels.
Find out more about this at http://www.wikihow.com/Change-a-Car-Battery.
