Educational videos from the altE staff on everything from what is a solar panels, how to troubleshoot a solar panel to how to size solar charge controllers and inverters.
What is a diode? A diode is designed to let current flow in one direction. If you’re familiar with plumbing, a diode is the electrical equivalent to a check valve. There are two purposes of diodes in a solar power system – bypass diodes and blocking diodes….
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In the demo below, we show what happens when you point solar panels at different angles from the sun. Video Transcript So what I’ve got here is one solar panel, it’s a 5W 12V panel, and I’m measuring the amps –…
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You might have seen the DIY solar series we’ve been doing where we’re showing different ways to wire solar panels that are mismatched. See different watts & different volts and amps. Depending on what is different, there’s different ways that you should wire them; in series…
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Effect of tilting solar panels The angle that you select to mount your solar panels will depend on a few factors. If you have got just a straight grid-tie solar system that is going to be on your roof and your…
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Probably the question we most often get is, “How much solar does it take to power my 2,000 sq ft home?” The answer is always the same. “I don’t know. How much power do you use?” The power usage for different…
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6 steps to Off-grid Solar Are you interested in designing an off-grid solar system? Here are the 6 steps to get you started. #1) Figure out how much power you need This is the most important step, and many people…
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In our demo below, we show how you can wire your solar panels differently to help minimize shading. Ideally, each solar panel should have its own charge controller to achieve maximum performance. But if that is not an option, see what our…
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Other than the obvious difference of 12 solar cells, there are pros and cons to using 60 and 72 cells in different solar power systems. First a little background. Solar panels are made from blocks of silicon ingots that are…
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3 Facts About Kyocera Solar Panels Fact #1 PV Evolutions Labs performed Highly Accelerated Life Testing (or HALT) on all of the major solar panel brands. Solar panels were subjected to rigorous tests that are designed to mimic years of…
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Myth #5: It takes more power to make solar panels than they save. They wear out and have to be replaced often. The Embodied Energy is the energy consumed to make, deliver, and install a product. That includes mining the material, processing…
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