FAQs

Since solar energy is available in abundance, the roof space becomes the most ideal location to harness solar power. However, there are a few factors to be considered before opting for a Solar PGS. They have been stated as follows:

• Area of Rooftop: The foremost and the most important factor to be evaluated is the rooftop area. Any solar rooftop PGS design process begins with the evaluation of useful roof space. The rooftop area determines the nameplate capacity of the Solar PGS.
• Age Of Roof: It is important to analyze the average lifespan of the roof. This is dependent on a lot of factors like roof material, colour, etc. The average lifespan of a solar rooftop system is 27 years, which means, the rooftop should last as long as the solar rooftop system.
• Orientation of roof: It has to be ensured that the solar panels are oriented properly to ensure abundant power production. Favorable roof direction differs from location to location. In India, South- facing rooftops produce maximum electricity.

A factory in general terms is characterised massive and heavy duty machinery functioning round the clock. This automatically translates into heavy electricity bills. Going solar can reduce, if not completely eliminate this huge expenditure along with added benefits such as:

• Clean Energy: Solar Energy, being renewable, promotes environmental conservation by eliminating harmful emissions often associated with conventional energy sources. Apart from that, it is a noise- free power generation unit which is an added advantage.
• Round The Clock Electricity Supply: Most factories are often plagued by frequent electricity cuts. Solar rooftop systems come armed with strong battery backups which eliminate this problem altogether.
• Minimal Energy Costs: As mentioned earlier, going solar brings down the huge electricity bills to a bare minimum, thus drastically cutting down the energy expenditure.

Grid parity can be defined as the point in time where an alternative source of energy can produce electricity for consumers at the same rate as the conventional sources of power. This term is often associated with solar power.
To understand grid parity better, it is important to understand another term associated with it, known as "levelized cost of electricity". It can in simple terms be defined as the ratio of sum of costs incurred for a power generation system in it’s lifetime to the sum of power generated by the same system over it’s lifetime.

Grid parity is determined by comparing the levelized cost of energy produced by the renewable energy source and the levelized cost of the utility grid. Additionally, grid parity depends on a lot of other factors like the location, utility grid, etc.

Inverters are the heart of any SPGP. Solar Inverters convert the current generated by Solar Panels (Direct Current) in to Alternating Current which is required to operate general electrical appliances, around us.
apart from this Solar Inverters also monitor and control the functioning of the SPGP. below are three most commonly used, types of solar inverters available in the market today:

• Central Solar Inverters
• Micro Inverters
• String Inverters

A micro inverter, as the name suggests, is a small inverter, both size- wise and rating- wise, used for DC-to-AC conversion. Unlike the conventional inverters, the micro inverters are designed to be attached to each solar module. Thus, the inversion of each module is independent of the other. The major advantages of micro inverters over the traditional ones are as follows:

• Longer lifespan
• Customized design according to panels
• Improved safety

A solar farm, in simple terms is a Solar PGS designed on a utility level. It is also popularly known as a solar park or solar field. These systems are characterised as having a nameplate capacity of 1 MW and above.
Such farms are usually developed and installed on a land area of 4 Acres and above. Although an efficient means of energy, they have to go through a rigorous planning procedure before they are approved. A lot of factors are involved in this, the most important being land inspection.
The factors deciding the suitability of land are:

• Clear vicinity: It is important to ensure that there are no historical monuments or densely populated areas in the vicinity, since visual impact is a key consideration.
• Minimal forest clearance: Since solar farms require a minimum land area of 4 Acres, some areas would require to be cleared of the trees. But such a clearance should be as minimal as possible.
• Land terrain: The type of terrain heavily affects the installation cost. Uneven, sloped or sandy terrain determine if the solar farm installation on that site is viable or not.
• Proximity to grid: Grid proximity affects the overall cost benefits of the farm. It is advised to keep it within 1 km of existing distribution lines.
• Local Regulations: Different permits for construction and agricultural permits can affect the installation of the farms.

A solar module is comprised of a lot of components, with a small percentage of them being hazardous in nature like lead, cadmium, etc. Thus, it is important to ensure that these components are disposed off or recycled.
Since solar is a developing technology with upgrades happening on a regular basis, the R&D of recycling industry is still at its nascent stage. Most part of the solar module can be recycled, including up to 97% of certain semiconductor materials. At present, basic recycling technologies do exist, but they majorly focus on just two components- metals and glass. With these being huge industries of their own, the recycled products of the modules can be used for the manufacture of other products.
Since solar PGS is widely regarded as a clean and eco- friendly source of power generation, inroads are being made in the recycling sector to ensure that the hazardous components of the modules can be recycled or disposed off safely.

In the renewable energy spectrum, the development of wind and solar energy has been the most popular owing to their abundance, ease of availability and conversion to electric energy. But the wind and solar power plants, as stand-alone systems, are quite poor generators as the wind doesn't blow all the time and the sun doesn't shine all the time. Hence, there is realisation for a system that overcomes these disadvantages and provides optimum power output.
"A wind-solar hybrid system is a power generation system that combines the solar and wind power sources to generate optimum electricity."
Such a system becomes useful during times when sunlight or wind is not available. It comes armed with a provision for energy storage.
COMPONENTS:

• Solar PV Panels
• Wind turbine
• Solar wind composite power Inverters
• Controllers
• Batteries
• Engine generator (If required)

WORKING:

• The solar panels collect energy from the sun rays and wind turbine collect energy from the wind.
• This total collected energy is then supplied to the solar wind composite inverter where the generated DC (Direct current) is converted to AC (Alternating current), after which it is used for running of the appliances.
• With hybrid systems having a provision of battery back-up, the solar and wind generated power is stored in the batteries for use when neither is available. It is important to note that the storage capacities of the batteries must be large enough for power supply during non- charging periods.
• Another optional provision is the addition of an engine generator run by conventional fuels, diesel being the most common. This comes in handy when the batteries run low. The entire system is then powered by the generator.

ADDITIONAL FEATURES:

• Enhanced reliability of system: Since we are not dependent on just solar or just wind for power generation, the reliability of the system increases.
• Enhanced power generation: The power generation increases two-fold due to the combination of the two systems.
• Storage size reduction: Since there is less reliance on just one method of power production, the battery sizes can be minimised.
• Power supply to remote areas: Such a system can meet the basic power requirements of areas that do not have the provision of grid power.

The first and foremost requirement of any hospital to function is uninterrupted power run. Also, the noise level needs to be at a bare minimum to ensure the patient's health. The generators that are used by such structures to ensure uninterrupted power supply are run by conventional fuels, most popular being diesel. However, with the rising diesel prices and power shortages, solar makes a compelling case for installation in hospitals. Going solar helps hospitals in the following ways:

• Easy maintenance: It requires very less maintenance from the consumer.
• Uninterrupted power: Since solar PGS’s come with back up in the form of batteries, they ensure uninterrupted power supply to the hospital.
• Low electricity bills: Since the Solar PGS generate the electricity and supply it to the grid, the energy expenses per month fall to a bare minimum.
• Minimal noise: Since the Solar PGS does not have any moving parts, there is minimum or no noise generation, hence minimising noise pollution.
• Reliable: Solar Power is very reliable and lasts over 30 Years

Since warehouses are primarily used for storing inventory, their main energy expenditure is for running lights and refrigeration only. Combined with unused roof space and the power shortages, a Solar PGS becomes the most optimum solution to overcome their electricity problems.
Why should warehouses opt for a Solar PGS?

• Easy maintenance: It requires very less maintenance from the consumer.
• Uninterrupted power: Since solar PGS’s come with back up in the form of batteries, they ensure uninterrupted power supply to the hospital.
• Low electricity bills: Since the Solar PGS generate the electricity and supply it to the grid, the energy expenses per month fall to a bare minimum.
• Reliable: Solar Power is very reliable and lasts over 30 Years
• Cost Effective: Cost of electricity is lowered to 2.5Rs/KWH instead of the commercial 15 Rs/Watt

A string inverter is a device for converting DC to AC power and which is designed for high voltage DC inputs.A string inverter is the type most commonly used in home and commercial solar power systems. It is a large-ish box that is often situated some distance away from the solar array.Depending on the size of the installation, there may be more than one string inverter present.Modern string inverters not only convert the power from DC to AC, but also use Maximum Point Power Tracking (MPPT) to deliver the maximum amount of power available. This is important, since each solar panel can produce different amounts of power due to manufacturing anomalies, intermittent shading, leaves, dirt, passing clouds, and/or other factors.[ADP]

NO, Batteries are not required for grid tied SPGS, in the case where grid connectivity is not possible, A huge number of batteries are required to sustain the electrical load requirement. In case of a 500KW system, the battery bank generally costs more than the SPGS

Factories have a high electricity consumption, where machines consume electricity On Manufacturing, Processing, Assembling, Packaging, Repairs, Tests and other processed to manufacture a product.
Depending on the roof space a SPGS can meet up to 100% of the energy requirements of a Factory.
Keeping in mind that Every 100KW system Generates 15,000 kwh (units) of electricity every month and requires 850 Sq.Ft. (85 Sq Mt.) of Roof Space.
SPGS can also eliminate the use of diesel generator if fitted with battery back up.

The vast majority of PV systems today are grid-connected. If the grid fails, power cannot be drawn from the PV systems even when the sun is shining.
YES. With accurate battery storage system sizing, it is possible to power the loads for a whole day with Solar PV systems backed with batteries.
How?
On Grid (Grid Tied): The battery is charged from the grid, and discharged during power failures/ blackouts.
Off Grid: The battery is charged during day from the Solar Panels, and discharged when required.

Yes, there are mountings systems that offer non-penetration of the roofs for your rooftop solar. Traditionally the use of rooftop solar with penetration of the roof has been in practice for a long time. However, non-

Mounting structures provide the foundation for the solar modules to be mounted over the roof. At the same time, they ensure structural stability of the solar PGS and energy output maximization.
So why are they essential?

• They increase the life expectancy of the modules by protecting them against wear and tear.
• They enhance the structural stability of the panels.
• With the upgrades in technology, the mounting structures now come with tracking systems. These help the panels orient themselves for maximum power output.

A net meter is a bi-directional meter used to measure the surplus of electricity being routed to the grid. Since the consumer would be generating the electricity that he uses and throw the rest to the grid, the net meter gives a valuable insight into how much electricity is being produced and how much of it is being consumed.
Net metering is an electricity policy to encourage more people to invest into solar. Since the consumer has to pay the grid for over consumption of electricity, the outstanding record displayed in the net meter helps tackle this by making the people aware of the amount of units they’ve over consumed.
The net metering mechanism can be best explained by this formula:
Net meter reading= (Total units of energy produced) – (Total units of energy consumed)
How is it beneficial?

• Improves energy efficiency
• Reduces the electricity bill to be paid to the electricity service provider
• Cost benefit in the form of credit notes for over generation

Evaluating the ability of a roof to support solar modules requires assessing the condition and construction of the roof, calculating the weight impact of the solar modules and support structures, and taking into account the potential impact of wind. Typical solar modules weigh 20 to 50 pounds (10 to 25 kg) each and are distributed evenly across a roof along with the racking systems that support them. By dividing the weight of the modules and underlying racking by the area of the modules, we generally find that the combined weight of solar modules and the racking that supports them puts about 3-4 pounds (1.5-2 kg) of weight per square foot on a roof. Most structures built after 1970 are designed to support loads far greater than this. Local permitting rules must be consulted, but generally such loads are acceptable