SO, HOW DOES SOLAR WORK?

1) Individual silicon based (most commonly) cells called photovoltaics (PV) make up what is called module or solar panel. These PV cells clusters perform the task of converting incoming sunlight directly into electricity.

2) Wires attached to the panels transport the converted electricity to the Inverter. The Inverter converts the solar generated Direct Current (DC) electricity into the type of power your home and business can use, which is called Alternating Current (AC).

3) After the electricity travels through the inverter, the AC electricity is then transported via wire to your breaker panel to meet your home’s electric demands. Now your meter will spin backward and the excess electricity is sent to the electric grid.

4) The transmission process to the grid is simple. There are times when your panels will generate more power than you consume and times when you aren’t generating enough electricity (night times/rainy days). When your panels are not generating enough solar electricity, you will continue to get power from your local utility.

However, when you’re generating a surplus of solar electricity, that excess clean energy will be “net metered” to your local utility grid and you may earn a credit on your power bill for that net metered electricity.