Planning Ahead Before Installing Your Panel System
Most panels are warrantied for 25 years, for the home solar system, that's a long time to go without any big changes in your life. When people start to plan what they need in their system, people always think about what they need right now, only a few people may think about their needs might change in the future. What happens when you have kids, build a new workshop, or buy an electric car that needs charging. You'll start consuming more energy, so it is better to tell people to look to the future when designing the system.
Some keys to think about:
* Total available space. Do you have space to expand upon the installation if necessary? For example, if your system takes up your whole roof, what happens when you want to add panel layers but have nowhere to put them.
* Solar panel expansion. Is your system designed to be expandable? People often think that they will design panels without realizing that other parts of the system like the inverter need to be sized to match. Central inverters have a limit to how many panels they can support. So, it's often not as simple as just adding panels. Microinverters are a great option to facilitate expansion for grid-tied systems. They work on a one-to-one basis; each panel is paired with its own microinverter. When you want to add on, just pair another micro inverter to a new panel and mount them onto your array.
* Energy storage expansion: Lithium vs Lead-Acid. For off-grid properties, you should also think carefully think about battery sizing. Depending on the battery type and age, it might not be possible to expand upon your existing battery bank. Lithium battery banks can be expanded but lead-acid batteries have limited options for increasing storage capacity. The reason is that when you add new lead-acid batteries to an old Bank, the new batteries will absorb the characteristics of the old one. The new batteries are essentially being aged prematurely. Lithium batteries are the exception, they have an integrated circuit controlling the charge parameters. The old batteries charge independently from the new ones. So, you don't run into the same issues. Lithium batteries come at a higher cost, so make sure to discuss these options with the solar tech to ensure that you find the best solution that works within your budget.
The solar power remote monitoring system developed by our company could help customers to monitor power generation in real-time. Clearly let you know how much cost you saved, you much money you earned, and how much power you generated, and you can control your solar system in one dashboard. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us.
