Home Solar System
Many people in South Africa is making use of home solar system to generate power.
For example, in Alexandra Township in Johannesburg, houses are being fitted with solar panels for hot water geysers. As is the case with many low-cost housing developments like these.
These might seem to be expensive to install at first. Solar power will however save you a lot of money in the long-term.
Power Inverters
The internal working parts of power inverters and UPS, inverts the incoming DC voltage into sinewave waves. Due to the complexity of these parts, the result would be that investing in power inverters could prove to be a costly exercise.
Incoming sine waves have been re-created to save costs and protect equipment. Modified sinewave inverters as well as UPS systems simply switch from the DC supply between positive and negative poles. This will offer you a simulated sinewave wave.
Modified sinewave inverters and UPS systems are inexpensive to manufacture. But could be very costly if these are installed into the wrong equipment.
Anything with a high inrush or high-speed control should be connected to the correct power inverters to avoid damage. The same for equipment with sensitive data.
It is imperative to take special note that certain UPS systems. Most particularly the 600 VA which falls under the desk-type UPS systems. They are classified in the modified sinewave categories. Because computers only run off power inverters for short periods of time when power outages occur. They are far less likely to be damaged from modified wave forms.
Different Inverters
For those that don’t know the difference. There are certain distinct advantages of pure sine wave power inverters over modified sine wave power inverters. We make use of energy every single day of our lives and in every single aspect in a modern world. In South Africa electricity supply is barely keeping up with the pace and demand. Coal-fired power stations are experiencing issues plus they cause pollution in an already-polluted world.
But there is hope on the horizon, such as using and installing a home solar system. Making use of the abundant sunshine we are so lucky to have in South Africa.
Leveraging the Sun
The sun is a significant font of energy without which no life would be possible on Earth. The energy from the sun can be used to generate electricity in a more sustainable and pollutant-free process. More so than coal-fired power stations that are at present generating most of our energy.
But heating water through the use of solar power is certainly not new to man. The ancient Greeks, for example, were building houses in ways that the sun could heat them during cold winter months.
Solar or photovoltaic cells are specifically designed to capture the rays of the sun and directly convert them into electricity. Furthermore, solar cells have been used for many decades to provide power to satellites, too.
A solar cell consists of two thin plates made of a semi-conductive material such as silicon with a layer of chemicals on their surface. When sunlight falls on the cells, electrons are released from the silicon and they move over the layer of chemicals, generating an electric current.
South Africa has among the highest levels of sunshine in the world. But very little has been done to use its power to generate electricity. When Earth’s fossil fuels are exhausted, scientists believe solar energy to be the only alternative.
It has been predicted that more than 2.5 % of the world’s electricity needs will be provided by solar energy by 2015.
Installing a home solar system this summer is perhaps one of the most practical ways forward.