Overview of PV System Types

When generating electricity from solar energy, you have a wide range of options for adapting solar systems to both your needs and those of your customers.

Connecting to the Grid
A purely grid-connected PV system that doesn’t include storage or load management lets the owner use the electricity generated to meet their energy needs. This helps towards independence from rising energy costs, and any excess energy generated can be fed back into the grid.

Backup Power
In addition to grid-connected systems, PV systems with the ability to store energy can use this energy in case of a power failure. When a battery is connected to the PV system with an inverter, the surplus electricity generated will charge the battery and this energy can be used at a later date. Depending on the size of the battery, there should be enough energy stored to keep the most important appliances like fridges and laptops running until the power comes back on.

Make Your Solar Energy Last Longer
A solar system generates most of its energy during the day, but there might be too much energy to use. So what happens to the rest of it if you can’t use it all? If you have a grid-connected system, any surplus energy will be fed back into the grid. But you could combine your PV system with a battery storage system which will be charged throughout the day and then makes the stored energy available overnight, helping you to use more of the energy you create. Any energy still left over after charging the battery that hasn’t been used can be then fed back into the public grid.