How Do Home Solar Power Systems Produce Energy?

Six simple parts do the trick

1. Customized solar panels that convert energy from the sun into direct current (DC) electricity. Can we please have three cheers for the photoelectric effect?

2. Support racks that safely and securely mount the solar panels. Your roof becomes a lean, mean, power-generating machine.

3. Streamlined connection equipment designed to maximize your solar energy system’s efficiency and output. Imagine your toaster plugged right into the sun...sort of. You get the idea.

4. Inverters that change the DC from your mini power station into alternating current (AC) electricity for use in your home. Mr. Sun, meet Miss High-Definition Plasma TV.

5. A state-of-the-art SunRun meter that measures output for monitoring and billing purposes. You can go online to track your solar power system’s performance and your personal contribution to the environment. Fun, don't you think?

6. A net-meter that links your system to the power grid. This insures you reap unbeatable savings and have power at home around the clock.

How Home Solar Power Systems Produce Energy - When the sun shines, your residential solar panels produce energy you can use in your home.

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Home solar energy systems start to work when the sun shines on your roof and hits the silicon - a semiconductor - contained in the panels. The sun’s energy causes electrons in the silicon to be released from their bonds. The flow of these electrons creates DC current which is then transformed by the inverter into 120volt AC power for your home.

The energy from a solar panel system then feeds into the house and if there’s any extra, it’s pushed back onto the utility grid. This means that California homeowners get to use the grid like a battery. So, if a solar power system produces more energy than is being used in the house, the homeowner doesn’t lose the electricity.

Thousands of California homeowners have installed solar power systems. Ready to join them?

SunRun - Affordable Home Solar for California Homeowners.