1. How much area is needed for a rooftop solar system installation?
It totally depends on the aggregate of kW of MW you would like to adapt. In general, a simple rule of thumb is to hold 100 sqft for every 1kW of solar panels. For example, if you require an 800-watt load for your house, a 1kW solar system is appropriate for you.
However, a 1 MW solar PV power plant should need about 100000 sqft, i.e., about 2.5 acres, or 1 hectare). Nevertheless, because significant floor-mounted solar PV lands require an area for other equipment, the total land needed for a 1MW of the solar PV system will be about 4 acres.
2. How much energy can I generate from a rooftop solar plant?
The energy generated from a rooftop solar plant depends on different components like the capacity of the solar plant instated, adaptation of the roof, amount of insolation received, etc. Therefore, it needs a sufficient number of solar panels to hold as much energy as possible.
When exhibited to direct sunlight, a distinctive rooftop solar panel produces about 300 watts in one hour, i.e. in a typical day during summer, containing 10 hours of daylight; it can generate around 3000 watts or 3 kWh per day.
When it comes to a larger unit, an average 1MWP plant produces 17.50 lacs units per annum. As there are different varieties of solar panels, it has other rated descriptions such as 310 Wp, 320 Wp, etc.
3. Will a rooftop solar power plant installation damage my roof?
Adequately installed panels do not cause any destruction to your roof. Indeed, they add to the appreciation of the roof. They also lean to protect the roofing materials they enclose by shielding them from precipitation, sunlight and warmth. Even any sort of drilling is not required into your rooftop for installing panels. In the case of RCC roofs, cinder blocks are set up on the rooftop for installing panels. Therefore, no drilling is needed on the roof. If you have metallic roofs, then rails are put up on the roof before installing solar power modules.
4. Are batteries essential for solar power plants to perform?
Preferably, solar power plants are established to transmute the sun’s energy into electricity directly. In simple terms, we can symbolize that batteries help in keeping the energy for later use. In general, batteries are expensive and require considerable maintenance. Thus, the utilization of Lithium-Ion batteries is still not a feasible option in India in terms of cost incurred with the benefits accrued.
Nowadays, most solar plants are grid bridged using the net-metering concept, where not only you can create and utilize energy but also transfer the excess production to the grid and earn credit. Net metering efficiently uses the grid as a massive battery that helps to balance this demand discrepancy.
5. What are solar “trackers”? Where can they be used?
Solar trackers are devices that place an object at an angle respective to the Sun. They adjust the direction that a panel is fronting according to the position of the Sun. By placing the panel in a perpendicular direction to the Sun, more sunlight beats the solar plant, less light is reflected, and more energy is captivated.
Solar trackers are mainly used for floor-mounted solar panels and large, free-standing solar installations like solar trees. They are ordinarily not used in household or residential solar projects but have a place in the utility-scale and industrial solar market.
6. What maintenance is required for a solar power plant?
Solar panels are a substantial investment that can give you renewable solar energy for the next 25 years or more. In general, solar panels need very little maintenance for the function. The only needed is a periodic cleaning to make sure dirt, leaves aren’t blocking the light rays.
The only time you might require more substantial maintenance is in times of heavy snowfall or if your plant’s energy output commences decreasing. In solar photovoltaic panels, no moving parts are needed and therefore require less maintenance, including integral cleaning with water every 2-4 weeks and inhibitory power maintenance every 3 -4 months.
7. What will be the average life of the solar panels?
In general, solar panels last up to 25-30 years. However, this doesn’t imply that the production of electricity comes to an end after 25 years – it just means that energy fabrication has decreased by what manufacturers appraised to be a remarkable amount.
Solar panels will pursue to work for many decades, stated they aren’t physically harmed by debris, wind or any other uncontrollable factors. It is primarily because solar panels don’t have any components – that hardly break from within and usually are only damaged by external forces like a poor collecting set-up or severe weather.
