WHAT IS SOLAR ENERGY?
A RENEWABLE SOURCE OF CLEAN ENERGY GENERATING ELECTRICITY OR HEAT
DOES NOT EMIT HARMFUL WASTE OR GASES TO THE ENVIRONMENT
Solar energy comes from the light and heat emitted by the sun. This energy source can be used in a photovoltaic or thermal way, generating electrical power or heat. It is a clean and renewable source of energy that does not generate waste or gases harmful to the environment. Solar energy is one of the most promising alternative sources of energy.
A set of technologies are employed to capture the energy from the sun, including photovoltaic panels, heliothermic plants and solar heaters. When captured, sunlight is converted into energy.
TYPES OF SOLAR ENERGY
PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR ENERGY
Photovoltaic solar energy is the direct conversion of solar radiation into electrical power. This conversion is performed by photovoltaic cells, composed of semiconductor material, usually silicon.
Upon falling on the cells, sunlight causes the movement of electrons in the conductive material, transporting them through the material until they are captured by an electric field (formed by a difference in potential between the semiconductors). In this way, electricity is generated.
Consisting of panels, modules and electrical equipment, the photovoltaic system does not require an environment with high radiation to function. However, the amount of energy produced depends on the density of the clouds, that is, the fewer the clouds in the sky the greater the insolation, and consequently the production of electricity.
This way of obtaining energy has been growing more and more due to competitive prices and the incentives offered for countries to adopt renewable energy sources.
HELITHERMAL SOLAR ENERGY
In the heliothermic system, the energy from the sun is transformed into thermal power to heat water in homes, hotels, and clubs. To make it possible, mirrors are used to reflect sunlight, concentrating it on a single point where there is a receiver.
The receiver consists of a liquid, which is heated by sunlight reflected from the mirrors. This liquid is responsible for storing heat, heating water in power plants and thus producing steam. This steam drives the turbines in the plants, triggering the activation of generators, which produce electricity.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS - FAQ
DOES A SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM WORK DAY AND NIGHT?
The solar energy generated during daytime first supplies the loads connected in the house, such as the refrigerator, lighting or air conditioning, while the excess energy leaves the installation site and passes through the energy meter. This portion of energy is converted into credits. Thus, residents can use the energy credits in periods when the system is not supplying all the energy demand of the house, such as on a cloudy or rainy day, or when the solar system is not generating energy, such as during the night.
The solar system inverter synchronizes the voltage and frequency of the generated energy with that of the public grid and injects current into it, that is, the energy generated by the solar system is identical to the energy of the utility company, so no adaptation of the house is necessary to receive solar energy.
It can also be used when the energy consumption is greater than the generation. In the latter case, the solar system supplies part of the energy and the utility supplies the rest of the energy being consumed. The important thing about this process is that it is all automated. It is not necessary for the owner of the house to press any button or key for the system to distribute energy according to the needs of the house.
WHAT IS A SOLAR PANEL?
Photovoltaic solar panels can be installed on the roofs of houses or together form a power plant. Composed of photovoltaic cells, they have the ability to absorb the sun's rays and transform them directly into electrical current. This happens because of a physical phenomenon called “the photovoltaic effect”.
These cells are connected in series and, in general, a solar panel consists of 60 or 72 solar cells. The most used material for the composition of a solar cell is crystalline silicon.
WHAT IS A SOLAR FREQUENCY INVERTER?
The energy produced by the solar panel needs to be converted, as it is primarily a direct current. To be used in homes, it must be changed to alternating current. That’s why the solar energy system uses an inverter, which is installed near the light panel.
This is the heart of the system, as it has the ability to synchronize with the frequency of the electrical grid (60Hz) and thus inject alternating current into the electrical grid.
In addition to this energy conversion, the equipment can also be connected to the internet via Wi-Fi, and send energy generation data from the system, so that customers can get remote access to them through their own applications or web services.
TECHNOLOGIES USED IN THE PROJECT
RESIDENTIAL PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY
The Solar Pilar Project is expected to supply energy from the photovoltaic system to 30 Pilar households. These homes will receive photovoltaic panels, hybrid inverters, charge controllers, batteries for energy storage, smart meters, and consumption monitoring devices.
Additional prerequisites to compose this group are::
1. A roof that supports photovoltaic panels.
2. Safe electrical installation with a suitable location to keep the battery pack in good condition.
PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR POWER PLANT
In a solar power plant, the panels are concentrated in a specific space where they generate electricity for a number of users (households, businesses, industries, etc.)
The Pilar Solar Project is expected to supply photovoltaic solar energy generated at the Frei Caneca Plant for 60 homes in Pilar neighborhood. These homes will also receive smart meters. This model was designed according to the concepts of “shared generation” and “remote self-consumption” of the ANEEL Resolutions 482/12 and 687/2015.
SMART METERS
The Project is expected to provide smart meters for 150 families, composing the control group of the experiment. As the Project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of installing these technologies (solar photovoltaic, batteries and smart meters) in a low-income community, it will be necessary to have a group that does not receive the technologies presented to the previous one. Thus, the two groups — those using the technology and those who don’t use it — can be compared.
