How to Wire in Solar Panels to Power a Home
Wiring solar panels is not as difficult as installing them. Once you have successfully mounted the solar panels to your home's roof, you are left with the simple phase of wiring. Connect all the panels together to a power inverter. The power inverter is then connected to batteries, which store the solar energy for use at night time. These batteries are further connected to the home grid, through which you receive solar electricity in all the outlets of your home. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Open every panel’s junction box from its back and connect them together in series. Each panel has a positive and negative lead; connect the positive lead from one panel to the negative lead on the next panel (in series). When you have connected them all this way, you will find one open lead from the first panel and one from the last one (+ and -).
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Connect the wiring from the last solar panel in the array to a charge controller. Charge controller keeps the voltage steady across the electric system.
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Connect the wires from the last panel that you attached to the charge controller to a power inverter. Use the thickest wire that's available to you for this purpose because the amount of amperage that runs through these wires is going to be high. This power inverter will convert the sun’s energy into standard alternating current (120 volts at 60 Hz), which is compatible with your home's electric system.
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Connect the batteries to the power inverter. Ideally, the distance between the batteries and the inverter should not be more than 6 feet. You will need to use the thickest available wire for the same reasons as above. Connect the wiring from the batteries to the power inverter to convert DC into AC. Connect the inverter to the utility grid to sync up with the 60 cycle utility company’s power.
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Tips & Warnings
If you have not installed your solar panels yet, see the article in Resources below.
Many people do not use batteries for storing solar power because they are very expensive and take up a massive amount of space. Some batteries even give off dangerous gas and cannot be kept indoors.
