The solar rooftop solutions are the most sought-after applications of solar energy. As the name indicates these solutions are installed in the rooftop of any building (both domestic and commercial). There two type of roof top solutions – Off-grid and On-grid / grid-tie. Here the word ‘grid’ refers to the electric power line of the utility company (in case of Assam it is APDCL).
The capacity of any solar power plant is measured by the capacity of the solar photovoltaic modules used in that plant. There are two types of solar PV modules – mono crystalline and poly crystalline. The productivity of mono crystalline/ mono perc modules is higher than the poly crystalline modules.
An off-grid solar power system means a ‘Solar Plant’ which is independent of the energy/ power grid of the utility company. This system essentially requires its own energy storage system which means a battery bank. The solar energy is stored in the battery bank by help of a PCU or solar charge controller or an off-grid inverter and the stored energy is used for consumption as per requirement.
The major components of an off-grid system are – Solar Photovoltaic modules, Solar Power Conditioning Unit (PCU) and a Battery bank as per requirement and plant size.
In the off-grid segment nowadays solar Inverter is also available. These are normally smaller systems. The solar inverter uses the solar energy to charge the battery connected to the inverter. These solutions are popular in rural areas where the power supply is erratic.
