A savoir sur le solaire – Imeon Energy

How to produce your own electricity?

IMEON ENERGY — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 16:38:33 +0000

It is now possible to install an autonomous solar kit to produce electricity at home. To do this, the installer who will have been selected will, in addition to installation effort, supply different components that will allow the user to produce electricity. The main components of the solar kit are: photovoltaic solar panels, an IMEON hybrid inverter, a battery bank with a nominal voltage of 48Vdc, a mounting structure, AC and DC protection, accessories (wiring, connectors etc …).

Before the project, the installer must carry out a study that allows to determine the size the various components of the autonomous solar kit. This study must take into account the electrical consumption profile of the site, the meteorological data as well as the objectives of the user. This preliminary study is necessary to determine the appropriate components to produce the electricity in effective and efficient way.

The roles of the main components of the autonomous solar kit are:

Photovoltaic solar panels: they generate electricity by transforming solar radiation into a direct current and voltage.

The IMEON hybrid Inverter: it is the brain of the autonomous solar kit. It analyzes in real time several parameters such as the consumption of the equipped site, the production of the solar installation, the state of charge of the batteries and the status of the public electricity network. Depending on these parameters and the user’s objectives, IMEON decides which sources of energy to use and how to use them: direct consumption, storage in batteries, injection into the public electricity grid.

Batteries (lithium or lead-acid): they can store the excess production generated during the day to use it during the night or in the evening, when the solar production is insufficient to meet the electricity needs of the building. The batteries will be used to supply electricity during power cuts in the public electricity grid (back-up). It is mandatory that the installer selects batteries compatible with IMEON hybrid inverters.

To quickly understand how an autonomous solar kit works to produce electricity, you can watch this video.

IMEON ENERGY recommends to contact an experienced professional to install the autonomous solar kit.

Climate change, a call for collective awareness?

IMEON ENERGY — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 15:06:23 +0000

Continued rise of conventional energy prices, depletion of fossil fuel reserves, lower cost of photovoltaic systems with batteries, grid parity; all elements are now together to encourage the homeowners to invest in a system of solar electricity production for self-consumption.

The IPCC (a scientific body under the UN) has highlighted the relationship between natural disasters (floods, tsunamis, global warming …) and greenhouse gas emissions. The reduction of CO2 emissions related to the use of energy is therefore one of utmost importance in the fight against climate change. In Europe, the member states have set a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the share of renewable resources used for generation of energy by 2020. On the other side of the globe, the still recent Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster brought back the risk related to generation of energy in nuclear power plants to attention of the public sphere. These events and facts, among many others, are driving a global interest in advancing technologies relevant to clean, decarbonized energy generation methods.

In addition to the abovementioned economical aspects, to equip a solar installation with batteries to produce its own electricity (self-consumption – self-production), is to make a sustainable investment contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions and the development of a new and unavoidable energy model, fighting against climate change.

What is grid parity?

IMEON ENERGY — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 14:56:27 +0000

We talk about grid parity when the price of a kWh produced by a photovoltaic installation becomes competitive with one offered by conventional energy suppliers.

Grid parity has already been achieved in many countries, such as Germany, which do not benefit from particularly generous sunshine. As the cost of fossil fuels continues to increase, the grid parity will gradually be reached all over the world and as a consequence, solar electricity will take a leading role in global energy supply.

Is solar panel recycling possible?

IMEON ENERGY — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 14:07:22 +0000

A photovoltaic panel is composed of aluminum, glass, silicon as well as rare elements (indium, selenium …), plastic and copper or silver. All the materials that make up a solar panel can be recycled independently. The solar panel recycling sector is already well organized with members such as PV Cycle in Europe.

what is lifespan of solar panel?

IMEON ENERGY — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 14:00:12 +0000

The solar panel life is well above 25 years. Proof of this, installations in Switzerland in the early 1990s are still in operation with annual yields close to those of origin. Moreover, some manufacturers guarantee their solar panels over periods of more than 25 years.

should batteries be replaced regularly?

IMEON ENERGY — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 13:50:13 +0000

Not at all! Using an appropriate solar batteries coupled to an IMEON inverter and optimally managing their charge and discharge is vital to keeping the storage system in good condition. Some lithium battery manufacturers advertise lifetime of 6000 cycles or more (1 cycle = one complete charge and discharge) at considerable 80% discharge level and announce 10 years guarantee periods. An appropriately sized system cycles once a day, which may prolong the solar batteries lifespan up to 15 years.

what is the maintenance of my solar installation?

IMEON ENERGY — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 13:39:28 +0000

The maintenance of a solar installation concerns essentially the panels and the batteries.

In regard to the panels: Photovoltaic panels do not require major maintenance apart from cleaning of the surface. A photovoltaic cell exposed to unobstructed sunlight will more likely reach high efficiency performance figures.

In regard to the batteries: an annual maintenance may be necessary depending on the battery technology used. Some specific types of lead acid batteries may require an electrolyte refill, while the majority of lead acid and lithium ion batteries commonly used for solar applications is maintenance free.

Is self-consumption suitable for the residential sector?

IMEON ENERGY — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 13:35:33 +0000

Photovoltaic panels produce only the day while a house consumes mainly in the evening. In this case, it is normal to wonder if the self-consumption – self-production is really adapted to residential. However, some devices continue to consume energy from throughout the day (refrigerator, freezer…).

In addition, the IMEON technology addresses this issue by the means of smart management of solar energy, allowing the storage of the production which was not consumed during the day, enabling its use during the evening and night.

What is the grey energy of a solar module?

IMEON ENERGY — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 13:27:47 +0000

Some people think that the electricity generated by a solar module pollutes because the energy consumed during its manufacture, transport and recycling is not offset by the electricity production that it generates.

That’s wrong, today the entire process, from manufacturing a solar module to its recycling is compensated by the energy that it will generate during 2 or 4 years. Compared with the actual 25 or 30 years of life of the solar modules, the required energy for manufacturing, transport and recycling is compensated more than 10 times.