A solar array is simply a linked connection made by a series of solar panels, which are in turn made of inter connected solar cells. These cells covert the solar radiation directly into current electricity using the photo voltaic affect. Modules are usually insufficient to produce the amount of energy which would be required by the average household or a commercial building. For these purposes, the modules are linked together to generate electricity on a larger scale, this is simply referred to as a solar array. These solar arrays convert the DC power using inverters into AC current, which can be plugged into to provide electricity to power lights and other types of motors etc. These solar arrays usually are measured by the peak electricity that they produce in watts or in kilowatts.
In suburban areas, these solar arrays are used to supplement normal power supply. In agricultural environments, these arrays can be used to directly supply DC to pumps etc. these will therefore not need an inverter. In other rural settings, such as mountains, or islands or other places where the usual power grid is unavailable, these solar arrays can be used as the primary or the sole source of power and energy. Satellites also use solar arrays for their supply of power. The international Space Station in particular uses these solar arrays and a multiple of them, to power all their equipment, and with technological advancements, the cost of production has reduced considerably and therefore its use has also become more widespread. As experiments, these arrays were used to power automobiles in the World Solar Challenge in Australia.
The solar arrays as such can track the rays of the sun throughout the day to increase their energy collection. However such tracking devices might cost a lot and therefore they might be installed with a mount which tilts it towards the sun based on its location on the globe. The amount of sunlight that would be converting to energy depends on a number of factors which include the cloud cover of the day, the amount of sunlight being absorbed by the array’s materials etc. Therefore in the Sahara Desert perhaps, with a less cloud cover and a better solar angle, an array can obtain a great rate of energy conversion.
Shading is another very important factor, where output is concerned with these arrays. If even a small section of the array is under a shade, while the rest is not, the output will fall in large amounts, this is due to internal short circuits being caused to take place. Also, if there are dust particles, or maybe other impurities on the array, sunlight can be absorbed by them, and can reduce the amount of light absorbed by the array by half. Therefore, it is absolutely imperative to keep the array clean all the time to achieve the best results. The array output and its life can also be reduced by over heating and thus this must also be taken care of.
