Going solar is meant to be one of the best ways of sustainable living. People weigh the advantages of an on-grid and off-grid solar system based on the cost of installation. Although the prices are still high when it comes to installing and purchasing the material, the benefits always get to have the upper hand comparatively. Some benefits that you can get out of installing an off-grid solar system include avoiding power outages, easy installation in homes, reduced electricity costs. It can be used as an alternative power source for rural areas and ultimately helps keep the environment clean and green. 

As already mentioned that the off-grid solar system can be easily installed at home. Therefore here is a simple DIY for building the system. 

Required components

• Solar panel
• Batteries
• Inverter
• Charge controller

Procedure for installation 

Step 1: Calculate the energy needs. 

This step may seem complicated but includes simple maths. List all the appliances and define the number of hours they’d be running on solar power. Find their power rating and calculate the Watt Hour. Use the formulae, WATT HOUR = RUN TIME x PRODUCT POWER RATING. Add all the watt-hours to get the total. 

Step 2: Select battery 

It would help if you had a battery to maintain constant rated voltage and to keep backup power for the time of short-term outrage or have enough power to run appliances at nighttime. Thus, buy a deep-cycle battery as it enables slow and partial discharge, unlike others. 

Step 3: Select solar panels 

The purpose of a solar panel is to convert sunlight into electricity. So, you need to carefully select the solar panels that can effectively charge the battery a hundred per cent in a single day. If it isn’t all sunny out, it should still charge at least a quarter of energy on a cloudy day. 

Step 4: Select the charger controller.

The charger controller helps regulate the current and the voltage coming from the solar panels and act as an input voltage to the battery. There are three types of controllers, ON/OFF, MPPT, and PWM. 

Step 5: Select the inverter. 

The inverter converts DC to AC which is the electricity to power the appliances. There are three types of inverters: square wave, pure sine wave, and modified sine wave. Along with the suitable type, look for the solar inverter price and a better deal off the market. 

Step 6: Mount the solar panels 

Set up the solar panels on the roof or the ground, wherever there will be no sunlight obstruction. Also, tilt them in the right direction to capture more rays. 

Step 7: Connect and wire the components 

Match the adequate connection to get an effective result, that is, series or parallel connections. Lastly, wire the components in the correct order, starting from the charger controller. 

The instructions are simple, but problems may arise when you begin setting up the off-grid solar system. It is always an ideal option to reach out to experts or local solar system professionals who can guide you correctly about the components or solar inverter price.