A Basic Alternative Energy System
A basic alternative energy system looks like this:
You will have a generator, being solar panels, a wind generator, a micro hydro or even a biodiesel powered generator to produce some electricity. You could even have a combination of these items. Never mind about the finer details yet, just picture your desired energy generator(s), sitting in the sun, wind or whatever ... happily producing you some energy.
Now you need to store your energy:
The most basic and useful method of storing energy is a battery. The reasons are obvious ... A solar panel for example produces power in sunlight but your most basic requirement will be a light at night so you need somewhere to put your power for use at a later time.
You may need a regulator:
Some sort of device will be needed to control the way your energy is added to the battery. This is the function of a regulator. In most instances the energy will flow unchecked into the battery for storage until the battery is full of charge. The regulator will prevent overcharging when the battery is full by limiting the inflow of energy from your generation source.
Battery power is not all that useful ...
Well it is actually but using power straight from the batteryterminals limits you to just a few devices. Most likely you will want something "useful" like a TV, computer or other "mains" powered device. The addition of an inverter will fix this! An inverter will convert the output of a battery into "mains" type power that will run modern appliances. Right, now you have generation, regulation, storage, conversion and a TV! Things are looking up in the bush!
Summary:
An alternative power system consists of a generator or generators producing electricity. The electricity is then stored in a battery bank. The output of a battery bank can be converted to "mains" type "conventional electricity by a device called an inverter.
Let's move along and see what this electricity stuff actually is.
Next lesson is "electricity for novices".
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