Solar Arrays: What Are They & Why Do You Need Them?

When you’re contemplating solar power for your home, it’s a good idea to think about scalability. A good solar power solution is custom-built with the expertise of solar engineers and licensed electricians and calibrated to meet all of your electricity needs.

Getting the power you need typically involves installing a solar array. But what exactly is a solar array? And why do you need them? To further explain, in this blog, we’ll review:

• What are solar arrays?
• How do solar arrays work?
• How many panels are in a solar array?
• Why do you need solar arrays?

As technology continues to advance and costs decline, solar power is becoming an even more accessible and viable option for powering our homes and communities. Embracing solar arrays not only helps reduce our carbon footprint but also paves the way towards a cleaner and more sustainable future. 

On that note, let’s get into it!

What Are Solar Arrays?

A solar array is an assembly of multiple solar panels operating in a single system to generate electricity. It’s common to hear the term used for large-scale renewable energy programs such as solar farms, but it can apply to basically any group of solar panels working in harmony to provide power.

Solar technicians think about these arrays not just in terms of the technical details of the photo-voltaic (PV) system itself, but also with location and orientation in mind. The more sunlight can easily reach a solar array, the more power it can generate for your home. It takes an experienced eye to spot the different location choices that will yield the best results.

Given the sophistication of the technology and the disparate factors that can influence its success, it’s always best to make use of the skills and instincts of the highest-rated professionals in your area when it’s time to install a solar array. At Photon Brothers, we’re proud to provide the best possible standard of service using strictly in-house labor, custom solar designs, and high-quality US-made products.

How Do Solar Arrays Work?

In most home applications of the solar array concept, the panels are situated on the roof of your house. However, if you have enough land space, ground-mounted options are available as well. In either case, an array of panels operates on the same basic principles as a single panel: capturing direct current (DC) electricity in photo-voltaic cells and then converting it to alternating current (AC) electricity using either one or multiple inverters, depending on the size of the array.

Geography and placement have a major impact on the performance of a solar array. In the Northern Hemisphere, south-facing arrays will get more sunlight and produce more power. Installations in a state with a sunny climate like California will get more sunlight overall than those in a state with plenty of overcast days, rain, or snow, such as New York. 

The trusted experts at Photon Brothers can assemble an array specified to your climate and location, and our dedicated service department can maintain your array and its constituent panels in perfect condition throughout the year. Our guarantee is that once we install your solar array, it will still be operating at a minimum of 90% efficiency after 25 years!

How Many Panels Are In a Solar Array?

The exact number of solar panels needed in an array depends on both environmental factors and on the quality of the panels themselves. The above-mentioned factors, like positioning and geography, will strongly influence the overall number of panels that need to be assembled to provide fully for your home’s electricity requirements. But they’re far from the only factors that count.

The use of high-efficiency solar panels ensures that each part of the assembly is contributing usefully to the whole. Installers who don’t use premium components will inevitably multiply the number of solar panels (not to mention the frequency of ongoing repairs) that your array will require.

Why Do You Need Solar Arrays?

Solar arrays make it easy to scale up the production of solar power for your home. You can start with a single integrated array that addresses your present electricity needs while planning to add capacity, if needed, for the future. 

When you’re adding capacity, it’s generally recommended you maintain consistency in the quality and efficiency of both your equipment and the technicians installing it. A company with the right expertise can even set up and harmonize multiple arrays if needed.