Solar panels turn sunlight straight into electricity. Light hits the silicon cells in the panel, the cells produce direct current, and an inverter converts that into the alternating current your home actually runs on.
How does a solar panel turn sunlight into electricity
Each panel is built from cells cut from silicon. When sunlight lands on a cell it knocks electrons loose and creates a flow of direct current, or DC. Panels do not store any of that energy. They only generate it, which is why the inverter and, if you want one, a battery matter just as much as the panels themselves.
The DC from your panels goes to the inverter, which converts it to the alternating current your appliances use and feeds it into your switchboard. Your home draws on that power first. Anything left over either charges a battery or goes out to the grid.
The three types of solar system
Grid-tied
The most common type and the least expensive to install. It works alongside your existing grid connection and has no battery, so it needs fewer components than the other two. Through the day you run on your own power and export what you do not use.
Hybrid
A grid-connected system with a battery added. Through the middle of the day your panels usually make more power than your home is using. A battery stores that excess instead of exporting it, then runs your home on your own power through the evening.
Off-grid
A standalone system with no grid connection at all, sized to carry the whole property on its own. It needs the most equipment of the three. We specialise in grid-connected solar and we do not install off-grid systems, so if your property has no grid connection we will tell you that up front rather than waste your time.
What is in a solar power system
- Solar panels. The modules that generate DC electricity from sunlight. Our current range is 470 to 490 watt panels, including all-black options.
- Mounting. The frame that holds the panels at the right angle. Roof mounting is the most common because it uses space you already have. Ground mounts and pole mounts are the alternatives, and they are a popular choice on rural blocks around Bendigo.
- Inverter. Converts DC into the AC your appliances use, and monitors what the system is doing. It is the brain of the system, and its monitoring is how you see what your panels are actually producing.
- Battery. Stores the excess your panels generate so you can use it at night or on an overcast day, instead of exporting it for a small credit.
- Meter. On a grid-connected system the meter records how much power you take from the grid and how much you send back to it.
- Charge controller. Regulates the voltage going into a battery bank so it charges safely. This belongs to off-grid and standalone setups rather than a normal grid-connected home system.
How long do solar panels last
Panels are built to keep generating for many years, and their output tapers off gradually rather than stopping suddenly. Two warranties tell you what to expect, and they are not the same thing. The product warranty covers the panel itself against manufacturing faults. The separate performance warranty covers output, and states how much of the original rating the panel should still be producing at the end of the term. Every manufacturer publishes both, and we will show you the exact terms for the panels in your quote rather than ask you to take a number on trust.
The rest of the system matters here too. A frame that is properly fixed and flashed keeps water out of your roof for the life of the install, and the inverter is a separate piece of equipment with its own warranty terms.
Getting started
We size home systems from your last 12 months of electricity bills, so your quote matches how your household actually uses power. No guesswork and no overselling. If you would like to know what suits your place, book a solar assessment with our team, or have a look at the panels we install around Bendigo.
