There are many challenges striking our planet every now and then. One of them is global warming and intensive pollution. The ozone layer that protects the earth from the harmful UV rays of the sun is getting worn out and damaged every day. Who is responsible for the destruction? Of course, we human beings! We can stop this destructive act by taking few measures. One of them is using renewable energy resources such as solar power.

Until few years ago the tremendous heat and light emitted by the sun was unnoticed. Solar energy is constant and free source of energy which can be harnessed continuously. Utility companies and homes have huge solar panels set up to receive unpaid energy from the head of the solar system. Though there is much to say about the advantages of solar energy, only drawback is consistency. The solar cells work well on sunny and bright days whereas on a cloudy or foggy day they do not supply constant energy. To avoid this solar energy has to be stored. There are few methods to store solar energy. Let us discuss them in detail.

Photovoltaic Solar system

The solar energy can be stored using a photovoltaic system in 2 different ways – Grid and Battery banks. The grid uses net-metering. When excess of solar energy is produced it is sent to the grid. During this process the meter rolls backwards and when you use the stored energy, the meter rolls forward.

Battery Bank

A battery bank system constitutes of 4 main components:

Battery bank: It looks similar to the car batteries. A group of batteries are tied up to form an energy bank. They are devised to tolerate charging and discharging actions of solar energy.

Charge Controller: It is a controlling device set in the instrument. It prevents the battery from getting over charged.

Main DC Disconnect: It is a DC breaker that disconnects the batteries from the inverter for servicing purposes.

System Meter: Just like any other meter it displays the performance and the status of the solar panels.
Battery bank storage suits home and office.

Solar Thermal Storage

Solar Thermal storage systems are used for solar pool heating, solar space heating and solar water heating.
Solar water heating systems uses huge tanks filled with water to capture solar power. Solar space heating systems use water tanks and thermal mass to store solar energy. Thermal mass captures the energy during the day and releases it at night. Solar pool heating system uses the water in swimming pools to store energy.