Solar panels
Twelve panels facing the sun. They make direct current whenever there is daylight, and most around midday.
- Panels
- 12 × 420 W
- System size
- About 5 kWp
- A year's output
- Roughly 4,000–5,500 kWh, by location
Products example
Read-only showcaseA solar home, how the energy flows
A system, not one product: panels, battery, charger and heat pump in a cut-away house.
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Everything on this diagram
The same content as the picture, as text: every part and what it says when you open it.
Hybrid inverter
Turns the panels' direct current into the alternating current the house uses, and decides where each kilowatt goes: the house first, then the battery, then the car, then the grid.
- Converts
- DC to AC
- Decides
- Where surplus power goes
Home battery
Stores the afternoon's surplus for the evening, when the panels stop and the house is busiest.
- Typical size
- 5–15 kWh
- Chemistry
- Usually lithium iron phosphate
Electric car
The biggest battery on the property. Charged from surplus solar in the day, or cheap night-time power.
- Battery
- Typically 60–80 kWh
- Charges from
- Sun first, then cheap night rates
Car charger
A wall-mounted charger. In solar mode it follows the panels, charging faster as the sun comes out.
- Typical power
- 7 kW
- Solar mode
- Charges from surplus only
Air-source heat pump
Heats the house and the water by moving heat from the outside air, even on cold days.
- Efficiency
- About 3 kWh of heat per kWh used
- Works down to
- Around −20 °C
Hot water cylinder
Stores hot water. A diverter can heat it with surplus solar power that would otherwise be exported for very little.
- Typical size
- 200 litres
- Heated by
- Heat pump, or surplus solar
Consumer unit
The fuse box: every circuit in the house, with the solar system on a circuit of its own.
- Holds
- Breakers and RCDs
- Solar
- On its own circuit
Smart meter
Measures what the house takes from the grid and what it sends back, half-hour by half-hour.
- Measures
- Import and export
- Reads
- Every half-hour
Grid connection
The house still draws from the grid at night and in winter, and sells surplus back on sunny days.
- Imports
- At night and in winter
- Exports
- Sunny-day surplus
More examples like this
Watches, cameras, engines and phones, every part named and explained.
