What are the first steps in designing a solar system? Some people may go into solar system design calculations without considering some basic and important steps that should by no means be ignored.

Therefore, first and foremost, before conducting mathematical studies on the solar energy system installation project, it is necessary to know the basic steps on which the rest of the steps are based.

In this article, we will learn about the first basic steps that you should take into consideration before purchasing any part of the solar system.

What are the first steps in designing a solar system?

There are basic steps that we prepare for you to obtain the greatest possible benefit from the project without any obstacles that may appear to us during installation, leading to design errors and financial losses, and among these steps are:

• Is the building roof area sufficient for the size and number of solar panels?
• Is the roof of the building able to support all the weight of the solar panels and mounting pads?
• Does sunlight reach the roof of the building or not, and if so, what is the rate of solar radiation during the day?
• Ensure the quality of solar panels.
• Type of system to be installed (off-grid/on-grid/hybrid).
• How much electrical load should the solar system be on during the day?

Building surface area

It is a very important step, as it is not possible to buy a large quantity of solar panels and the roof of the house is not enough to accommodate this number. You also have to calculate the distance between the array and the array behind it, and in general you need a surface area of ​​approximately 10 square meters to place the total capacity of one kilogram of panels. Watt.

How well the surface can withstand the weight of panels and mounting pads

A very important point that some people may ignore by installing a large number of panels on a roof that is unable to bear the weight. Therefore, we must ensure that the structure and condition of the roof allow the mounting platforms and solar panels to be installed well without any damage to the roof of the building, taking into account the solid installation.

The rate of solar radiation falling on the roof of the building

We also know that the productivity of solar panels depends primarily on solar radiation, and therefore we must ensure that the roof of the building is not exposed to the presence of shadow resulting from trees, neighboring buildings, or any other obstacle that may cause a shadow to be present on the surface of the solar panels.

In this case, we do not recommend installing solar panels on the roof of the building, even if the shading is partial or complete, because the shade reduces the productivity of the panels, and also causes malfunctions and may lead to fires.

Quality solar panels

You should not choose a solar panel with a specific capacity without considering the effectiveness and quality of the solar panel, whether it is fake or certified and internationally approved.

You will notice on the data card pasted behind the solar panel several certificates such as quality and certification, including:

International Electrotechnical Commission certificates are an abbreviation of the letters IEC, and the most important certificates are: IEC 61215 and IEC 61730.

CE Mark certification: indicates that the board conforms to European standards for safety and environmental protection.

(UL Listed) certificate, PV Cycle certificate for some European countries, MCS certificate, TUV Technical Inspection Association certificate, and finally the VDE certificate for the German Electrical Engineers Association.

Type of solar system

An important topic that you must determine and make the final decision so that it depends on the type of system you want and that is very suitable for you. There are three types of solar systems:

• Off Grid System: From its name, it is not possible to invest in it to sell the surplus energy produced from the panels to the electricity company. You can only feed this system with three sources: electricity from the public network, solar panels, and electric batteries.
• On Grid system: It has the advantage of selling the surplus energy produced from the panels to the electricity company, but here when installing this system you must agree with the company so that you can sell it then by installing a special meter for this process.
• Hybrid system: It combines the advantages of the two types above, as it can supply electrical loads through the electrical network, solar panels, or even batteries, and finally the generator in the event of an electrical network outage.