Solar powered homes have been at the forefront of green housing initiatives over the last couple of decades. The primary challenge in this area has been to utilize available space for installing photovolatic cells that will end up generating sufficient electricity to feed a power-hungry modern home. As per the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the US body for renewable energy resources, a system that generates 5 kilowatts of power is capable of running most conventional homes. Most home solar panel solutions generate even less than that. The latest solar powered residential home comes fitted with a photovoltaic panel system that generates a supposedly record-breaking 150 kilowatts.
SolarWorld, the leading end-to-end solution provider in the field of photovoltaic panels, has put together 600 of their 250 watts mono-crystalline SunModule panels for an anonymous home owner in southern California. This unit, built into the mountain slope abutting the main residential unit, yields an unbelievable 150 kilowatts of power, a world record not only for the company’s SunKit solar systems, but possibly in the entire field of solar powered homes.
Unlike most other solar powered homes, this system has been built away from the residential unit into the side of the mountain slope, even managing to preserve the natural artifacts like boulders by leaving a gap in the paneling. SolarWorld’s turn-key system program makes it easy for electrical contractors (in this case, the Vista, California based SRC Inc.) to leverage on their traditional strength of customizing solutions based on customer requirement and focusing on other aspects of on-site electrical work.
While the company’s claim to the world record cannot be verified, the sheer scale of this system can be estimated from the fact that it needs 15 inverters to convert, store and supply electricity. This amazing project demolishes the myth that solar powered homes have to make do with low power solutions, and paves the way for much broader adoption of green housing.
Via: SunHerald
