A solar power system is composed of many electrical and mechanical components, beyond the solar panels themselves. A racking system is used to keep the panels firmly anchored to your roof, and they are connected in circuits with special weatherproof wiring.
The strings of solar panels are then connected to an inverter, which converts their electricity output from direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). Also, most solar installations now include a monitoring system, which can be used to track productivity and detect performance issues.
There are also optional components such as batteries, which convert your solar panels into a 24/7 power supply. Depending on how your system is designed, a battery may be wired in different ways.
You can use a hybrid inverter designed for both solar panels and batteries, or you could install a separate battery inverter, if the unit connected to your solar panels is not compatible with them.
Here we will review the installation process of solar panels. Note that this blog post is informative and is not intended as a DIY guide.
A professional installation is strongly recommended if you want to use traditional solar panels, due to their weight and the risks of working at height with electrical components.