| Understanding Electricity: Briefly |
DC: Direct
Current Electricity
Electricity for Green Homes
and Businesses
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Solar electricity is not like
ordinary household electrical current that you use to power your home.
That is because solar PVs produce direct current (DC) electricity. Direct current electricity is a
steady flow of electrons such as you find in batteries in a flashlight. It
means the electrical current is flowing in only one direction in a
circuit. Most appliances and electronic
devices in our homes consume alternating current (AC) electricity. This is
because direct current electricity (as discovered by Thomas Edison) cannot
be transmitted efficiently over long distances. In order to use conventional
electronics, a solar homeowner must install a device, called an inverter,
that converts the DC electricity that is produced by PV panels into AC. An
inverter converts the 12-volt or 24-volt DC electricity into 110-volt AC
electricity. DC/AC Some solar-powered homes also
leave some DC electricity for electronics that use DC electricity. Inverter
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