Solar power is a clean and comparatively safe source of energy, all the same there are certain precautions that are called for when handling the component parts of the system. Especially, when handling the batteries for solar panel systems, a certain degree of care is necessary.
To use solar power panels safely in practical applications, they must be:
- Protected from physical damage during manufacture, transport, and installation.
- Protected from extreme weather conditions such as hailstones, wind and weight caused by a build up of snow. This is particularly important for wafer-based silicon cells which are fragile.
- Sealed so as to protect them from moisture, which will corrode metal contacts,especially the transparent conductive oxide layer found in thin-film cells. Not doing this will inevitably result in reduced operation and their eventual lifespan.
After reading that, I shouldn’t have to explain that you should never do any work on solar panels when it is raining.
Just like car batteries, the batteries for a solar power system contain extremely corrosive battery acid. If were unfortunate and did get acid on your skin, in your eyes, or just on your clothes, it is vital to get it off straightaway. Whenever you are working on the batteries of your solar power system,it is advisable to make sure that somebody can hear you if you ever need to shout for aid. You may require the assistance of someone else in case something goes wrong.
Having water and soap close by will help to clean any spillages of battery acid off you. If you get it on your clothes, take them off before it seeps through to your skin. If it gets in your eyes you will need lots of clean running water to flush the acid out before it can do too much damage, and after that you will need to visit a hospital right away.
It is very dangerous to smoke or let any source of ignition anywhere near a battery. Not just that however, metal tools may create a spark, which can cause an explosion. You should constantly be mindful that sparks may happen when you need to do any work on the panels. The risk of sparks is one of the reasons why you should never have any combustive gases close by.
You have to make certain that, if you have a hybrid system, your backup generator is switched off so that it does not start while you are working with the battery.
Another thing to be careful of is that you must not have anything made of metal such as jewelry or watches when you are around the battery. A short circuit can create enough current to melt the metal onto the other metal. The high temperature from this occurrence could easily cause you intense burns.
There are also a couple of other sensible precautions you should take whenever you are working with solar panels. For a start, you should cover up the outward face of the panels to ensure sunlight can’t get to them. This keeps them from producing electricity when you are working.
You have to be careful what you touch whenever you are installing solar panels. It is hazardous to touch the terminals if they are exposed to light. You should also work with insulated tools to protect yourself from shock.
While installing or working on a solar panel make sure it is secured or it can fall and break. It’s not just the fact that you will lose an expensive solar panel, but you will have the hazard of shattered glass all around too. This is only one reason children should never be allowed to play nearby whenever solar panels are being fitted.
All these precautions for working on solar power panels are mainly for installation and maintenance. Solar power is still very safe in comparison to most other forms of energy. It only needs for you to take a few common sense precautions and a little bit of know-how to keep the system functioning correctly with no chance of danger to you or anybody else.
Related Solar Power Information:
Solar power is the generation of electricity from sunlight. This can be direct as with photovoltaics (PV) or indirect as with concentrating solar power (CSP) where the sun’s energy is focused to boil water which is then used to provide power. Solar power provided 0.02% of the total world energy consumption in 2008. The largest solar power plants like the 354 MW SEGS are concentrating solar thermal plants but recently[clarification needed] multi-megawatt photovoltaic plants have been built. Completed in 2008 the 46 MW Moura photovoltaic power station in Portugal and the 40 MW Waldpolenz Solar Park in Germany appear to be characteristic of the trend toward larger photovoltaic power stations. Larger ones are proposed such as the 100 MW Fort Peck Solar Farm[citation needed] the 550 MW Topaz Solar Farm and the 600 MW Rancho Cielo Solar Farm.
