☀️ Residential solar install & maintenance

What you’ll learn

1. A Home Solar System Is One Chain, Not a Roof of GadgetsEstablish the course through-line: a home solar system is a single chain from sunlight to the grid, and every decision targets one link.Sunlight hits a cell (DC), modules build voltage, an inverter makes AC, the service panel feeds the house, and the meter/grid absorb surplus. Framing the system as this chain turns jargon into one story and makes every choice a 'which link?' question.
2. Link One: How a Silicon Cell Makes ElectricityExplain the photovoltaic effect and why silicon cells convert only about a fifth of incoming sunlight.A doped-silicon p-n junction acts as a one-way door: absorbed photons free electrons that the built-in field sweeps into a direct current. Silicon's bandgap and reflection cap real modules near ~20.8% (2023 U.S. residential median), so lower efficiency just means more area is needed.
3. Link Two: From Cell to Module to ArrayShow how cells are wired in series into modules and arrays, and why the weakest-link rule governs design.Series wiring adds voltages so power ships efficiently at high voltage/low current, but every cell in a string carries the same current, so one shaded panel throttles the whole string. Bypass diodes and array splitting mitigate this.
4. Link Three: The Inverter, and the Great Design ChoiceExplain what an inverter does and compare string, optimizer, and microinverter architectures.The inverter converts DC to grid-synchronized AC, tracks the maximum power point, and enforces anti-islanding safety. String inverters are cheapest but shade-sensitive; microinverters and optimizers add per-panel tracking and monitoring at higher cost. String ~10–15 yr, micro ~20–25 yr.
5. Sizing the System: Matching the Chain to Your LifeTeach sizing from annual kWh usage, distinguishing power (kW) from energy (kWh) and introducing peak sun hours.Size from your own yearly kWh, not the roof. kW is a rate, kWh a total; energy ≈ kW × peak sun hours. The U.S. averages ~5 peak sun hours/day and the 2024 median residential system was ~7.2 kW.
6. Orientation, Tilt, and the Enemy Called ShadeExplain how orientation, tilt, and shade change output, and why shade drives component choice.True-south maximizes annual energy; east/west shift it to morning/afternoon and lose ~10–20%; tilt near latitude is ideal. Because series strings share current, shade is the key design driver and the case for per-panel electronics.
7. The Install: Bolting the Chain to a House SafelyWalk the install sequence and the safety systems (flashing, rapid shutdown, anti-islanding, permitting).The quiet, decisive jobs are watertight flashing and wind-rated structural attachment. Work proceeds design→permit→mount→wire→inverter→service panel→inspection and utility permission to operate, with rapid shutdown and anti-islanding to protect firefighters and line workers.
8. Link Four and Five: The Meter, Net Metering, and BatteriesExplain the meter, net metering, and when a battery is worth adding.A bidirectional meter records exported surplus; net metering credits it, letting the grid act as storage. Batteries add outage resilience (via safe islanding) and evening arbitrage where exports are poorly paid, but are optional, not required.
9. Maintenance: Protecting the Chain Over 25 YearsGive a maintenance model based on the chain: what fades, what fails, and how monitoring localizes faults.No moving parts means maintenance is vigilance: rain usually cleans panels, which fade ~0.5%/yr and keep ~85–90% output at 25 years. Loose/corroded DC connectors and aging inverters are the real faults; monitoring points to the exact weak link.

Questions this course answers

Grounded in trusted sources

• How solar panels work — U.S. Department of Energy (EERE): https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/how-does-solar-work
• Homeowner's guide to going solar — U.S. DOE: https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/homeowners-guide-going-solar
• Tracking the Sun (module efficiency) — Lawrence Berkeley National Lab: https://emp.lbl.gov/tracking-the-sun
• PV Lifetime / degradation — NREL (2024): https://docs.nrel.gov/docs/fy25osti/90651.pdf
• Median residential system size (2024) — Statista/LBNL: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1421982/median-size-residential-solar-systems-united-states/
• How long do residential solar inverters last? — pv magazine (2025): https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2025/08/05/how-long-do-residential-solar-inverters-last-5/

Every Wunder lesson is built from real, reputable sources — never invented.

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