With the recent development in technologies, the cost for acquiring renewable energy has starting and continuing to lower thus contributing to alternative energy industry’s rapid and fast growth. Most of the businesses today has started to shift in using alternative energy because of its efficiency and cheaper price. It can come in many form such as solar, wind, hydropower, etc. In this article, we will discuss the different alternative energy companies that uses electrical enclosures for their equipment.
In the recent growth of the alternative energy industry, there’s a great need for provision of safe and reliable protection for the equipment that they use for their processes. Design engineers should be critical in designing electrical enclosures and deciding which type of enclosure they need. Especially in wind turbines and solar panels – in these industries they use the advanced electrical components. NEMA enclosures are not equal in design and function, that’s why design engineers should be critical in deciding which materials to use, what design to have, and what type of enclosure to use.
Below, we’ll discuss the most viable sources of renewable energy today and which electronic enclosures are best suited to meet the specific needs of each alternative energy application:
In this article, we will discuss the different alternative energy companies that uses electronic enclosure and we will showcase how different types of enclosures cater their specific needs for their energy processes:
Solar Energy
Solar energy industry is one of the alternative energy industries that shows a lot of growth and has been picking a momentum in the last couple of years. It has become one of the most affordable, efficient, and accessible source of greener energy for the homeowners. It is easy to install in homes. To back this up, the record shows that 8.5 gigawatt of solar energy projects were done in the first two quarters of 2018.
With this in mind, the demand for solar energy will not slow down especially in parts of Europe. Germany is the leading country in the world that uses and produces solar energy. It is projected that in the future, 50% of the world’s total energy will be coming from solar energy. The promise in this industry is bright and we will see continuous growth in building alternative energy for household consummation.
How does solar energy works?
When we speak of solar energy, this is the green energy produced by the sun’s heat and radiation. With this in mind, there are two types of solar power plants: thermal and PV plants. These two types of energy plants get energy from the sun into two ways. Both taking the raw energy and they convert it to usable energy and in different ways.
Living in a sunny place, you probably heard of solar panels. Solar panels are manufactured using photovoltaic (PV) cells and this mechanism converts the raw energy from the sun into usable electricity.
Solar Energy gets the most attention compare to other greener sources of energy because it can be installed in households. People are now starting to think of installing solar panels and thermal systems in their homes because it can save a lot of energy. In a larger scheme of things, a solar thermal plant uses the energy and heat from the sun to produce steam in which used by turbines to produce energy as well.
What are electrical enclosure considerations?
These companies use switchboards and power inverters. Solar companies uses equipment which requires protection from any hazards to ensure efficiency of their processes. To make sure that their electrical equipment are protected, the needed electrical enclosure must withstand the harsh environments present in these power plants. There are possible and several existence of weather hazards such as high-temperature and UV radiation. There is also a possibility of potential sea spray because power plants can also be in coastal environments.
Enclosures designed to be used for outdoor applications are recommended to be used in solar power plants – specifically enclosures made of plastics or other materials that are not steel. One of the non-metallic enclosures are made of polycarbonate plastic and it gives several benefits because it is durable and does not corrode.
Plastic enclosures are cheaper, corrosion-resistant, and durable and it can meet the specific needs of a solar power plant because of its features. As long as the enclosure is weather and waterproof, it is recommended to be used in solar power plants. These enclosures should also provide protection from different kinds of ingress such as rain, sleet and snow, and should also provide protection against UV radiation protection for equipment that are WiFi signal operated.