Glad you asked! At its most basic, a solar power system consists of a collection of individual solar panels (collectively called an array) connected to one or more inverters, which are then connected to your building's electrical service.
Let's look at each of these components in more detail.

Solar Panels (also called solar modules) — convert sunlight into electrical power. Not all solar panels are alike; at Run on Sun we use LG solar panels for their superior performance and reliability. You can click here to learn more about why we use LG solar panels.

Like a sun-powered battery, solar panels only produce power when exposed to light, and the power that they produce is Direct Current (or DC). (Which just means that the leads coming from the panel have polarity, plus and minus, just like a battery.)

However, the electrical loads in your home or business — like lights, computers, TVs, pool pumps, air conditioners, etc. — all operate on Alternating Current (or AC) and that is where inverters come into the picture.

Inverters or Microinverters — the job of the inverter is to convert DC into AC. If multiple solar panels are connected to a single inverter, then that inverter is referred to as a string or central inverter. On the other hand, if each solar panel has its own inverter, that device is called a microinverter, and microinverters have a multitude of advantages over string inverters, including greater reliability, better performance in shady areas, and more sophisticated monitoring abilities.
You can click here to learn more about why we use Enphase Microinverters.

Interconnection — in order to actually power your loads, the output from the microinverters has got to get connected to your electrical service, and that can be a bit of a limiting factor. We will install a disconnect switch (so the local utility or the fire department can shut the system off if they need to in an emergency) along with a performance meter (so you can tell at a glance that your system is working) and then connect to a circuit breaker in your main electrical panel.

Due to something known as the 20% Rule, the size of your electrical service (measured in Amps) can limit how big a system we can install.

No, not even close. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which probably knows more about solar than anyone else, looked at this years ago and concluded that with solar panels that were only 12% efficient, the payback on energy occurred in just 4 years! The LG solar panels that we are installing today have efficiencies ranging from 18% to 20%+ so their payback is even faster. ( You can read the NREL analysis on solar energy payback here.)

Solar panels that are being taken out of service need to be properly handled, and not simply dumped into the nearest landfill. We are pleased that a growing number of solar panel manufacturers, including LG, are ramping up a recycling program for "retired" solar panels so that they can be disposed of in a responsible manner.