Solar panels
- Does
- Turn sunlight into DC electricity on the roof or in the yard.
- Check
- Total watts and open-circuit voltage against the controller or inverter input.
- Plan
- Watts, efficiency, size, warranty.
Your home's power, part by part.
Every part of a home solar and backup system: what it does and what to check before buying.
Six parts. One system. Orange lines show how the power moves.
The parts, labeled.
Each one with what it does, the one thing to check, and what the planner compares for it.
Conduit
- Does
- Carries DC down from the roof and AC to the panel, out of the weather.
- Check
- Wire gauge for the current and the length of the run.
- Plan
- Cable kits, MC4 connectors, fuses.
Inverter
- Does
- Turns battery and solar power into 120/240 V AC for the home.
- Check
- Continuous and surge watts; the same battery voltage (12, 24 or 48 V).
- Plan
- Hybrid, inverter-charger, all-in-one.
Battery
- Does
- Stores solar energy for the night and for outages.
- Check
- Usable kWh, and a voltage that matches the inverter.
- Plan
- Rack, wall and expansion batteries.
Main panel
- Does
- Splits power into the home's circuits, each behind a breaker.
- Check
- Which circuits stay on in an outage; a transfer switch fitted by a licensed electrician.
- Plan
- Critical-loads subpanels, transfer switches.
Utility meter
- Does
- Measures what the home draws from the grid and sends back.
- Check
- Utility approval before a grid-tied system is switched on.
- Plan
- Energy monitors that show it on your phone.
Parts shown are cut from a reference render, not specific products. Product specs and prices come from documented catalog entries, with affiliate links marked.
By day, the panels run the house and fill the battery.
After sunset, the battery carries the house.
Your home
Six parts. Sized for what must stay on.
- Start with
- The appliances you need during an outage, and for how many hours.
- The planner
- Sizes the battery, checks the inverter and compares documented products, with solar from NREL PVWatts.
- Buying
- Happens at each store. Affiliate links are marked and never change the comparison.