Page 20 - North American Clean Energy November December 2019 Issue

solar energy The Power of Time by Erik Anderson POWER VS ENERGY. KW VS KWH. Inverter capacity vs battery capacity. Do you know the difference? A sustainable future featuring solar power plus energy storage should be getting more transparent and less confusing. But, as you can tell, that’s not always the case. If we are to truly witness a paradigm shift in how we create and consume energy using solar and storage technology, we must first understand a few basics. This will help minimize confusion and friction that would otherwise slow widespread and rapid deployment of new technologies critical to transforming our future in eco-friendly renewables. Power vs. energy explained To understand the difference between power and energy is to understand the effect of time on the units of measurement, which we rely on to measure the flow of electricity. These two terms are related, but unique. Utility companies use both to plan and operate our grids, as well as bill us for our monthly power usage. If a 100-watt light bulb is used for 10 hours, it will have consumed a total of 1,000 watt hours (WH) of energy (10 x 100 = 1,000), or 1 kilowatt hour (kWh). We can think of watts as the size of a bathtub faucet, or its power potential. At any single point in time, you can measure how much water is flowing through it. When that flow accumulates in the tub, you end up with a volume of water you can measure differently, just like with energy. To further clarify, a watt is a static instantaneous measure of moving electrons - also known as “electricity”. With each passing second, minute, and hour, those individual measurements add up to a cumulative measure of energy. A watt is a two-dimensional measure of power; time adds the third dimension of power’s cumulative effect, describing energy as a function of power over time. Variable power consumption in the home This concept is further complicated when power usage is variable. A home does not HP15FHM32A • SCREW CLAMP • LOCKOUT/ TAGOUT (LO/TO) • UL 94 V-0 HP15FHM32B • TOOL-LESS SPRING CLAMP • METER/PROBE ACCESS • UL 94 V-0 US15M1HEL • BUS BAR TERMINAL • ULTRASAFETM 20 NOVEMBER•DECEMBER2019 /// www.nacleanenergy.com 1500VDC PV FUSE HOLDERS: THE NEXT LEVEL OF SAFETY, DURABILITY, AND EASE OF INSTALLATION EP.MERSEN.COM • FLEXIBLE • VERSATILE • GLOBAL