What components do you need to start using solar energy? A self-consumption photovoltaic installation is more than just a few solar panels on the roof of your house. It contains few components but of high technical sophistication, such as the photovoltaic panels themselves, the solar inverters, batteries or the monitoring system; and others a little simpler such as the supports, optimizers, the bidirectional counter and the rest of the small components (wiring, protection and fixing systems, etc.). Making a good selection of the elements in terms of quality, performance, guarantee and price is key to a good installation. In this article we explain what each of these components consists of and what their function is in the installation. Photovoltaic panels The photovoltaic panels, also called modules or solar panels, are responsible for generating electrical energy from incident light thereon through the photovoltaic effect known. The power of a solar panel is not the onl