Basic Architecture of Solar Power Generator using Photovoltaic

A typical Solar Powered System consists of following components

- Solar Photovoltaic Panel(s)

- Solar Charge Controller

- Power Inverter (from DC to AC 220v or 110v)

- Batteries (Single battery meeting the requirements or multiple batteries forming a battery bank)

- Wiring (low resistance efficient wires for interconnecting the components)

- Ample and secure space for Solar Panels with maximum sunlight exposure. Preferably rooftop. 

Now take a look at the above architecture diagram. This is apparently a 12 volts system and the solar panels are connected in parallel (increasing the amperage and keeping the voltage as constant).
The output of the panels now become input of the charge controller. The charge controller is used to collect the current from the solar panel(s) and charge the battery bank. Usually, the solar charge controllers are very efficient as compared to the conventional rapid battery chargers. Nowadays, you can get plenty of advanced features like Pulse Width Modulation (PWM), automatic voltage detection, support of multiple range of voltage (12/24/36/48/96 volts)  in a very basic level charge controller.
There are also some very advance level charge controllers available in the market with the functionality of Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) and Hybrid Charging (when there are more power sources other than solar). These charge controllers also provide reports on usage and power generation stats. They also have an amazing feature of sending out emails in case of detection of any error.
So, it depends upon your pocket if are ready to spend some handsome amount to get these advance features, otherwise a simple basic charge controller may also work fine.
Well.. we will specifically be discussing about the charge controllers and their types in  more details in separate posts.
Batteries and Inverter is connected to the charge controller. Charge controller also makes the decision to cut the battery power in case of batteries get discharged more than the required limits.
Inverters can be selected as per the needs. Good inverter is a pure sine wave inverter and recommended for Solar Energy Systems.
However nicely built modified sine wave inverters can also work but my vote is still for pure sine wave inverter when you plan to go totally off grid.