Solar energy has many benefits that are attractive to both homeowners and businesses. The primary benefit of solar energy is its cleanliness, as it does not generate any emissions or pollutants that can harm the environment. Additionally, since the sun will shine for free every day, using solar ener Contact online >>
Solar energy has many benefits that are attractive to both homeowners and businesses. The primary benefit of solar energy is its cleanliness, as it does not generate any emissions or pollutants that can harm the environment. Additionally, since the sun will shine for free every day, using solar energy provides an inexhaustible source of renewable power that never runs out.
Cost Savings: Another major benefit of using solar energy is cost savings. Homeowners and businesses alike have seen a reduction in their monthly electric bills due to the use of photovoltaic (PV) panels on their roofs or other areas exposed to sunlight. PV panels convert the sun''s rays into electricity, which can be used immediately or stored in batteries for later use. This eliminates the need to purchase expensive utility-supplied electricity from traditional sources like coal-fired power plants and nuclear facilities. In addition, governments around the world offer generous tax credits and rebates when individuals install solar systems.
On first glance, solar panels are pretty simple pieces of technology. Sunlight hits them and they produce electricity, then flows out of a wire to whatever you want to power. Done. There''s no motors and no moving parts (electrons are the only moving object in a solar panel). However, when you take a closer look at a solar panel diagram, you’ll see they are actually incredibly complex.
The solar cells are what actually transform light into electricity. A typical residential solar panel includes 60 solar cells. If you look closely at the image above, you can see each square blue solar cell in the panel.
Solar cells are made up of extremely thin layers of silicon (the 2nd most common element in the universe), silver, aluminum, and a few other elements. Silicon is the workhorse that actually converts sunlight to electricity, while the other materials help to gather and transmit that electricity.
The image above represents a cross section of a solar cell. You can see the aluminum at the bottom of the panel that allows ‘used’ electrons to flow back into the panel (thus completing the circuit) as well as the anti-reflective coating on top to allow the solar panel to absorb as much sunlight as possible.
In between those two layers is the n-layer and the p-layer. What are those? That''s where the magic happens!
The n-layer and p-layer are the powerhouse of solar cells – it is where electricity is made!
Remember how electricity is simply the flow of electrons? Well, the n- and p-layers are both made of silicon, but the n-layer has extra electrons while the p-layer has extra holes that electrons can fill.
Here''s a quick TED video on the process:
All the solar cells in a solar panel are extremely flat and squashed between a sheet of glass on top and a protective layer underneath. Since the glass is rigid and can crack, most solar panels are protected by an aluminum frame that goes around the solar panel to provide more strength.
Dupont publishes an interactive solar panel diagram – check it out to learn a bit more about each component.
What about that last piece of equipment? If you look at the back of a solar panel, you''ll see a small black box near the top. That''s the junction box/bypass diode. You can see it for yourself in the picture below.
Junction boxes simply house wire connections for safety – you don''t want those out in the elements!
Bypass diodes are a bit more complicated. In solar installations, multiple solar panels are typically connected together in a line or ''series''. This is a cost-effective and simple system, but there is a drawback. If one solar panel suddenly becomes shaded (let''s say a cloud moves over a corner of your installation), that panel stops producing electricity, meaning the electrons aren''t following.
Since all the panels are connected, this panel then blocks all the electricity produced by the other panels from following, seriously hampering how much electricity your entire system is generating.
The bypass diode allows electricity to flow past a non-working panel. A shaded panel still negatively affects overall production, but not nearly as much.
While solar panels are the basis of any solar installation, they''re actually just one single component. With even just one component missing, the installation simply won''t work!
Like we mentioned at the beginning of this article, solar is actually a pretty simple system. Solar panels create electricity. That electricity is transported to your inverter via wires housed in protective metal pipes (known as ‘electrical conduit’) from the panels on your roof. The inverter changes the electricity from direct current to alternating current (AC) so your home and grid can use the electricity.
After that, it is then fed directly into your electrical panel, typically via a circuit breaker just like the ones you already have in your electrical box. From there, you can use it in your home. If your installation is producing more than you can use, that excess will go directly into the grid.
In the end, the solar panel, as well as the entire solar installation, is simply about moving electrons from one place to another. It''s a simple concept, but amazingly complex once you really start to dig in. At least you now know that solar''s all about moving electrons – pull that out at your next dinner party!
Have a follow-up question or thought on how solar panels work? Ask away in the comments!
Image Credits under CC License via Flickr – 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 & Wikimedia 3
If you are anything like me, then you find that a picture speaks a thousand words. I''ve learned all about how solar panels convert the sun''s light into electrical energy, but things only really fell into place when I saw it all laid out clearly in diagrams.
It''s great to have visual representations to help us to understand how scientific processes work. So I''m going to use some solar panel diagrams to show you how solar cells work and then describe all of the elements that go up to make a complete home solar system.
The diagram above shows the key elements in a solar cell. Solar cells collect energy from sunlight and convert it into electricity using a chemical reaction called the photovoltaic (PV) process.
Sunlight reaches our solar panel in the form ofphotons, small energetic particles/waves. These photons carry energy in the form of light, heat, and radiation, but it''s the light energy that a solar cell uses.
There is an anti-reflective coatingon the front of a solar panel that protects the cell inside while allowing through as much light as possible. Glass is an excellent material for antireflective coatings, so solar panels are coated in strengthed laminated glass.
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