How do Solar Panels Work - How can it save you money?
At first peek, a solar panel doesn't look like much. There's some strange-looking squares, a pane of glass and some wiring underneath the black sheet of polymer. It's hard to credit that such a little sheet can produce watts of electricity! Solar power has been in development over a hundred years, and the best solar cells have only started to become widely available for home use.
At its most elementary part, a solar panel is comprised of solar cells. Solar cells are made from semiconductors that have the unique ability to soak up the energy given off by photons, the material that makes up light waves. Typically , the material within the solar cell is a collection of silicon crystal cells.
If you remember your highschool chemistry class, silicon is usually not a particularly conductor of electricity because it forms a crystalline structure. Within the orbital dimension of silicon cells at an atomic level, silicon shares all 4 of its outermost electrons with 4 other silicon cells. This fills up silicone's outermost valence and keeps the structure as stable as it can get.
Silicon within a solar cell is impregnated with impurities that keep it from forming the stable crystalline structure with other silicon atoms.
There are also other impurities in the solar cell besides phosphorous.
Once the energy from the photon is absorbed, electrons are knocked off the orbital planes surrounding the silicon atoms. The panels are created so that the free electrons are forced into a certain direction. This flow offers a current we know as electricity. This flow of electrons interacts with the inherent electric fields within the solar cell, and you can measure the effective wattage of the panel.
This means that only 15-20% of realistic light that hits the solar cell is actually converted to electrical energy. The reason being because light comes in all types of wavelengths. Current solar technology only allows us to capture certain wavelengths that are strong enough to free silicon electrons. Also, some of the energy captured is lost thru resistance and other environmental factors.
In the future, we can expect to see different types of solar cells being developed to capture more light and produce more electricity for our homes. Such applications will make solar cells more cost-effective and easier to access than ever.
Please visit How does Solar Panels Work to start building your own Solar Panels.
At its most elementary part, a solar panel is comprised of solar cells. Solar cells are made from semiconductors that have the unique ability to soak up the energy given off by photons, the material that makes up light waves. Typically , the material within the solar cell is a collection of silicon crystal cells.
If you remember your highschool chemistry class, silicon is usually not a particularly conductor of electricity because it forms a crystalline structure. Within the orbital dimension of silicon cells at an atomic level, silicon shares all 4 of its outermost electrons with 4 other silicon cells. This fills up silicone's outermost valence and keeps the structure as stable as it can get.
Silicon within a solar cell is impregnated with impurities that keep it from forming the stable crystalline structure with other silicon atoms.
There are also other impurities in the solar cell besides phosphorous.
Once the energy from the photon is absorbed, electrons are knocked off the orbital planes surrounding the silicon atoms. The panels are created so that the free electrons are forced into a certain direction. This flow offers a current we know as electricity. This flow of electrons interacts with the inherent electric fields within the solar cell, and you can measure the effective wattage of the panel.
This means that only 15-20% of realistic light that hits the solar cell is actually converted to electrical energy. The reason being because light comes in all types of wavelengths. Current solar technology only allows us to capture certain wavelengths that are strong enough to free silicon electrons. Also, some of the energy captured is lost thru resistance and other environmental factors.
In the future, we can expect to see different types of solar cells being developed to capture more light and produce more electricity for our homes. Such applications will make solar cells more cost-effective and easier to access than ever.
Please visit How does Solar Panels Work to start building your own Solar Panels.