Solar Panels – How Do They Work?

As the cost of electricity increases, people look for alternative means to supply their electricity needs. They turn to various “renewable and green sources” in generating heat, energy and ultimately electricity. Examples of these sources are the water, wind, geothermal and the sun (particularly the sunlight/sunrays).

Of these examples, solar energy is gaining grounds to the consumer world as means of generating electricity. There are many reasons why people go for this technology such as:

• It is cost effective and will save users in their electric bills in the long run.
• You get paid by the government for using solar panels (know the Feed-in Tariff).
• You help in preserving the environment by minimizing your carbon footprint.
• Has a renewable of inexhaustible source of electricity – the sun.

How electricity is generated from solar energy

Generally speaking, the system of solar panel electricity is also called solar photovoltaic (PV). This system is designed to capture the energy from the sun with the use of PV cells. These PV cells can work with the available sunlight – there is no need for direct sunlight because they are designed to generate electricity even on cloudy day or during wintertime. In principle, the PV cells will convert the energy from the sunlight into the electricity that the consumers utilized in running various lighting in the house and several household appliances.

If you will check www.solarcompare.org, you will have an idea how PV cells work. First, these cells are constructed using multiple layers of materials that are semi-conductor and silicon is usually used. When the sunlight shines on the PV cell, electric field is created across the semi-conducting layers. Hence, if the sunlight is stronger, there will be more electricity produced. Therefore, PV cells are grouped and mounted together in the form of solar panels or modules. These solar panels then can be installed as part of the roofing or placed on the ground.

Numerically speaking, PV cell’s power output can be measured in the unit of kilowatts peak or simply kWp. This kWp is the rate at which the energy is generated during the peak performance of the cell in full direct contact with the sunlight (usually achieved during the summer time). The PV cells are designed and made available in wide array of shapes and sizes and you can check them out at www.solarcompare.org.

Most of the PV cell systems are constructed using solar panels, but there are also other forms such as solar tiles.