Understanding How Solar Panels Work

How Solar Panels Work. During the 1950's the researchers and scientists found that silicon was extra sensitive to sunlight when mixed with particular impurities. This experiment created a lot of buzz in certain fields of science and not long after the first device to convert solar energy to electricity was created.

Although solar technology has existed for years now, but most people have no idea about the effect of photovoltaic or how solar panels actually work. The photovoltaic effect itself is another topic, but solar cells are used to convert the sun's energy into electricity. Many of solar cells strung together forms a solar panel.

We need to know the types of solar panels to understand how solar panels work. There are two types of solar panels. The first type produces heat and the other type produces electricity, each types having its own mechanism.

The first type of solar panels through thermal collectors takes the sun’s thermal energy to heat water or oil. It usually uses pipes and coils. With this type, the sun heats the liquid that runs through the coils to pass on energy. Generally, these panels used to heat swimmingpools, Jacuzzi, spas, and hot tubs for your homes. They can also be used to heat the room of your home when coupled with hot water flooring systems and baseboard units. You can confidently get rid of any additional heating sources after installed this type of solar panel for your homes. This type of solar panel required motorized pump to help the flow of the liquid in the system.  

The second type is known as photovoltaic cell system that can generate electricity for your home. This type uses silicon as a semi-conductor material. When silicon interacts with sunlight, the direct current (DC) electricity will be generated. Because the home appliances generally powered by AC electricity, this system required an inverter to convert direct current (DC) electricity into AC electricity. These panels only work when sunlight is available in the day time. Amount of the electricity produced by this way depend on the size of your solar panel.

You also need to have batteries to store the excessive electricity so you could power your home at night or on unpleasant days with the photovoltaic. You can use the lead-acid batteries. This batteries commonly used in the cars, but always remember to fill them with distilled water to keep it does not lose their charge.

Or you can use the absorbent glass mat batteries, the more expensive batteries. These batteries are sealed and to retain their charge it does not require distilled water. The gel batteries are good choice especially if you live in a cold area because it will not freeze in low temperature.

Both types of solarpanels require direct sunlight to function at their maximum capacity and use a glass frame to hold the collection cells. The solar panels should placed in the area where it can absorb sun energy directly along the day.

How Solar Panels Work. Check out other post on Radiation and Wind Energy

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