How Do Cost-Saving Solar Panels Even Work?

A solar panel or photovoltaic (PV) cell, is a nonmechanical device that transforms sunlight directly into electricity. Some PV cells can convert artificial light into electricity for you home or items.

What Do You Know About Solar Cells?

Solar photovoltaic cells are attached together in panels (modules), which can be combined together in arrays of different sizes to produce small to large amounts of electricity, such as for powering water pumps for livestock water, for providing electricity for homes, or for utility-scale electricity production.

Photons Help Solar Happen

Sunlight is made of photons, or particles of solar energy. These photons contain varying amounts of energy that match to the different wavelengths of the solar spectrum.

A PV cell is composed of semiconductor material. When photons strike a PV cell, they may reflect off the cell, pass into the cell, or be absorbed by the semiconductor material. Only the absorbed photons provide power to generate electricity. When the semiconductor material absorbs sufficient sunligh (solar energy), electrons are removed from the material's atoms. Special treatment of the material surface during manufacturing makes the front cover of the cell more receptive to the dislodged, or free, electrons so that the electrons easily migrate to the surface of the cell.

Electricity Flows Through Solar Cells

The mobility of electrons, each carrying a negative charge, toward the front surface of the cell creates an irregularity of electrical charge between the cell's front and back covers. This imbalance, in turn, produces a voltage potential like the negative and positive terminals of a battery. Electrical conductors on the cell absorb the electrons. When the conductors are combined in an electrical circuit to an external load, such as a battery, electricity flows in the line.

The efficiency of photovoltaic systems varies by the type of photovoltaic technology

The efficiency at which PV cells transform sunlight to electricity varies by the kind of semiconductor material and PV cell technology. The efficiency of many commercially available PV modules ranges from 5% to 15%. Researchers around the world are trying to gain higher efficiencies.

Solar Panels Operation Explained

The PV cell is the fundamental building block of a PV system. Individual cells can range in size from about 0.5 inches to about 4 inches across. However, one cell only generates 1 or 2 Watts, which is only enough electricity for small uses.

PV cells are electrically joined in a packaged, weather-tight PV module or panel. PV modules vary in size and in the amount of power they can produce. PV module electricity producing capacity increases with the number of cells in the module or in the surface area of the module. PV modules can be attached in groups to form a PV array. A PV array can be composed of two or hundreds of PV modules. The number of PV modules connected in a PV array determines the total quantity of electricity that the array can produce.

Photovoltaic cells produce direct current (DC) electricity. This DC electricity can be utilized to charge batteries that, in turn, power devices that use direct current electricity. Nearly all power is supplied as alternating current (AC) in electricity transmission and delivery systems. Devices described as inverters are used on PV modules or in arrays to transform the DC electricity to AC electricity.

PV cells and modules will generate the most significant amount of electricity when they are directly facing the sun. PV modules and arrays can use tracking systems that pass to the modules to continually face the sun, but these systems are costly. Most PV systems have modules in a fixed position with the modules facing directly south (in the northern hemisphere—directly north in the southern hemisphere) and at an angle that maximizes the physical and economic production of the system.

Now that you know about how solar panels work, it's time to buy them. Here at HahaSmart we can help you do that with ease of time, understanding, and money.  

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