The photovoltaic effect explains how solar panels capture sunlight and convert it into electricity. Solar panels are complex, but we’ve simplified things by creating an easy-to-understand guide on them. Here’s a brief description of how they work:
- Solar cells absorb sunlight.
- The photons in the sunlight knock off electrons in the solar cells.
- This transfer of electrons is electricity.
- The DC electricity from the solar panels is converted to AC electricity through a solar inverter.
- This electricity is used to power homes, and excess energy is fed to the grid or transferred to a solar battery.
Composition
Glass, polysilicon, and metal are used to make solar panels. A solar panel has many small units called solar cells, which capture sunlight. These solar cells are also made up of silicon. A glass surface covers the solar cells, and a back sheet is used for security and protection. Every solar panel is accompanied by a junction box attached to its back. This holds all the wires that transfer electricity to the inverter.
Capturing Energy
As mentioned before, solar panels comprise many solar cells that capture sunlight to convert it into electricity. You can think of them as semiconductors which are usually made up of boron and monocrystalline silicon. The photovoltaic properties that are part of a solar panel are because of the boron and silicon present in them.
These materials allow them to convert sunlight into electricity. There are layers with two poles present on the silicon wafer, positive and negative. The positive layer is accepts electrons and lacks them, while the negative layer has excess electrons and it conducts electricity.
The photons in the sunlight excite these electrons, which travel from the negative to the positive layer. Thus, an electric field is established, and ultimately electricity starts flowing. This electricity travels from the solar panels to the solar inverter and ultimately to where it’s needed.
Solar Inverters
Your solar panels cannot make the energy your home needs directly. This is because solar panels produce direct current (DC) electricity. Your home can only use alternating current (AC) electricity. This is where the solar inverter comes in and converts DC electricity to AC electricity.
However, the job of solar inverters is more than just converting the electricity from the solar panels into usable electricity. They also communicate with and send extra electricity to the grid. Solar inverters also stop the flow of electricity during a power outage, as electricity travelling from the solar panels to the grid can harm the technicians working to fix the grid.
You will find different types of inverters in the market. They can be hybrid inverters, string inverters, and microinverters. If you need clarification about their function and which of them might be the best for you, you should contact your solar installer to help you out.
The Importance Of The Electrical Grid
You cannot live without the electricity grid since it provides most homes with the energy to meet their needs. It is an important component of most residential solar systems. Most homes are grid-tied even if they have solar systems. This means that your home will occasionally get electricity from the grid if your solar panels produce insufficient energy for your home.
This also means that you can reap the benefits of net metering by providing extra electricity to the grid to earn credits, which can reduce your electricity bills. Going off-grid means you will be disconnected from the grid and produce electricity independently. This can only happen if you have a reliable power storage option like a solar battery.
Solar Panels For Residential Use
Solar technology has been present for a long time and continuously improves daily. Most people don’t even think about solar energy unless they install panels on their roofs. Even after the solar system is installed on the roof and works fine, most people wouldn’t even consider how they work. It’s common for us not to think about things and take them for granted unless we are really curious about them.
However, if you dive deep into the world of photovoltaic solar panels, you will be amazed at how they work. Even if we simplify things by saying that solar panels capture sunlight and convert it to electricity, it’s a lot more complex and fascinating than that. All of these processes happen smoothly and quietly unless something is wrong with the system. In that case, your solar installer fixes them before you learn more about them.