How Do Solar Panels Work? The Environmental Impact Explained
Solar energy is the most abundant energy source on Earth. Enough solar energy hits the earth’s surface every hour to power humanity’s needs for a whole year.
The best part is that solar panels costs have significantly gone down, and many homes are becoming more energy-efficient. How do solar panels work? Here is everything you need to know, and why they are worth the investment.
How Do Solar Panels Work?
Solar energy effectively captures the sun’s energy and quietly converts it to electricity that can power your family home or business.
This is because the sun is a natural nuclear reactor. It expels tiny packets of photons, which is energy that travels several million kilometers from the sun to the earth’s surface in a few minutes.
Every hour that this happens, there are enough photons to generate all the solar energy you need to satisfy your consumption for the whole year.
When the photons from the sun land on a solar cell, they knock electrons back, detaching them from atoms. If your conductors are attached to the negative and positive sides of a cell, an electrical circuit is formed.
Then electrons flow through the circuit and generate electricity. This is essential because numerous cells create solar panels, and multiple panels are then wired together to create a solar matrix. This is because the more panels you install, the more energy you can generate.
What Are Solar Panels Made Of?
Solar panels are photovoltaic (PV) and are made up of several solar cells that come in glass packaging. These cells are typically made of silicon to act as semiconductors. Then your panels are built with a negative and positive layer.
This is needed to create an electric field like a battery. Depending on your supplier, your panels may also be shielded with conductive adhesives to protect the cells and reduce degradation from environmental exposure.
How Solar Panel Systems Operate
To start powering your home, you need sunlight. When the sun’s rays hit your panels on the roof, they will convert all that energy into DC current. This flows through your inverter and gets converted into AC current, which is what ultimately powers your house.
This process is always becoming more affordable and efficient, so you can expect the costs of your panels to reduce even more in the near future. For the best quality panels, check out Blue Raven Solar.
When you are not home to use all that electricity, you will be pleased to know that your solar system does not generate power in real-time.
This is because a grid-tied PV system produces more energy than you need during the day. Then you can draw from that conventional grid when you lack sunlight during cloudy days or at nighttime.
Find the Best Solar Panels
How do solar panels work? Now you know.
You can now decide to save money on your energy bills by getting them installed. People will be praising your efforts to protect the environment, and your property value will increase because you are switching to renewable and clean energy.
If you enjoyed reading this solar energy guide, check out some of our other posts for more information.