Solar Panels Information: How They Work

When it comes to renewable energy systems, there are a number that are available for individual installations. For example you can use heat pumps, either air source or ground source, for a hot water system. There are also solar thermal panels that can be used to the same effect. In this article however, we\’ll be looking at the solar panels information that has to do with the way that electricity is created with PV solar panels.

Light and Electricity

Before getting on to the solar panels information regarding how they actually work, it\’s going to be useful to know a little something about electricity and light in order to gain a full comprehension. Don\’t worry, it\’s not going to be anything complicated, just some simple information (that you may well already know).

First of all then there is electricity, which is defined as the flow of electrons through a substance. That is going to be useful to remember, that electricity means the flow of electrons.

What most of learn about light at school is that it is made of electromagnetic waves. That\’s one way of describing it. However as you get in to more advanced physics you learn that it can also be described in terms of particles, in this case photons. It is this way of thinking about light that will be most useful here.

Solar Cells

If you were tasked with the challenge of getting light to create electricity then, what you would really have to do is get photons to make electrons move through a substance. You wouldn\’t be able to borrow anything from conventional electricity production either as this depends on getting turbines to spin.

With solar energy it is very different. In fact no other form of renewable energy crates electricity so directly. It is normally always about getting a turbine to spin. With renewable resources that turbine is made to spin from natural process, such as from the wind or the movement of water. Solar power, however, is created much more directly.

Fortunately though, when it comes to solar energy, there is a sort of substance that occurs naturally which, when photons hit it, this causes electrons to be moved. This material is called a semiconductor. So while that is a good start, simple movement is not the same as flowing so some extra work has to be done.

The key to making the electrons flow comes from the way that the solar panels are set up. They actually have two layers, one has a negative charge and that is called the n-type half, and the other has a positive charge which is called the p-type half. When photons hit the electrons, the electrons (which have a negative charge) switch sides, the effect of which is an imbalance.

The useful thing about this is that the electrons are going to want to correct this imbalance, so they\’re going to want a way out. This is provided in the form of a wire that leads to your house, and so that is why the electrons flow along the wire and you get electricity.

Useful Electricity

That\’s all the solar panels information that you need regarding how they work. Once the solar electricity has got to the house, it is just a simple matter of converting the DC (direct current) that comes from the solar cells in to AC (alternating current) which can be used by all of your appliances. So this is a very beneficial way of creating solar energy, both for the environment and for saving money on your energy bills.

To find out more regarding solar power, author Ethan Thomas has written a lot more on this issue at http://www.solarpanelsinformation.org.uk. Learn more about the way the system works, such as how much money you\’ll be able to save, also you can obtain a free quotation for a solar installation.