How Photovoltaic Solar Cells Work

By Christopher Eyres


Recent tendencies to save on home energy costs, as well as the increased awareness of the significance of saving the environment, have encouraged many homeowners to move ahead with the assembly of their own photovoltaic solar panels. Given this current trend, it could be fruitful for as to take a look into how these photovoltaic solar panels work.

The term "photovoltaic" in photovoltaic solar panels consists of 2 parts : "photo", gleaned from the Greek word for light ( or daylight in this context ) and "voltaic", which makes its way back to the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta and his pathfinding study of electricity. Hence we arrive at the finish that photovoltaic energy is the production of electricity thru the transformation of daylight.

The solar cells in photovoltaic solar panels provide them with the capability of capturing sunlight and transforming it into the electrical energy we have become accustomed to for powering the general conveniences we have in our homes. Photovoltaic power cells contain two or more layers of oppositely charged ( negative and positive ) semiconductors. Silicon is common example of a semiconductor utilized in photovoltaic solar panels.

When sunlight arrives at the semiconductors in a cell, the electrical field produced where the oppositely charged layers of the semiconductor meet causes an electric current to be created.

The quantity of sunlight that hits the cells of photovoltaic solar panels varies on any particular day. Radiation will most probably start out low and the continuously increase until it reaches a top at noon before then slowly decreasing toward the end of the day. The more sunlight the photovoltaic solar cell receives, the larger the production and flow of electricity within the panel. There's now a wide range of variable photovoltaic solar panels on offer. A very welcome addition to existing panels on the market has been the PV tiles that can be fitted onto any standard roof. These photovoltaic solar panels or tiles have a reduced visual impact in comparison to other older paneling systems.

In principle, the power received from photovoltaic solar panels systems in Direct Current ( DC ). However , through the addition of an inverter, this DC current is changed into an Oscillating Current ( AC ) to give you the electricity your general home gizmos require.

The electricity produced from the light caught by photovoltaic solar panels reaches the mains box thru the fuse board. As expected, it is feasible to gauge and record the quantity of electricity created by the photovoltaic solar panel with a meter. In many areas, any extra power produced by the solar cells can be sold on to the local electricity provider, making these systems quite cheap in the long terms, as well as causing all solar powered homeowners to be great contributors towards a far more environmental friendly society.

Location is the main main factor for the amount of energy that may be received by photovoltaic solar panels. Noon or midday is utilized as the foundation for calculation of the provision of solar power and the daily average hours of maximum radiation is determined from this.

Simply 10m of photovoltaic solar paneling is required to powering the average home wholly from solar powered electricity. Should you wish to discover how many photovoltaic solar panels would e obligatory in order to utterly move your place off-grid, solar calculators can be are available and can be employed for this purpose.




About the Author: