Solar Panels Explained Simply

On this page we ll go over the basics of solar energy and explain where to start if you want to buy a solar power system.

Solar panels explained simply.

An example of an early solar energy collection device is the solar oven a box for collecting and absorbing sunlight. Inside a solar cell you have two wafer thin layers of silicon crystal placed on top of each other to make a sort of silicon sandwich. Solar cells are simple devices that directly convert solar energy into electricity. How much energy does a solar panel produce.

5 hours x 290 watts an example wattage of a premium solar panel 1 450 watts hours or roughly 1 5 kilowatt hours kwh. Collecting and using solar thermal heat energy. On the other hand solar panels don t convert energy directly into electricity. The other name for solar cells is solar photovoltaic cells and i ll explain that little after this.

If you re looking for a beginner s guide to solar power you ve come to the right place. Our aim is simple to help our customers become as informed as possible about the world we love solar energy. Put simply a solar cell works like this. Rating of solar panel.

Irradiance of 1 000 w m the solar spectrum of am 1 5 and module temperature at 25 c. While solar panels generate direct current dc electricity most electricity consumers need alternating current ac electricity to power their buildings. As the solar panel generates an electric current the energy flows through a series of wires to an inverter see step 3 above. The solar panel size should be selected in such a way that it will charge the battery fully during the one day time.

In the 1830s british astronomer john herschel used a solar oven to cook food during an expedition to africa. For the sake of example if you are getting 5 hours of direct sunlight per day in a sunny state like california you can calculate your solar panel output this way. These are the most common questions we hear as we design and sell systems on a daily basis. Monocrystalline solar panels are made of silicon formed into bars and cut into wafers.

The top layer has been specially treated so that its atoms are unstable they have one too many electrons that they would really like to get rid of. Solar panels actually comprise many smaller units. Welcome to solar power 101. Simply put a solar panel works by allowing photons or particles of light to knock electrons free from atoms generating a flow of electricity.

Thus the output for each solar panel in your array would. They have the highest purity of silicon making them efficient with a higher power output than polycrystalline panels.