Science Of How Solar Panels Work

Solar pv panels are comprised of many small photovoltaic cells photovoltaic meaning they can convert sunlight into electricity.

Science of how solar panels work.

Solar panels generate electrical current by exploiting a phenomenon first described more than a century ago by a french physicist. Step by step overview. Ac energy then flows through the home s electrical panel and is distributed accordingly. In fact a solar panel is comprised of an array of smaller units called photovoltaic cells which are the.

In 1839 henri becquerel noted that silver and platinum electrodes. It s an idea that has been around for well over a century. Solar photovoltaic pv panels are based on a high tech but remarkably simple technology that converts sunlight directly to electricity. Solar panels generate electricity when photons knock electrons off from the material.

These cells are made of semi conductive materials most often silicon a material that can conduct electricity while maintaining the electrical imbalance needed to create an electric field. Solar panels work by absorbing sunlight with photovoltaic cells generating direct current dc energy and then converting it to usable alternating current ac energy with the help of inverter technology. Simply put a solar panel works by allowing photons or particles of light to knock electrons free from atoms generating a flow of electricity. Researchers soon discovered that this property called the photoelectric effect could be harnessed.