How To Simply Explain How Solar Panels Work

The csem company of switzerland have animated the idea of a solar farm that could work in the oceans or the desert.

How to simply explain how solar panels work.

It s an idea that has been around for well over a century. The us department of energy s quick introduction explains how solar panels work and summarizes their advantages. 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. In 1839 french scientist edmond becquerel discovered that certain materials would give off sparks of electricity when struck with sunlight.

How many solar panels can be placed in series the designer needs to work out how many of those strings can be placed in parallel to get the desired system size. When solar panels are put to work in a parallel array their voltage stays the same but you add up their current. Put simply a solar cell works like this. How solar farms could work.

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. When several panels are connected together you have a solar array. How solar thermal panels work in theory. A standard solar panel also known as a solar module consists of a layer of silicon cells a metal frame a glass casing and various wiring to allow current to flow from the silicon cells silicon atomic 14 on the periodic table is a nonmetal with conductive properties that allow it to absorb and convert sunlight into electricity.

Once your designer has worked out what string length to be used i e. How do solar panels work to generate electricity. Here s a simple summary of how rooftop solar hot water panels work. Solar photovoltaic pv panels are based on a high tech but remarkably simple technology that converts sunlight directly to electricity.

In the simplest panels sun heats water flowing in a circuit through the collector the panel on your roof. The water leaving the collector is hotter than the water entering it and carries its heat toward your hot water tank. Solar pv panels are comprised of many small photovoltaic cells photovoltaic meaning they can convert sunlight into electricity.