All about solar power panels
So what is a solar panel? You know what they look like and maybe have a clue of what they are, but what are they? This is a ‘non-tech’ brief. A solar panel is a collection of things we call “solar cells”, that lay on a flat board. Amazingly, they make electricity when placed in sunlight.
They often call solar panels “modules” too. The power they make is “DC electricity”, which is like the power you get from an everyday, common battery. You know, the type you have been using to power toys, torches, and calculators for years. It is not the same kind of power you get from your main wall plug, we call that “AC”.
What is a Solar Panel Array?
When you put many panels in a group, all facing and angled the same way, we call that an “array”. But you can have more than one ‘array’. So that means you can have one array or group faced one way, and another pointing in a different way.
What is a Solar Power System?
It has solar panels, of course, an inverter, and a roof mount system for the panels. Most PV solar systems in cities join the Grid, so we call the inverters for them “Grid ties”. In a country where there is often no Grid, so we call these inverters “Stand Alone”.
And So What Is Photovoltaic?
Let’s try and say it first. It's pronounced, “FOTO VOL TAY ICK”
To explain as easily as we can, it is when the light turns into electricity. They call this the “photovoltaic effect”. Someone found out that when you put certain metals and compounds together in the sun, they made electricity. This is why you may see “PV” often used with solar panels, it is short for “PhotoVoltaic”.
How does a solar cell in a solar panel, work?
If you are not a tech person, then this could be a rough ride, so hold on. A solar panel is in fact, a number of solar cells; often, there are 60 or 72 of them. When sunlight touches a cell, a reaction takes place. This is at the atomic level. The rays of light excite the electrons in the solar cell. Like when you use heat to boil water, the water is clearly, ‘excited’, yes? The water rushes to the top and goes off as steam. Well, with a solar cell, in a solar panel, the excited electrons rush to flow in a certain direction. It’s this ‘flow’ of electrons that creates the DC electricity or ‘current’. Now, if you’re a tech person, there are all sorts of solar cell technology and some good reading about PERC solar cells and how heterojunction solar cells increase solar panel efficiency.
OK, we have solar power now, what’s next?
There are then three basic ways your power can end up. You can then use the power in your home, sell it to the Grid or store it in a battery. Most people try to use the power their solar PV system makes. This is where the biggest savings are at the moment, so most do this…
