How Do Solar Panels Work?
When you buy solar panels, your installer will position several panels on the roof of your home in what’s called a solar array. The specific number of solar panels you require depends on several factors, including the size and position of your roof, the amount of sunlight your home receives, and the type of solar panels you select.
Solar panels use photovoltaic cells, or PV cells, to absorb light from the sun. (More on the photovoltaic effect in just a moment.) When Solar Companies in Pakistan hits the panels, they generate a direct current, or DC electricity. However, homes require alternating current, or AC electricity.
A device called a solar inverter is a key part of the solar energy system, as it converts the electric current from DC to AC. The AC power then circulates through your household electrical panel and is distributed as needed to your different systems, appliances and outlets. Here’s a quick, step-by-step summary of how solar panels work to power your home:
Photovoltaic cells absorb sunlight, then turn it into DC energy.
An inverter turns the DC energy into AC energy, which is what your household electrical system requires.
Electricity is distributed throughout your home, powering outlets and appliances.
Any excess or leftover electricity that is produced is fed into a battery bank or back to your local power grid.
The Science of Solar Panels
While there are a few types of solar panels to choose from, most household systems work in roughly the same way. There is usually Best Solar Panel Company in Pakistan layer of silicon cells surrounded by a metal frame and a glass case. There are also wires throughout the panel, allowing the free flow of electricity.
You may (or may not) remember from your high school science classes that silicon is a non-metal with conductive properties. In other words, it is able to absorb light and then turn it into electricity.
How it works is simple: when light hits the silicon cells, electrons are set into motion, producing an electrical current. This electricity generation process is known as the photovoltaic effect, and it is one of the core principles of solar technology.
Let’s dig into the photovoltaic effect a little deeper. This principle was first discovered way back in 1839 and is generally associated with semiconductor materials.
The photovoltaic effect simply describes the property by which these materials can generate electricity any time they are exposed to sunlight. Here’s a Best Solar Companies in Pakistan step-by-step summary that explains how solar panels work by employing the photovoltaic effect:
Sunlight hits the solar panel, which has two layers of silicon, an n-type layer that sits on top of a p-type layer.
The sun’s energy knocks an electron from its bond in the upper n-type layer, creating both a freely roaming electron and a positively charged “hole” where the electron was previously bonded.
The hole travels down to the p-type layer, and the free electron travels through conductive wires to an inverter.
The inverter transforms the solar electricity from DC to AC so that it can be used in your home.
The electricity flows throughout your home to power systems, appliances and outlets.
The free electron eventually flows through the house and back to the p-type layer of the panel, where it fills a positively charged hole and closes the loop needed to maintain the flow of electricity.
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