PV solar panels
A photovoltaic (PV) solar panel converts sunlight directly into electricity. It is one of two main types of panels used to convert sunlight into usable energy, the other being the solar collector that converts it into heat. There are a wide range of PV solar panels, made from many different materials, but all used the photoelectric effect to create the free electrons that form the electrical current. The process of making the panels is complex and involves many stages, and is also the same process used to make computer chips. The most common type of PV solar panel uses silicon solar cells. These panels require a heavy and rigid support structure to prevent the brittle silicon wafers from breaking. Unfortunately, it also makes the panels look unattractive on most buildings, and is one reason why the panels are impractical for vehicles that mostly have curved surfaces. The other main type of panel use thin-film solar cells, a recent innovation which is only used in one tenth of panels currently sold. However, they should eventually replace silicon panels because they are thinner, lighter, cheaper, and flexible enough to be used in more places. A wide range of other panel types are still in the development stage, including dye-sensitized solar cells that have the potential to be printed and painted directly onto surfaces.
Making the silicon cells used by most PV solar panels requires many stages of production using sophisticated machines. Silica, one of the most common elements on Earth, is refined to make large rods of pure silicon. Wafers are cut from the rods and exposed to different elements at high temperature to create two slightly different layers inside the wafer. This process is called doping and it turns the silicon into a semiconductor, a material that is not quite an insulator or a conductor. Computer chips are made using a similar process but they require many more stages to build up their circuit layers. A metal conductor is attached to the wafer base, and a network of thin wires printed on the top surface using solder paste. The completed solar cells are arranged in grids inside a case and soldered together, and then sealed inside with a protective glass top.
The photoelectric effect is what converts light into electricity inside the cells of PV solar panels. When a light photon strike an atom deep inside the solar cell, enough energy is transferred to an electron that it breaks free of its orbit around the atom, and becomes a free electron. The two different layers within the solar cell have different charges that create an electrostatic field that forces the free electrons towards the top surface, where they leave the cell through the thin wires to create the electrical current. They are replaced by electrons introduced back into the cell through the conductor attached to the base.
PV solar panels have been used for more than thirty years and provide electricity to many building, vehicles and devices. Many homes around the world use them to provide a substantial amount of their energy needs, and they are the primary source of power for satellites and the International Space Station. Small panels are used to power streetlights, and to trickle-charge batteries so they remain at full charge when not in use. Even smaller panels are used to power calculators, watches, toys, torches, garden lights, and many other low-voltage devices. While have been used to power experimental vehicles, the technology is not yet efficient enough for commercial use.
Recent advances in PV solar panels have made them lighter, cheaper, flexible, and have raised their efficiency to the point where they are beginning to compete with non-renewable polluting energy sources, such as coal and nuclear power. As the cost of these energy sources increases into the future, and with the added costs from measures to reduce greenhouse gases, PV solar panels will continue to grow in popularity and find many new applications.
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- Off grid solar panels Off grid solar panels are designed for powering RV, remote, cabin, backup and portable power systems without using electrical grid.
- Photovoltaic modules Photovoltaic modules are composed of a crystalline silicon material or a thin-film cell interconnected in one packaged assembly.
- Portable solar panels Portable solar panels are a critical component of solar chargers which recharge your cellphone battery or other power systems.
- Portable solar power system The portable solar power system can be transported easily. They can facilitate the running of your laptops and other appliances.
- Solar batteries A solar battery bank can contain many large capacity batteries which can cost more than the solar panels used to charge them.
- Solar battery charger The solar battery charger is a stand alone gadget which you attach to the battery of the appliance that you are trying to charge.
- Solar car battery charger A solar car battery charger includes a solar panel and wires connecting it to the battery. A regulator controls the charging process.
- Solar cells Solar cells convert light energy into electrical energy through the photoelectric effect and they are often called photovoltaic cells.
- Solar heating system In solar heating systems, energy from the sun is collected using solar collectors. This creates heat that will heat up liquid or air.
- Swimming pool solar panels Swimming pool solar panels perform a similar role to solar hot water panels and can extend the use of a pool in most climates.
- Thin film solar panels Thin-film solar panels are a substantial improvement over the first generation, which use thick wafers of crystalline silicon.
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