Browse Our Catalog
Home > Learning Center > How solar panels work
How solar panels work
Interested in learning about solar power, how solar panels work, and green energy? Visit our distance education partner for solar energy education classes.
Explaining how solar panels work is kind of like describing how a computer works. There is a simple explanation, but if a person truly wants to understand how it works, the matter becomes a lot more complicated. In addition to general energy concepts, it could take forever to explain all the small details that go into ensuring that all is well.
Most of the panels visible on rooftops which help create and gather solar energy are called photovoltaic panels. They are also commonly refered to as “PV panels” to keep it short.
These panel types are basically a group of cells packaged together in one frame. Although photovoltaic may sound very technical, it is actually a simple term. “Photo” means light while “voltaic” means electricity.
Interestingly enough, these devices actually have their origins in space exploration technology. However, in more recent years, the discovery that these panels can actually help power a home has caused them to be more in demand on Earth.
The main components from which these PV panels are made are called semiconductors. Basically, a semiconductor is something that is able to transport energy. Silicon is one of the most popular semiconductor material choices.
Light hitting the panel is what acts as the instigator in the process that ultimately leads to a home receiving electricity from the sun. When the energy hits the panel, the electrons that cover the panel are knocked loose. The movement of these electrons is what allows them to flow freely and produce an electrical reaction.
The flow of the electrons around the panels is called a current. While this is an important part of creating energy, it is not the only part. In order to draw this current off of the panel and be able to use it, metal contacts need to be placed on both the top and the bottom of the panel. Not doing so could result in not being able to harness the energy.
Silicon is considered to be the best material from which a panel can be made. This is true because of some of the extra special properties that silicon exhibits. For example, a silicon atom has three levels of 14 different types of electrons.
While all of this is useful to the operation of a solar panel, those who really know how solar panels work understand that a pure form of silicon is essentially good for nothing when it comes to harnessing solar energy.
A solar panel made with silicon must have certain impurities. Without these defects, it would not be able to work properly to collect what is needed.
For example, if energy is added to the purest kind of silicon, there is a possibility that a few of the electrons located within the silicon could actually remove themselves from the bonds that hold them and leave the atoms.
In the situations where something like this happens, a hole is left behind. So, the electrons then move about after exiting their hole and instead look for another hole in which they can fall.
It can take a lot of energy to do this. This is where the difference between pure silicon and impure silicon plays a large role. The impure silicon is able to do the same as the pure, only it doesn’t take nearly as much energy to do so. That means that the energy is more easily created.
This is a brief synopsis of how solar panels work. To understand more deeply, some may wish to explore in depth facts about impurities in silicon and how electrons affect solar energy.
