Solar panels are considered the best way to solve energy crisis in the world. Every day thousands people are looking for information how solar panels work. This articles is write for those people who are looking for information to know about solar panels.
The world is suffering from energy crisis. The storage of energy is decreasing day by day. So, the scientists are working hard to find out new sources of renewable energy. Solar energy is one kind of this type of energy.
Solar panels are the devices which convert the solar energy into electricity. These panels consist of several solar cells. The number of cell in the panels depends on the total need of electricity. For example, if we install solar panels for our houses, we don’t need much and larger size of cells.
However, if we want to install panels for industries, we have to connect the greater cells. The solar panels are of two types. They are solar electric panels and solar water heating panels. The solar photovoltaic panels are used in order to provide electricity. These panels convert the sun light into electricity directly.
The word ‘photovoltaic’ comes from the two words, photo and voltaic. Photo means light and voltaic means electricity. These cells are made from different kinds of semiconductor materials. Silicon is the most-used semiconductor. Crystalline silicon is used for the most cases. It absorbs the sun light. From the sun light, we get photons, which are to be converted in these cells into electricity. These cells are used in a lot of applications.
We very often see that, these cells are used in watches and calculators. They are also used assigns on the main roads. They can be used in our houses and in many industries in order to meet the daily need of electricity.
These cells are combined or grouped into panels or modules. These panels or modules contain about 40 photovoltaic solar cells. They produce a huge quantity of electricity.
Most of the solar panels contain top most protective layers, a polymer layer, and two special layers of silicon. The leading silicon layer is made electrically negative, and the back layer is made electrically positive.
When sun light hits the surface of the cells, the electrons are separated from the atoms. They are freed from the top layer of the semiconductors. The electrical contacts collect the freed electrons. Electron-hole pairs are produced. The electrons are combined with the holes. However, some extra electrons remain released. These electrons move here and there and thus current flow, which is DC in nature. This current is known as electricity. Thus, the system provides power in the electrical system.
Most of the panels are installed on south-facing roofs if the roofs’ slopes are in the northern hemisphere. The panels can be mounted on ground or on poles. However, this type of placement can be prohibited by the homeowners’ association rules or the local regulations. The generated power and electricity depend on the size and number as the cells and also on geographical location. These panels can produce electricity when they get the sun light.
However, at night or in the cloudy days, they can’t produce or can produce a very little amount of electricity. That time, additional electricity needs to be provided. The cost of installation of solar panels also depends on the geographical weather.
The cost can be lower during installing the panels in our houses if they are installed as a part of initial house construction. The average cost is about $20000 to $80000 per mile. This cost varies with the number of the consumers.
This system needs batteries and regulators. Batteries are needed in order to store electricity. The stored electricity in batteries is of DC type. The regulators control the whole supply system. They make sure that the batteries are not over charged or under charged.
The battery and the regulator have two sides or poles, and they are positive and negative. During connection, we have to remain alert about them. We must also remain conscious about short circuiting. A single stroke of short circuit can destroy the whole system and also can cause danger. Short circuit occurs because of the bad wiring system.
We also can use an inverter in this power system. It will convert the dc current stored in the battery into ac current. However, it must be connected perfectly.
The off-grid system of solar panel has many varieties. Little stand-alone system can be used for RV power, cabins, lighting, portable and back-up power system.
A complete and perfect stand-alone system gives independence from both the electric utility companies and fossil fuels. A typical stand-alone system may use two inverters in order to ensure the availability of power for large loads, for example, air conditions. One inverter can give back-up support to the others. In this system, a sizable battery plays a vital rule in order to store the electricity. It must have good capability.
It can provide electricity at night or in bad weather. The hybrid systems may combine the PV panels or modules with some additional power sources. Fossil-fuel generator is one kind of supplemental power source for the solar modules. This system uses fewer numbers of solar panels. In this case, propane, gasoline and diesel, generators generate a lot of power when the PV panels do not produce enough power.
This system is used for remote homes, for cabins and in order to power little medical facilities. This system is mostly used in the third-world countries. The off-grid system has some advantages. This system is free from electric bills. It is independent of the public utility grid and is very cost-effective for the area having no power lines.
However, it also has some disadvantages. Its initial investment is very high. It needs a lot of expensive components like charge regulators and batteries. In the grid-tied system, the consumers get many facilities. They get back-up power during the failure of the main power-producing panels. They can produce more power than their needs.
They can supply the extra power and electricity to the other people. In this way, they can earn a lot of money. Different companies have installed large solar panels, and they are supplying power and electricity to their customers. The cost of consuming this power is less than normal electricity.