The solar inverter gets slammed by photons and absorbs some of them

Sunlight has photons. Photons have energy. The solar inverter gets slammed by photons and absorbs some of them. Others bounce right off like basketballs or pass through like ghosts. The absorbed photons knock electrons out of place. Electrons are the stuff that electricity is made of. The electrons bubble up to the surface of the solar cell. This movement to the surface creates an imbalance. When you hook up a wire from the solar cell to an outside battery, you create a path that the electrons will follow. That flow into the battery is electricity.

A single photovoltaic cell will power your calculator and your curiosity, but not much more. At 1 or 2 watts, you need hook up a bunch together to get some real juice flowing. This is called an array, and can include as many cells as you can afford. Definitely a case of the more you spend, the more you save.

Environmental & Economic Benefits

The "green gold rush" is on. Global investment in renewable solar grid inverter energy surged some 60 percent, to $148 billion last year. Investment in clean energy from wind, solar and biofuels rose three times faster in 2007 than predicted by the UN Environmental Program, with wind power attracting $50.2 billion, a third of all clean energy investments. Investment in solar energy soared by 254 percent to $28.6 billion last year. This "green gold rush" is propelled by the soaring fossil-fuel prices, and concerns over carbon dioxide emissions that fuel global warming.