How Do solar system Panels Work?

How Do solar system Panels Work?

Put simply a solar cell works like this: Inside a solar cell you have two wafer-thin layers of silicon crystal, placed on top of each other to make a sort of silicon sandwich. The top layer has been specially treated so that its atoms are unstable - they have one too many electrons that they would really like to get rid of. The bottom layer has also been treated, but this time the atoms have a few empty spaces that could really do with an electron to fill them. So the top layer is desperate to lose a few electrons, the bottom layer is desperate to gain a few electrons, and the electrons themselves are itching to move from the top layer to the bottom. This setup puts everything is in place for electricity to be produced. There is just one problem: the electrons within silicon crystal can't move around freely - not until the solar panel is exposed to light.

When sunlight hits the top silicon layer, it 'excites' the electrons and gives them enough energy to move. The electrons begin to flow from the top layer to the bottom. And as we know, when a bunch of electrons start to move along in the same direction, we have electricity. Put two metal contacts on either side of the silicon sandwich and we have electricity moving through a circuit.

There is one last piece to the puzzle before the electricity can be used. The electricity generated by PV solar cells is DC (direct current). The electricity used in your house is AC (alternating current). So the current from the solar inverter panel system has to go through an inverter, to convert it from DC to AC before it can be pumped into your house and used to run appliances.