The guide will hopefully tell you all you need to know about solar panels. This will give you an insight into how they will work to benefit you
Solar panels are also known as photovoltaics (PV), they work by capturing the sun’s energy and converting it into electricity that you can use to help power your home. Solar panels can be used for a variety of purposes but it is commonly used for the production of electricity by residential and commercial solar electric systems. A solar panel consists of many cells made from layers of semiconducting material and when light shines on this material, it creates a flow of electricity!
However it’s commonly thought that these cells in the solar panel need direct sunlight to work, that’s untrue and they can work even on heavily cloudy days – although the stronger the sunshine means the more electricity that will be produced.
Solar Energy
When we look at the development of solar energy it dates back to over 100 years! At its earliest point of development, solar energy was primarily used for the production of steam which could be used to power machinery. It wasn’t until the discovery of photovoltaic effect that would allow the conversion of electricity from sunlight. Solar panels found their first mainstream use through space satellites! Although your first encounter with a solar panel is probably through your calculator that you used in school – these were first rolled out back in the 1970s, so you have probably owned a solar panel and didn’t even realise! Our use of solar panels today can be found to power a wide variety of applications – from anything small like a calculator to massive buildings such as Google’s headquarters!
How They Work
Now to discuss how exactly solar panels work in converting the sun’s energy into electricity. They collect the clean renewable energy from the sunlight, the panels are made up of several individual solar cells and they are composed of layers of silicon, phosphorus, and boron. The panels absorb the photons and whilst doing that initiate an electric current, the energy generated from photons hitting the surface of the solar panel allows electrons to be knocked out of their atomic orbits and they are then put into the electric field generated by the solar cells, they then pull these free electrons into a directional current.
Investing in solar panels is a great idea, allowing yourself to save electricity and money. When deciding on whether to invest in them a key thought to have is do you have enough space. Now typically the average home has more than enough roof area for the necessary number of solar panels to produce enough electricity to supply all of its power needs (any excess power leftover at the end of the day goes onto the main power grid – paying off in electricity use at night).
There are many benefits that come with solar panels and it is a very practical way to produce electricity for various purposes and applications. Some people even switch to off-grid living with solar panels! These panels produce a clean and renewable source of energy, with the current problems caused by climate change it’s become more important than ever we watch our footprint and do everything we can to reduce the pressure on our atmosphere. Solar panels also are quite easy to care for, as they are just stationary devices and typically require minimal maintenance – they are after all built to last for decades!
Green Tech Hub
If you are interested in having solar panels installed or would just like to speak to someone for some further information, feel free to contact us and a member of our team will be more than happy to provide you with a free offside report. Our service is efficient and once your home has the approval required, we can then move forward with providing and installing the solar panels for you.
