Have you ever wondered how solar panels generate electricity

Here we observe solar photovoltaic cells – the science behind a solar panel and see how they work.

Solar panels are omnipresent, but do you know how they exactly work to produce electricity?
 

Photovoltaic cells are what create Solar panels

The transformation of sunlight into electrical energy by a solar cell from a solar panel is called the photovoltaic effect, and that’s why we refer to solar cells as “photovoltaic.” A solar panel is comprised of six various segments, but arguably the most important one is the photovoltaic (PV) cell, which actually generates electricity.

There are several photovoltaic cells within a single solar panel. A conventional panel used in a rooftop residential solar panel system will have 60 cells linked together, and commercial solar panel installations often use larger panels with 72 or more photovoltaic cells.
 

How a PV solar panel produces electricity

Here is the actual exact version. Photovoltaic cells, through the photovoltaic effect, absorb sunlight and produce flowing electricity. In a crystal, like the bonds [between silicon atoms] are made of electrons that are shared between all of the atoms of the crystal. The light gets absorbed, and one of the electrons that's in one of the bonds gets excited up to a higher energy level and can move around more freely than when it was bound. That electron can then move around the crystal freely, and we can get a current. 
 

Solar cells from solar panels absorb light

This incoming light energy causes electrons in the silicon to be knocked loose, which will eventually become the solar electricity you can use in your home. First, light strikes a photovoltaic cell and is consumed by the semiconducting substance it is made from (usually silicon).
 

In solar panels, electrons flow to produce an electrical current

There are two layers of silicon used in photovoltaic cells, and each one is specially treated, or “doped”, to create an electric field, meaning one side has a net positive charge and one has a net negative charge. The electric field causes loose electrons to flow in one direction through the photovoltaic cell, generating an electrical current.
 

In solar panels, the electrical current is captured and combined with other solar cells

Lastly, Once an electrical flow is produced by loose electrons, metal plates on the sides of each solar cell collect those electrons and transfer them to wires.  Electrons can flow as electricity through the wiring to a solar inverter and then throughout your home.

If you want to move into the future and join the solar revolution, or if you want to find out what solar panels are right for you, go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool. You can see how much a system will cost, and how much you can save over the next 20 years.

For more information relating to going solar, don't forget to visit our solar blog section for more handy guides and articles.