Describe How A Solar Panel Produce Electricity

Solar powered photovoltaic pv panels convert the sun s rays into electricity by exciting electrons in silicon cells using the photons of light from the sun.

Describe how a solar panel produce electricity.

Solar panels produce direct current dc and your home runs on alternating current ac. The conversion of sunlight into electrical energy by a solar cell is called the photovoltaic effect hence why we refer to solar cells as photovoltaic. This electricity can then be used to supply renewable energy to your home or business. Yep like the band ac dc.

A 100 watt panel refers to a solar photovoltaic module that is rated 100 watts this means that it has a power output of up to 100 watts of dc output under optimal conditions. This ratio of ac to dc is called the derate factor and is typically about 8. It is called the power temperature coefficient and it will be listed as a percentage of power output loss per degree celsius c. Because of physics there are losses in converting the energy from the sun into dc power and turning the dc power into ac power.

The electricity generated flows to the edge of the panel and into a conductive wire. How much energy does a 100 watt solar panel produce. For the sake of example if you are getting 5 hours of direct sunlight per day in a sunny state like california you can calculate your solar panel output this way. Simply put a solar panel works by allowing photons or particles of light to knock electrons free from atoms generating a flow of electricity.

5 hours x 290 watts an example wattage of a premium solar panel 1 450 watts hours or roughly 1 5 kilowatt hours kwh. A solar panel is made up of six different components but arguably the most important one is the photovoltaic cell which actually generates electricity. This is because that solar panels produce less electricity when it s hot. Inside each solar panel is a conductive metal plate connected to wires that lead to a fused array combiner.

The conductive wire brings the electricity to the inverter where it is transformed from dc electricity to ac which is used to power buildings. Solar panels actually comprise many smaller units. Solar panels contain cells of semiconductive material usually silicon usually encased in a metallic frame and tempered glass. Sunlight hits the solar panels and creates an electric field.

How much energy does a solar panel produce. This is a well known phenomenon and you will see it listed in the specifications on your solar panel datasheet.