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How Do Solar Panels Work?

By Amy C.

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 01Jun2011
Word count: 438
Viewed: 153 time(s)

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Today they are a standard part of life. You see them on calculators, cars and houses. Have you ever stopped to wonder how these panels actually work? It is really quite interesting, but what is really interesting is that the principle is just the same as in chemical batteries. In a solar panel it is the free flow of electrons that generate the current.

Understanding how solar panels work will mean remember a little of your high school chemistry. The element that makes these solar panels possible is silicon. This is the same element that started the computer revolution some year ago. Stripped of impurities it makes an excellent platform from which to transmit electrons, not to mention the atomic-level properties, these to make it ideal for solar panels.

It has to do with the number of electrons present in silicon. The element has room for a total of 8 in its outer band, but in its natural state it only has four. What this means is it has room for 4 more. When one atom touches another one there is neither a positive or negative charge because it is still only at 8 electrons. The atoms combine over time to create slabs of pure silicon. This is what the solar panels are made from.

Batteries made from this can last a lifetime, or so it seems. When used on most calculators, you do not even need a switch. They are being used to power road signs, call boxes and even ocean buoys. As long as these things can receive sunlight they will have power. There are some companies that use solar panels to power the lights in their parking lots.

Mainly the people who built satellites used Photovoltaics. This practice goes back as far back as 1958. Now they are being used for everything from calculators to a solar fountain. It is also being used in the new vehicle charging stations for the battery powered vehicles. The "PV" cell gets its name from the photo, which means light and voltaic means electricity. The cell converts the sunlight to electricity.

Adding these solar panels to a home at the time it is built is cheaper than installing them later on. But it is worth the price at any rate, first in cash savings and for the part it plays in reversing the effects of fossil fuels on the environment. You should learn more about solar panels and the other "green" products like rain barrels that you can incorporate into your life.

Amy C. invites you to browse delightful collection of solar fountains and rain barrels to create an ecological and sustainable garden decor.

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