How Does Solar Power and Solar Energy Work?

To answer the question – "how does solar power and solar energy work?" you must first understand how photovoltaic or “PV” cells work.

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Photovoltaic cells have been used to convert the suns rays into solar power for over a century.

During the eighteen hundreds, the word photovoltaic was derived from the Greek word “photo” which means light and from the word “volt” named after the electricity pioneer Alessandro Volta.

During the nineteen hundreds, these “PV” cells were used to generate electricity for various space programs. Today they are being utilized in many ways, including supplying electrical power to entire houses and even power to entire remote communities. The word “photovoltaic” literally means light-electricity. As such, photovoltaic materials and devices transform light energy into electrical energy.

Photovoltaic cells are the root to how works – but how do PV cells work? Photovoltaic cells (also know as solar cells) themselves are made out of a special kind of material called a semiconductor. The semiconductor material is made from a substance called silicone. When light strikes the silicone, the semiconductor absorbs some of the energy. The PV cells are connected together to form PV modules. The PV modules are connected together to form PV arrays. The arrays come in various sizes and power outputs.

The absorption of light energy frees the electrons from their normal positions within the silicone material.

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With their newfound energy, these free-floating electrons flow in the same direction in the semiconductor and become part of the electrical flow. This effect produces a built-in field or current. The next step is to use contacts that have been placed on the photovoltaic cells which connect a circuit from the top contacts, through the device to be powered, and back to the bottom contacts.

photovoltaic panels at the SunEdison photovoltaic power plant Because silicon is surprisingly impure in its natural crystalline state it does not allow for much movement of electrons. Each of [nms:Solar the silicon atoms is unstable on its own because there are four places for electrons that can be filled. Yet, every silicon atom is usually locked up with the other silicon atoms by sharing electrons on the outer valance.

In order to make the silicon material more conductive, it is necessary to dope it, or mix in some other substance or element. To make N-type silicon, the element phosphorous is used. It has five electrons in its outer ring, so that when it mates up with the silicon atoms surrounding it, there is one free electron for every phosphorous atom.

P-type silicon is made by doping with the element boron. It has only three electrons in its outer shell. This leaves a hole, which is a place where an electron can jump in for every atom of boron. The key to using silicon in photovoltaic cells is to use both P-type and N-type silicon.

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The two types of silicon are set up side by side. Because of the flow of electrons and holes, the two semiconductors behave like a battery, creating an electric field at the surfaces of where they meet – this is called the P/N junction. At first, the electrons and holes near the shared border fill in rapidly. Then equilibrium is reached where the electrons can no longer interact in that way. In this electric field, it is easy for electrons to flow from the P-side to the N-side. Electrons on the N-side cannot make it over to the P-side. This creates a one-way flow of electrons.

Units of energy from the sun are called photons and are emitted in a wide range of wavelengths. Photons keep the energy flowing by colliding into the atoms of the solar cell thus freeing electrons and holes. This perpetuates the movement of electrons from hole to hole and establishes more and more electrical current. The field created at the site of the N-type and P-type silicon junction makes the voltage that completes the power structure.

A 2-kilowatt solar panel system was installed on this energy efficient home In summary, to answer the question "how does solar power work?"- it works by using photovoltaic cells to harness and covert the sun’s energy into electricity that can be used immediately or stored in a battery for later use. works in many different applications, both commercial and residential. The use of PV cells and solar energy can power a number of devices from swimming pool pumps to entire houses to sub stations in remote villages. Photovoltaic cells are fairly easy to understand and are important allies for bringing solar power within our reach. (Press Ctrl-D to Bookmark this article for future reference)

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