How Do Solar Panel Fields Work

There are essentially five steps in the process of solar energy production beginning when sunlight hits your panels and culminating with feeding excess energy back to the grid.

How do solar panel fields work.

This flow of electrons is a current and by placing metal contacts on the top and bottom of the pv cell we can draw that current off for external use say to power a calculator. Since this process happens at such a small scale it is invisible for humans. First your solar panels collect particles of light called photons which knock electrons free from their atom hosts. The panels convert the energy from freed electrons to dc current which then flows to an inverter and is converted from dc electricity to ac electricity.

Since those contracts usually cover a 25 year period you essentially agree to purchase your energy in advance for a pre negotiated price. This time lapse animation demonstrates the cycle which thermal solar fields follow on any given day of adequate sunlight exposure. But instead of paying for the system you pay a monthly fee for the energy it produces. When solar cells are struck by light they produce a flow of electrons or electric current.

Simply put a solar panel works by allowing photons or particles of light to knock electrons free from atoms generating a flow of electricity. This fully automated process shows how the panels are in a docked. Compared with other renewable energy systems panels are characterized by their lack of movement. Electricity flows through your home.

The majority of these massive arrays are owned by utilities and are merely another asset for the utility to supply power to properties in their coverage area. Solar panels work by converting sunlight into electricity at the atomic scale. First sunlight in the form of photons hit the solar panels on your roof or ground mount. Photovoltaic cells absorb the sun s energy and convert it to dc electricity the solar inverter converts dc electricity from your solar modules to ac electricity which is used by most home.

A solar panel is nothing more than a large group of solar cells made of silicon. The cells are networked into a panel each gathering a small amount of energy from sunlight. Here are the main steps for how solar panels work for your home. A solar farm sometimes referred to as a photovoltaic power station is typically a large decentralized solar array supplying electricity to the power grid.

The solar panels on your roof are owned by the ppa provider not you. What to watch out for. This electricity is then used to power your home.