Increasing concern over sustainability is boosting solar panel installation in residential and commercial sectors. Solar panels effectively generate electricity to substitute thermal power. So, how do solar panels work to generate electricity? Learn the power generation process of a solar panel in the following sections.
What is a Solar Panel?
A solar panel is a collection of solar cells that converts the sun’s rays into electricity through the photovoltaic effect. The cells are furnished in a grid-like pattern. The components of the solar panel include front and back adhesive film, frame, back sheet, and junction box.
Front and back adhesive film covers the solar cells. On top of that is a glass held by a frame, and the back sheet placed behind the layer of aluminium works as a protective barrier. If the back sheet is transparent it can absorb the reflected sunlight from the back side and convert that to electricity.
Step-by-Step Process of Solar Panel Generating Electricity –
A solar panel effectively generate electricity to meet your energy needs. Following are steps that will help you understand how solar energy is used –
Step 1: Absorption of Sunlight by Solar Panels
The cells in solar panels are cut out of silicon ingots. Further, the cell type differs based on the doping material. A cell doped with phosphorous or arsenic is a P-type cell while a N-type cell has a boron doping.
The dopings help in the conversion of solar power into electricity. As the solar cells in a panel absorb sunlight, the electrons present in the doping component loosen from the atoms.
Step 2: Electricity Produced by Solar Panels
The electrons start flowing in a specific direction to form a depletion region called a P-N junction. You can learn about the P-N junction in detail here. The flow of electrons closes the holes in the depletion region to create a circuit. Further, the circuit generates electricity or direct current from solar power. However, the direct current produced is not usable by households or for industrial activities.
Step 3: Solar Inverters Covert DC to AC
Solar inverter is an important component of a solar system as it converts direct current (DC) to alternative current (AC). Alternative current is the consumable electricity that powers your household appliances.
A solar inverter helps convert single-directional current to bidirectional oscillating current. Usually, solar inverters consist of an element named an H-bridge that changes the polarity of the load voltage. The change in polarity results in AC power generation to produce electricity for household appliances. Alongside this, you should also learn in detail about how solar inverters work.
Things to Remember About Electricity Generation with Solar Power
The potential of solar cells to generate electricity varies based on shading and weather conditions. Here are the things you need to remember for optimum solar power generation:
1) Shading
A shady region on your rooftop, devoid of adequate sunlight prevents solar cells from properly functioning. The solar cells in a panel are arrayed in a series connection with photovoltaic ribbons coated with copper. As a result, if one cell stops functioning, the entire panel stops generating solar energy to produce electricity for your home.
Avoid installing your rooftop solar panels in shady areas to maximise solar power generation for your household. You should ideally hire the best solar installer for your solar system installation. It will be helpful for you if you use the platform of Das Energie Private Limited. It will let you get multiple solar installation quotations from local and DISCOM-registered installers.
2) Weather Condition
The solar cells generate lower solar power on low-sunlight days. On rainy days and in winter, the solar cells produce less electricity compared to summer days with high heat and temperature.
Also Read: 5 Top Solar Projects in West Bengal Improving the Solar Landscape
How Do Solar Panels Work with Your Electric Bill?
Home solar systems can be on-grid, off-grid and hybrid. In an on-grid solar system, an integrated net meter monitors the electricity export and import to and from the grid. The system allows the export of excess electricity and import.
As a result of electricity export and import, you can reduce the net electricity imported from the grid. This reduces the electricity bill for households every month. It further increases your annual savings ensuring cost-effectiveness in the solar transition process. One of the major benefits of solar power generation is that you can reduce your electricity bill by around 80-95%.
Now that you know how does solar panels work, avoid solar panel installation in shady rooftop areas to ensure smooth solar energy generation. Adequate sunlight absorption helps generate optimum electricity for your household to save monthly electricity bills.
