How Solar Panels Work
No matter where you live every minute of the day, the sun is shedding light upon your home or business. In fact, did you know that in a single hour the sun radiates a greater amount of energy than the entire human population consumes in a year. Using solar modules to capture the power of the sun and turn it into electricity can significantly reduce our dependence on non-renewable energy.
Acro Energy helps you harness the power of the sun. By installing photovoltaic solar panels you can lower your utility costs and reduce your dependence on non-renewable energy. On average, Acro Energy uses Hanwha Solarone solar panels and SMA America inverters. Yet, we can install a range of solar panels and inverters to meet our customers specifications.
Solar Panels
Solar panels use photovoltaic conversion in order to convert the solar rays into electricity. Photovoltaic conversion is the process where sunlight is directly turned into electricity, unlike solar thermal conversion where a liquid is heated by solar panels. The liquid then turns a turbine that generates electricity. One of the greatest benefits of photovoltaic solar panels is the lack of any moving parts and the ability of the solar panels to be installed in practically any location the sun is present.
Solar panels are composed of solar cells. Each solar cell is composed of silicon. Silicon is used because its physical properties allow it to efficiently conduct electricity. In order to begin to create a solar cell, the first process is to begin with a thin wafer of silicon. The thin wafer of silicon is treated with another element. As the silicon is treated with another element, usually boron, it creates a wafer that is deficient in electrons. The deficiency of electrons in the silicon wafer creates a positive charge on the wafer. The positively charge wafer is now called a positive type material. Once we have a positive type material the next process is to create a layer that is negatively charge. This is done by spreading out a negatively charge element, usually phosphorous, onto the positive type material. This creates two layers between the silicon wafers. One layer is positively charge, while the other layer is negatively charge. The solar cell is now ready to convert sun rays into electricity. As the sun rays strike the solar wafer the energy of the sun forces the negative and positive layers to create an electric current which flows into the wires connected to the solar panels.
There are three main types of silicon based solar panels. The types are single-crystal, multi-crystal, and amorphous. Single-crystal solar panels are composed of silicon where the atom structure is tightly arranged together. Multi- crystal solar panels are composed of small crystals of silicon. Finally, amorphous solar panels are composed of thin films of silicon. Multi-crystal solar panels provide the proper balance between efficiency and affordability. Single- crystal solar panels have a greater efficiency than multi-crystal solar panels unfortunately; the panels are much more expensive. Amorphous solar panels are relatively affordable, yet they are not as efficient as crystal based solar panels. They also require a large area to produce a comparable wattage to crystal based solar panels.
Solar panels are essentially photovoltaic cells that are wired together. When multiple photovoltaic cells are wire together it is known as a module. The greater the number of photovoltaic cells wired together the greater the voltage the solar panels can produce. Once the photovoltaic cells fill the area of the solar panel one can connect multiple solar panels leading to an array. One can reach a desire voltage by connecting multiple solar panels to reach the desire voltage. Yet there is a limitation to the number of panels because they take up space when their installed in the ground. If a solar power system is installed in a roof, the size of the system is constrained by the size of the roof.
Call today to begin saving with solar:
1.800.US.SOLAR (1.800.877.6527) or fill out the following contact information
