Does Solar Power Really Help the Atmosphere?

The power generated from the sun each day is a enormous. How solar panels work to harness that power is a whole other matter...and it understandably confuses some people. If you are trying to figure out whether you should convert to solar, you probably want to know if solar panels actually do help the environment.

The large glowing orb in the sky that we see every day (unless it's cloudy) is an enormous source of energy. But most people have no idea how solar panels actually work?

Since solar is so new (really only has it been used in the last 20 years), most people have no concept as to how powerful solar energy can be.

There are many solar panel companies who produce hundreds of variations of the same solar panel product. And someone who's looking to buy a solar panel system needs to look at all the different options and variations of solar panel systems in order to choose the one that's best for them.

Here we will aim to help you as much is possible to answer that question as to whether or not solar panels to work to both help the environment and reduce your electric bills

By converting the rays of the sun into electricity that you can use in your home or your business, solar is a truly remarkable form of energy. Believe it or not, the sun's rays are made of billions and billions of particles called photons. These photons start the chain of events which lead from the sun's rays to electricity to power your television. As soon as the photons strike the solar panel, a complex process of converting those photons into electrons takes place next. The electrons create a direct current (known as DC) ? with more being produced on sunny days than on cloudy days.

The electrons build up inside the solar panel until there are so many of them that they are pushed into an inverter, which then leads to the second step of the process. In the inverter, the direct current is then transformed into a kind of energy which is okay for your home or office to then use. Its function is to convert the direct current (DC) power into the more useful alternating current (AC). Thanks to Thomas Edison, alternating current is the kind of electricity that we use every day and our homes and offices to power refrigerators, computers and every other electrical device.

Many solar systems are installed with a meter that keeps track of all the electricity that's produced. This handy device is what's referred to as a bidirectional meter dash and can also be used to push energy back to the grid. If there is an overabundance of electricity produced by the solar panel system, the bidirectional meter keeps track of how much energy is distributed back to the electrical grid. On cloudy days, or at night, the amount of excess power that an owner's panel system has transferred into the grid will be credited back to the panel owner's monthly bill (bi-directional meters are most relevant to grid-tied home solar panel systems).. The bidirectional meter is an extremely vital part of your solar energy system.

With every different brand and model of solar panel available to consumers, there is going to be some variation in terms of how efficient each model actually is. The average solar panel system is capable of about 11 to 15 percent efficiency (the higher a panel's efficiency is, the smaller the surface area required for panel installation), so this a good range to consider when buying a solar panel system.

Some of the most efficient panel systems can achieve up to 19% efficiency (19% efficiency has been achieved by a solar panel manufacturing company called Sun Power), which is very impressive in terms of being able to generate a lot of power with a relatively small amount of panel space.

Solar panels are tremendously efficient energy producers as they not only help you reduce your electric bills, but they also help your surrounding area in relying less on electricity produced by fossil fuels like coal. This combination of saving money on your electric bills, as well as helping save the environment are a tremendous one-two punch when using solar.

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Solar Energy Is Fantastic, But How Do Solar Panel Systems Work?

People want to know how solar panels convert solar energy into electricity. There is high science behind the simple exterior when it comes to solar panel technology.

PV cells or photovoltaic cells are the masterminds behind solar panel technology. They are the brains of the operation. Sunlight (photo) is tuned in to electricity (voltaic). Photovoltaic is the combination of those two terms. But that's in reality only the start.

How Residential Solar Panels Function In 6 Simple Steps

In order to explain how the whole process works, let's explain it all in sequence. This will then help you to understand how a solar panel works.

1. Sunshine: The sun shines and strikes your solar panels with its photons. Photons are little particles of sunlight which warm and light the earth.

2. Photon Conversion: The solar panel then converts those photons into electricity and into DC electric voltage.

3. AC Conversion: The electrons are then converted from AC to DC - just like the heavy metal band. Now, the AC power is ready to be utilized by you and all your electronic gadgets.

4. Meter It: A little meter called a bi-directional meter then monitors the amount of electricity used.

5. Utilization: Any existing power that is not used then gets delivered back to the grid via your meter. Your meter tracks how much is sent back to the grid.

6. Credits to You: At night or when its cloudy, the energy is issued back to you in the form of credits.

How Do Solar Panels Work: Since and Simplicity

The solar panel process is deceptively simple, but there is much Einstein-like physics involved as well.

Silicon is the base element at the heart of a PV panel. Silicon is also in all computers. So if you think of them as similar, you're starting to get it.

Silicon is an excellent substance for transmitting electrons. When silicon is resting in an uncharged state, it has 4 electrons. But the cool thing is that they can CARRY eight when they are charged. These 8 electrons are vital to a solar array functioning.

When sunlight shines on silicon, the solar plates combine through wires which pass the current of electricity (flowing electrons) between panels.

The photons from the sun are the reason this all occurs. Those photons enable the silicon to carry nine electrons - when there's only space for eight electrons. The 9th electron is dropped and picked up again - all of which charges the panel. And then... electricity you can use is produced.

Solar Power Tech Comes to Life

The solar panels of today are far more efficient than those of a few years ago. As technology evolves, solar panels will become more and more efficient. Today, for most domestic homes far fewer solar panels are needed than just a few years ago .

Even though the most recent developments have made residential solar panels more potent, a whole roof full of solar panels is still required to supply enough electricity for the majority of residences.

Although newer technologies such as mirrors (known as 'concentrators') have improved the performance of solar panels, most homes will continue to require multiple solar panels to generate sufficient electricity.

No doubt, solar will look far different years from now as technology advances in solar. Although the look may be different, the same core processes at work to convert the sun's rays to electricity will likely remain the same.The major difference will be even greater efficiency in converting the unlimited supply of energy from the sun into the electricity we need to power our homes.

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