About Solar Panels Power Energy Generation Guide
Knowing About Solar Panels And Reducing Your Electricity Costs
By J K Hellios
About solar panels, is what many people want to know.
Especially with the increasing popularity of solar hot
water, many people can see a reduction in their electricity
costs by using solar electric power generation with
solar panels. Once a solar power system is installed
in your home, there are no ongoing solar power generation
costs, so you may no longer need to pay for electricity
to your home.
You can use solar power to turn on the lights in your
home, power all your appliances and heat your water.
All this can be done by using solar panels capturing
solar energy from an infinite source, the sun, and using
the sun energy to generate solar power.
The Discovery Of The Photovoltaic Effect
The history of solar panels can be dated back to 1839
as this was the period when French physicist Antoine-Cesar
Becquerel made the astonishing discovery of the photovoltaic
effect.
This surprising discovery took place during an experiment
that involved an electrolytic cell made from two metal
electrodes and was placed within an electrolyte solution.
Antoine-Cesar Becquerel discovered during the experiment
that when the electrolytic cells were exposed to light,
it produced a certain amount of electricity. The more
the light, the more the production of electricity and
that is how solar panels actually came into the picture.
The First Solar Cell
Almost 50 years later in 1883, the first solar cell
was developed by Charles Fritts and it was formed using
selenium coating sheets with a micro-thin layer of gold.
Between the period of 1883 and 1941 there were several
scientists as well as inventors who with the help of
companies started experimenting with solar energy.
It was during this period that Clarence Kemp, an inventor
from Baltimore patented the first ever commercial water
heater that was being powered by solar energy. Apart
from this, the great scientist Albert Einstein also
published a thesis on photoelectric effect and within
a short period of time received the coveted Nobel Prize
for his thesis and valuable research.
The First Ever Silicon Solar Cell And The Crystalline
Silicon Solar Panel
Around 1941, an American inventor named Russell Ohl
who was working for Bell Laboratories patented the first
ever silicon solar cell. This new invention was spearheaded
by the Bell Laboratories and they went on to produce
the first ever crystalline silicon solar panel in the
year 1954.
This was the most effective solar cells in that era
as it achieved a 4 percent return on overall energy
conversion. In the next few years several scientists
from all over the world continued their research, study
and experimentation to improve upon the original solar
cells and started producing solar cells that gave 6%
efficiency on overall energy conversion.
Production Of Solar Cells With 20% Efficiency
The first ever large scale deployment and use of solar
energy ever recorded was in space satellites. USA was
the first country to enable production of solar cells
that gave 20% efficiency and this was in the year 1980.
By 2000, USA had produced several solar cells that
were producing 24% efficiency. Last year, two large
companies, Emcore Photovoltaics and Spectrolab rose
to dominate the world of solar cell production by producing
cells that gave 28% efficiency.
How Solar Panels Work
The solar panel basically consists of pure silicon.
Silicon is first stripped of all its impurities and
hence provides the most ideal neutral platform for enhancing
the transmission of electrons. In its natural state,
Silicon can carry at the max four electrons although
it has the ability to carry eight. So mathematically
speaking it has enough room for 4 more electrons.
When a silicon atom is made to come into contact with
a second silicon atom then each of them receive each
other’s extra four electrons. So the 8 electrons satisfy
a single silicon atoms’ needs and this results in the
creations of a strong bond but the fact is that there
are no negative or positive charges.
Generating Solar Power With Solar Panels
To produce a large piece of pure silicon, the silicon
atoms have to go through the process of combination
for years. Once the pure silicon is ready, it is applied
on to the plates of solar panels. When silicon is combined
with other elements then it produces a positive or negative
charge.
Solar panels are being looked as the provider of tomorrow,
as the other forms of creating electricity are getting
replenished by the day. There are several online sources
and websites who are selling solar panels with a power
range that varies from 10WP to 280WP.
Green Electric Power Generation
If you want to use a greener form of electricity, one
that does not produce emissions into the atmosphere
and is renewable, coming from an infinite source, the
sun, then you may look at the installation of a solar
power system in your home.
Solar hot water, is one system gaining popularity in
many homes. Solar power can also be used to supply electricity
to power all your appliances in your home, heat the
water in your solar pool, turn on your indoor lights
and outdoor solar lights.
Infact, there are a number of towns where the street
lights are powered with solar electric power. The days
of using electricity from polluting fossil fuel burning
power stations are numbered.
You can arrange for the installation of solar panels
in your home and you stop paying for ongoing electricity
bills as there are no solar power electricity generation
costs. This means, you can stop paying for electricity
to your home and business once the solar power systems
are installed and generating clean solar electric power.
It may be time to stop using old technology and start
using greener electricity systems like solar power,
to meet all your power needs and help maintain a cleaner
environment.
About the Author:
J K Hellios has written a number of articles on solar
power and renewable energy including Solar
Powered Homes, Solar
Powered Lights, Solar Powered
Cars.
Keep a lookout for more articles available on this website
soon.
Little Known Solar Facts.....
What happens if it is a cloudy day?
Unless you have storage for your collected
solar power, you will have to rely on other means to heat, cool
or power your home.
If the solar panels do not receive sunlight,
the process of converting the thermal rays into
electricity does not happen. If you do have storage,
the power will be pulled from there.
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