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Photovoltaic Panels - Harvest the Sun Light
from: Hans DekkerThere is a lot of energy in sunlight and that energy can be
converted to electricity with photovoltaic panels. These panels
are made up of several photovoltaic cells which are constructed
of treated silicon which creates an electrical charge when
exposed to sunshine.
Each photovoltaic cell produces just a small amount of
electricity, so they are wired together into panels to provide
enough current for common household appliances.
Photovoltaic cells come in three basic varieties.
Monocrystalline are the most efficient but also the most
expensive. They consist of a single crystal cut from an ingot of
silicon.
Polycrystalline are the most common and slightly less efficient
than monocrystalline. The silicon they are made from have
several small crystals.
Amorphous cells are made by spreading the silicon on another
material like stainless steel. These cells are cheap to produce
but produce significantly less power than the other two types.
This means that photovoltaic panels must be larger to produce
the same amount of electricity.
Monocrystalline panels are slightly more efficient in low light
conditions, but the difference is not significant. When choosing
photovoltaic panels the most significant factor is the amount of
available space. If you have lots of room you can install
amorphous panels for less money.
As mentioned above, individual photovoltaic cells are wired
together into panels which can produce more electricity. The
panels themselves can be wired together in parallel or in series
to produce a variety of currents suitable for almost any use.
The panels and arrays produce Direct Current (DC) power so it
must be converted to Alternating Current (AC) for most purposes.
This is accomplished with an inverter.
The AC current from the inverter can be used to power most
household appliances. It can also be connected to the breaker
box from the utility company so that solar electricity can act
as a backup system to regular power supplies. The advantage of
using both systems is that if there is any excess electricity
produced by the sun it is fed back into the grid for a credit
against the homeowner's electricity bill.
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