2.5 How Do Photovoltaic Work?

2-Solar Energy: the use of receptors solar panels pick up solar radiation for turning solar energy to electric power

Photovoltaic systems use solar cells in the generation of electricity through conversion of solar optical energy into electrical energy directly. Solar cells are made out of semi-conductor materials such that they produce electricity when solar radiation is incident on them (Armentrout and Patricia Armentrout).

Bob Johnstone, author of Switching to Solar, proclaims that every day the sun produces 970 trillion kilowatt-hours of energy (Johnson 11). Volker Quaschning – writer of Understanding Renewable Energy Systems – puts this fact in perspective by explaining how the world only uses one ten-thousandth of that quantity to power itself (Quaschning 22). This means that if humanity can find a way to harness even a fraction of the sun’s energy, the world will no longer need fossil fuels or other harmful energy sources. There are, of course, many ways to translate the sun’s power into electricity, but one stands out. After analyzing the benefits and possible downfalls, it is clear that solar technology holds incredible potential. Not only is it pure

In order for the solar panel to work photons or light particles release electrons from the atoms in the solar panel which creates electricity. A solar panel has smaller units called Photovoltaic cells. Photovoltaic means “changing sunlight into electricity” which is what a solar panel does. The Photovoltaic cells link together to create the whole solar panel. The Photovoltaic cells need an “Electric Field” in order to work. An electric field is when two poles that are opposite to each other with a negative charge on one and a positive charge on the other. Photovoltaic cells do not need direct sunlight to work, but it is best to face them towards the sun.

In todays economic state, our reliance on sustainable resources is paramount. With more than 7 billion people feeding off of the planets resources, we must create and innovate different technologies and methods to effectively use Earth’s natural resources without creating a carbon footprint. One of the greatest issues of our time surrounds the environmental impact humans are having on our planet and the major consequences in which we must deal with in order to save the planet. One technique that this paper will focus on is the use of solar panels to convert light energy from the sun into electrical energy.

A solar photovoltaic system (PV) has been around for 174 years, the system was first discovered in 1839 by a French physicist Alexandre Edmund Becquerel. He discovered the effects of the system while testing with an electrolytic cell made up of two metal electrodes. Sense his findings PV system has revolutionized through the year by various scientists, inventors, and organization. Protovolactic system developed and become a much desired in the 1980, the system was commonly used and found in calculators, wristwatches, radios, and other various electronic gadgets. (Sunlight Electric, 2013)

A solar cell is a device which produces electricity through the conversion of light energy, through the photovoltaic effect. The photovoltaic effect is a chemical and physical phenomenon, and relates to the creation of electrical current within a material when it is exposed to light. Solar cells are considered to be photovoltaic, despite whether the source of light is produced artificially, or is from the sun.

One technology that we use to convert light energy from the sun into electricity is solar panels. A solar panel is a packaged, intersected assortment of solar, or photovoltaic, cells that can be used to produce and supply electricity in a range of settings. The panels use light energy from the sun to produce electricity to power your home or business. Power companies, particularly those in states with lots of sunny days, such as Arizona, have made significant investment in large scale solar power installations over the last 5 to 10 years. Photovoltaics is the direct conversion of light into electricity at the atomic level. (NASA 1) It is also the name for the area of research and technology focused on the use of photovoltaic (PV) cells to produce electricity from light. Photovoltaic cell operation involves the use of a material that absorbs photons of light, the release of electrons that when captured result in an

In a typical photovoltaic cell, two layers of doped silicon semiconductor are tightly bonded together cite{Chin2015}- cite{Villalva2009}- cite{Ma2013a}. One layer is modified to have excess free electrons (a n-layer), while the other layer is treated to have an excess of electron holes or vacancies (a p-layer). When the two dissimilar

Solar energy has been already efficient with the environment; however, in order to solve this problem, we need to improve its efficiency with energy. In order for solar energy to be considered energy efficient today, we have to make the proportion of kilowatt hours produced over cost needed for it less than the proportion of this to fossil fuels. For example, in order to produce 1 kilowatt-hour or 3.6 megajoules with solar energy, we need 50 cents. However, in order to produce 1 kilowatt-hour with coal, we only need about 3 cents. Over the years, we have decreased the price little by little to now 18-30 cents, but this still cannot compete with fossil fuels that are all less than 10 cents. In order to solve this problem, we would need to improve the amount of energy received from the solar cells. We could achieve this by finding alternative materials to use on the cells to

Solar energy is now a great source of renewable energy. Due to the limited stock of fossil fuel, solar panel systems become more popular day by day. Now Industries, houses and defensive forces are using solar panel systems to generate power. The solar panels generate power from sun radiation. Solar cells are also known as Photovoltaic (PV) cells. When sunlight with a specific frequency hits metal, loosely bound electrons emit from the metal as shown in Figure 1. A potential difference is created in between the cathode and the anode. When the anode and the cathode connect, current flows. Solar panel systems use this mechanism to generate power. Then, generated power is carried out to the battery to store and distribute to the load. The main obstacle for solar panel systems is night and cloudy weather, due to low solar radiation.

The U.S, just like any other industrialized country in the world, has been facing major power shortages due to the increased electricity demands for both industrial and home use. As the number of industries and companies increases in the country, electricity demand also increases. This implies that energy sources have to also increase. Most of the electricity is produced through the use of steam turbines powered by fossil fuels such as coal or petroleum and water in boilers, about one-fifth of the energy is produced from nuclear power and the rest (only 13%) comes from renewable energy sources for example hydropower, wind power, biomass, solar power, and geothermal power (Fahrenbruch, et al., 54)

Photovolaic materials, commonly known as solar cells, generate direct current electrical energy when exposed to light. Mott Green & Wall state that ‘solar cells are constructed from certain semi-conducting materials that absorb solar radiation; electrons are displaced within the material, thus starting a flow of current through an external connected circuit.’ (Mott Green & Wall, 2002, p43)

Photovoltaic energy is used to power solar panels by having particles of light, photons, free electrons from their atoms, thus generating electricity. Solar panels are composed of photovoltaic cells; these cells turn sunlight into electricity. Each cell is made up of two pieces of semi-conducting material, typically silicon, which is used to establish an electric field. This field occurs when opposite charges are separated and this is done by giving each piece a positive or negative electrical charge. When the photon pushes an electron free, the electron field will thrust the electron out of the junction between the two charged layers of material. This basic physical process, ejecting electrons in response to light, is known as the photoelectric effect. When this happens, the energy from the photon is shifted towards an electron that is in a photovoltaic cell. Metal conductive plates can then use these electrons as usable energy by collecting and

Solar cells are also known as photovoltaic cells, which suggest that light energy is being converted to electrical energy. Most photovoltaic cells consist of silicon in its crystalline structure. In that structure, each silicon atom has four valence electrons, and each one bonds to an adjacent electron. Silicon then is a poor conductor since electrons cannot move freely through the substance, but the addition of impurities such as phosphorus, which is called doping, to the silicon crystalline structure provide extra electrons called free carriers that can be knocked off the atom via light energy.6 The section of the photovoltaic cell that is doped with phosphorus is called the N-type because it has numerous negatively charged electrons flowing and creating a current. On the other hand, the section of the photovoltaic cell that is doped with boron is called the P-type because boron only has three valence electrons.7 When the N-type and