Solar cells are now being widely used all over the world. A solar cell is also known as a photovoltaic cell. It is an electrical device that converts the energy of visible light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect. The light that shines on the cell produces a current and a voltage to generate electric power. Photovoltaic modules produce direct current (DC) while homes use alternating current (AC). If a DC load is used you can use an inverter which changes DC electricity into AC. This will be discussed in more detail later on.
The photoelectric effect was first noted by a French physicist, Edmund Bequerel, in 1839. While conducting experiments with metal electrodes placed in liquids, Becquerel found that exposure to sunlight amplified the flow of electrons. In 1876, British scientist William Grylls Adams discovered that sunlight produced an electrical current within the mineral selenium. Seven years later, US inventor Charles Fritts made the first solar cell. It was a coin sized wafer of selenium coated with a transparent gold film. Fritts’s solar cell converted approximately 1 percent of the sunlight hitting it into electricity. It took 70 years for researchers to develop solar cells people could use for practical purposes. In 1954 Daryl Chapin and Calvin Fuller refined Gerald Pearson’s first silicon cell. They created the first photovoltaic cell that produced enough electricity to power ordinary electrical devices. In the 1960s, the space industry began to
In 1954 Bell Laboratories invented the first photovoltaic (or solar) cell, made from the semi-conductor silicon, and other elements. It was the first way to convert sunlight directly into electricity. When the space program was launched in the 60's, it
Solar energy is the conversion of power from the sun to usable electricity (Alternative Energy, 2014). The most common source of solar energy utilizes photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight into electricity (Alternative Energy, 2014). Photovoltaics use a semi-conductor to absorb the radiation from the sun, creating and emitting electrons, which are then harnessed and used as electricity (Alternative Energy, 2014).
Near the year of 1954 three scientists by the name of Chapin, Fuller, and Pearson developed the first solar cell capable of converting enough of the suns energy into useable power.
explains, “A solar panel works by allowing photons, or particles of light, to knock electrons free
The greatest energy that can be produced by the sun is electricity. Photovoltaics, or solar cells, capture the sun and convert it into electricity. Solar cells were discovered by the Europeans back in the 1870’s when they used selenium to develop the telegraph. They found that when light hits selenium it would produce and electrical current. Soon enough there were many scientists and engineers working on photovoltaic systems. Silicon and Selenium proved to be the two best elements to conduct electricity when light hits them. Photovoltaic systems (PV cell) work by converting the suns light into electricity. A semi conducting material absorbs the sunlight, that energy knocks electrons loose from their atoms, this allows the electrons to flow through the material to produce electricity. The further development of solar cells can be attributed to the satellite industry. Solar cells were expensive and there was no use for them until satellites came. Because it is impractical to tether satellites it became important to develop solar energy at any cost that would power these satellites. This created a sustainable market for solar power, the first of its kind.
Solar energy begins with the sun. Solar panels, also known as photovoltaics, are used to convert light from the sun, which is composed of particles of energy called "photons", into electricity that can be used to power electrical loads. Light from the sun is a renewable energy resource that provides clean energy, produced by solar panels.
Solar panel absorbs sunrays as a source of energy to produce electricity. They usually comprise of smaller units known as photovoltaic cells (PV). They are the means of conversion. Electrical energy is converted into mechanical energy by means of a machine called electric motor.
Solar energy is a type of energy that is used in many households all around the world it is a renewable resource meaning once you use it you can replace it. It is a great energy source that is going to rule over coal and oil when we run out of fossil fuels. Electricity received from the panels is light energy that has been converted.
There are two main forms of solar power: The use of photovoltaic, or PV, cells, and the use of thermal energy from the sun. Photovoltaic cells exploit the photoelectric effect, which converts the protons from the light of the sun into electrons, which can be converted into energy. Photovoltaic energy accounts for fifteen gigawatts of global energy, which is equivalent to fifteen large electric power plants. Also, the production of PV cells has increased by two thousand times over the past twenty years, and it is expected to continue to grow. Solar-thermal energy takes the thermal energy created by the sun and turns it into electricity. Although it only only produces as much energy as one large power plant, solar-thermal energy has many domestic uses. It can not only be used for electricity, but also for solar heating, which uses sunlight to heat up houses. Solar power has already proven to be a reliant source of energy, and it will only continue to improve in technology and
Solar power, or photovoltaics use light as a source of electricity. The photoelectric effect, discovered by Edmund Bequerel in 1839, shows that some materials have the ability to release electric current when subjected to light. Solar cells consist of semi conductors that are specially treated to create
It is unknown when people started using the sun for uses other than growing food. History records that Greeks used the sun when the Romans came to attack by holding hundreds of mirrors along the tops of their city walls. The sun reflected off the mirrors facing the sails of the Roman ships. The sails burst into flames and the Roman ships were destroyed. In 1839, Alexandre Edmond Becquerel explained how electricity can be generated from the sun. In 1866, a French scientist, Auguste Mouchot, was ordered by Napoleon III to devise ways of using the sun’s energy. He designed the first known solar cooker.
For wind, its kinetic energy turns rotor blades of the windmill and the rotor turns and shaft connected to a generator. DC output can be stored in battery or converted to AC and fed into a grid. Minimum wind speeds are required to produce electricity and the Midwest and offshore areas provide such conditions (Hinrichs 398). Like most forms of energy, efficient storage is key. Wind is not constant and money would be put towards research and development to find the most efficient way to store wind energy. For solar, photovoltaic cells convert the suns energy directly into electricity. (Hinrchs 375). Photovoltaic cells are made of silicon, which is plentiful. When radiation hits a cell, electrons are knocked free and this photoelectric effect creates a direct current, which is converted to an alternating current (“Solar Energy”). For solar concentration systems, mirrors are manipulated to redirect the sun’s rays to heat water. The flashing water creates steam and like other energy producing plants, the steam is used to turn a turbine. The mechanical energy is then turned into electrical energy (“How It Works”).
Solar power is nothing completely new; it has been used for years to power small devices from calculators to watches, but what is new is its improved efficiency. Solar panels can be used to collect energy from the sun and now are being used on a much larger scale. Homeowners and business can use energy generated from the panels to power their homes and offices and have it purchased by energy suppliers. Solar power is proving to be an economical energy source available to the public that is consumer friendly.
Solar power harness the sun 's energy to create electricity. Solar energy assets are enormous and boundless, and they can be tackled anyplace that gets sunlight. The measure of solar radiation, otherwise called insolation, coming to the earth 's surface consistently is more than all the energy at present devoured by every single human activity yearly [1]. Various variables, including geographic area, time of day, and current climate conditions, all influence the measure of energy that can engage in for electricity creation or heating purposes.
Optoelectronic is the interaction of light with the electrical property of the device. One type is where you have incident light that’s creates carrier into materials such as a solar cell where the incident radiation will absorbed in order to give current.