In today's market driven economy, eco-friendly products are the buzz. Even electricity, the most commonly used form of energy, needs to be produced without adding to the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Traditional sources of energy -- coal and oil, as well as modern sources like nuclear power, release a diverse range of pollutants and gases into the environment. This has an adverse effect and contributes to the phenomenon of global warming.
The Sun, which is the nearest and most powerful source of renewable energy, can help in producing electricity without causing pollution. This can be done by tapping the Sun's energy. This can be done with the help of photovoltaic cells, many of which comprise a solar panel. There are, however, drawbacks to the installation, use and maintenance of pv solar panels. The biggest of these drawbacks are the costs of setting up these systems and dealing with the whether, specifically rain and snow.
Ever wondered how solar panels work? It's complicated, but all one needs is a bit of basic chemistry to understand the various chemical reactions that take place to form the electrical current. Let's find out how this thing works
The main component of the panel is silicon (the element Si on the periodic table) or in purely non-scientific terminology, sand. In its natural form, silicon has four electrons but has the capacity for accommodating double that number, that is, eight electrons. One silicon atom can combine with another to form a strong bonding. In this case both atoms share each other's potential capacity for eight electrons. The electrical current however can be produced only by one negative and one positive charge.
The positive-negative balance can be introduced to the silicon atoms by using phosphorus which has five electrons. Combined with silicon it lends a negative charge as the silicon does not need the one extra atom. In the same way, a positive charge is created by using boron which has three atoms. The chemical reaction of balancing positive and negative charges by introducing phosphorus and boron releases an electrical current.
Once the chemical components are in place in the solar panels, the rest of the chemical reactions follow when the sun's rays hit the panels. When the silicon-phosphorus atoms are hit by the photons (particles of energy in the sun's rays), those atoms lose that extra electron, which is then attracted by the positive silicon-boron atoms. The three electron structure of boron is thus compensated. This continuous process of the interaction of positive and negative charge in the atoms produces the electrical current.
In order for this process to work and a lot of electricity to be produced, you must have a large number of solar panels, which means you will have to spend a good deal of money. Make sure that you have installed back up power storage where you can store the electricity produced by the solar panels or else you are wasting the energy that you produced.
So maybe you don't need to know all of the chemistry, but do know that this cleaner way of producing electricity will save our environment and the world.
The Sun, which is the nearest and most powerful source of renewable energy, can help in producing electricity without causing pollution. This can be done by tapping the Sun's energy. This can be done with the help of photovoltaic cells, many of which comprise a solar panel. There are, however, drawbacks to the installation, use and maintenance of pv solar panels. The biggest of these drawbacks are the costs of setting up these systems and dealing with the whether, specifically rain and snow.
Ever wondered how solar panels work? It's complicated, but all one needs is a bit of basic chemistry to understand the various chemical reactions that take place to form the electrical current. Let's find out how this thing works
The main component of the panel is silicon (the element Si on the periodic table) or in purely non-scientific terminology, sand. In its natural form, silicon has four electrons but has the capacity for accommodating double that number, that is, eight electrons. One silicon atom can combine with another to form a strong bonding. In this case both atoms share each other's potential capacity for eight electrons. The electrical current however can be produced only by one negative and one positive charge.
The positive-negative balance can be introduced to the silicon atoms by using phosphorus which has five electrons. Combined with silicon it lends a negative charge as the silicon does not need the one extra atom. In the same way, a positive charge is created by using boron which has three atoms. The chemical reaction of balancing positive and negative charges by introducing phosphorus and boron releases an electrical current.
Once the chemical components are in place in the solar panels, the rest of the chemical reactions follow when the sun's rays hit the panels. When the silicon-phosphorus atoms are hit by the photons (particles of energy in the sun's rays), those atoms lose that extra electron, which is then attracted by the positive silicon-boron atoms. The three electron structure of boron is thus compensated. This continuous process of the interaction of positive and negative charge in the atoms produces the electrical current.
In order for this process to work and a lot of electricity to be produced, you must have a large number of solar panels, which means you will have to spend a good deal of money. Make sure that you have installed back up power storage where you can store the electricity produced by the solar panels or else you are wasting the energy that you produced.
So maybe you don't need to know all of the chemistry, but do know that this cleaner way of producing electricity will save our environment and the world.
About the Author:
Erick Hanifeld is a home do-it-yourselfer who decided to give installing solar panels on his own home a try. His experience left him wanting to know How Do Solar Panels Work. If you would like to know more, you can find Solar Panels Knowledge Here.
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