How Does Solar Power Work?

This works when the sun’s rays are trapped into solar cells. The process turns the heat coming from the sun into electricity. When the sun’s rays hit solar thermal panels, the power is then converted to heat air or water. The sun’s rays can also hit parabolic mirrors. This process can produce steam by heating the water.

But you don’t need all these scientific processes to be able to benefit from solar power. All you have to do is open the windows and blinds on your room to let the sunshine in. You’ll get an instant heater without having to go to any processes that will require conversion of this energy source.

Solar power is most likely the cleanest form of renewable energy and it can be used in several ways to power your house. There are many gardens which use solar lights or solar garden water methods. The ease of availability and the extensive use of solar power in gardens provide ample evidence of how versatile it is as an energy source.

The technology and solar systems are getting smaller, and much better looking than when they were first created implemented. So…

Photovoltaic tiles and other forms of solar energy work by converting the energy of the sun into a clean form of electricity that we can use. The Photovoltaic cells consist of a positive and a negative slice of silicon under a thin slice of glass. As the photons of the sunlight shine down onto the PV cell they knock the neutrons off the silicon.

Then the negatively charged free neutrons are attracted to the silicon and are trapped in the magnetic field which is formed. Small wires located on the silicon trap these neutrons and when connected in a circuit an electric current is then formed. This reaction creates a Direct Current of electricity which must be passed through to an inverter which will converted it into an Alternating Current which we can use in our house to power our electrical items.

There is some loss of power in this process thru the inverter. The more efficient the inverter the more power can be transferred. Inverters have improved tremendously in recent years. Many inverters now convert Direct Current to Alternating Current at an efficiency of 95%.

Because of the nature of PV cells there is almost no maintenance required because there aren’t any moving parts. They can last for 40-50 years with the only maintenance required being an annual cleaning.