Solar Electric Panels

Harnessing the power of the sun

A solar panel is a flat collection of solar cells or solar thermal collectors used for converting solar energy into electricity or heat. The term solar panel can be applied to either solar hot water panels (usually used for providing domestic hot water) or solar photovoltaic panels (providing electricity).

In 1839, Henri Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic effect, a complicated principle of energy dynamics that explains how electricity can be generated from sunlight. In 1941, Russell Ohl invented the solar cell, following the invention of the transistor. In recent years, modern production methods have made producing a solar panel less costly, allowing engineers and designers to apply them to a greater number of uses.

Solar thermal panels are more economically viable at the moment than solar photovoltaic panels. As a result of environmental impact and geo-political instability, many scientists and governments have expressed renewed interest in expanding the use of solar energy.

The Age of Steam 2.0

A solar water heater uses the sun's energy to heat a fluid, which is used to transfer the heat to a storage vessel. In the home, for example, sanitary hot water is heated and stored in a hot water cylinder. Panels on the roof have an absorber plate to which fluid circulation tubes are attached. The absorber, usually covered with a dark coating, assures the conversion of the sun's radiation into heat, while fluid circulating through the tubes carries the heat to where it can be used or stored. The heated fluid is pumped to a heat exchanger, a coil in the storage vessel. There it gives off its heat and is then circulated back to the panel to be reheated.

High voltage

Solar photovoltaic panels absorb solar energy, convert it to electricity and store it in a battery-like structure. Solar photovoltaic panels contain arrays of solar cells that convert light into electricity. Individual solar cells provide a relatively small amount of power, but electrical output is significant when connected together to form a large panel. Larger solar arrays can provide electricity to habitations in isolated, well-lit areas.

Photovoltaic cells can power any small machine, from a watch to a clock. Current innovation focuses on creating more energy with smaller, more efficient cells. Additionally, scientists involved in space exploration have found many uses for solar energy collectors on space vehicles and satellites.

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