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1. How Solar Electric Panels Work
If you have more than a passinginterestinsolarenergyandare thinkingof investinginahome solar
panel array,thenyou probablyhave avague ideaof how solarpanelsgenerate electricity.WhenIfirst
beganlookinginto"goingsolar",myconceptof how these systemsworkedwasbasicallythis:sunshines
on a solarpanel,causessome sortof Electrical Service reactionwithinthe materialsof whichthe panel
ismade,and, voila,electricityresults.Exactlyhow sunshinegoesinandelectricitycomesoutisa bit
more complicated,however.A little bitof researchwill giveyouaprettygoodunderstandingof howa
solarelectricpanel works,andit'sprettyinterestingstuff.
SolarPanelsandElectricityGeneration
The alternative name forsolarpanelsisphotovoltaic,whichliterallymeans"lightelectricity."The idea
that sunshine couldbe convertedintoelectrical powerwasfirstnotedbya Frenchscientistnamed
Alexandre EdmondBecquerel in1839. Becquerel'sresearchledtosimple photovoltaicsthatused
seleniumtoproduce electricity;notuntil the 1950s didsilicontake selenium'splace asasuperior
electrical conductor.Thisnewsemiconductormaterialneededalittle helptobecome anexceptional
conductorof electricity,though,soresearchersaddedotherelements,suchasphosphorusorboron.
Thisprocess,calleddoping,greatlyincreasesthe silicon'sabilitytocreate an electriccurrent.
Each solar panel isactuallymade of individual photovoltaic(PV) cells,eachof whichisatinypower
generatingplant.Hundredsof these cellsare thenmade intoamodule,groupsof whichare inturn
attachedto a panel.A panel'swattage isderivedasa functionof eachcell'selectricityproductionandits
voltage.Howdothe cellsmake electricity?Typically,eachcell hastwolayers,bothof whichcontain
silicon.The toplayerisdopedwithphosphorus,whereasthe bottomone isdopedwithboron.This
essentiallysetsupasituationwherebythe bondingof siliconwitheachof these materialscreatesan
electrical charge.The toplayergeneratesapositive charge,while the bottomlayerisnegatively
charged.The no man's landin betweenthese layersiscalledthe P-N junction,whereelectron
movementcreatesanelectricfieldwhichkeepselectronsmovingfromthe Playertothe N layer,even
thoughtheywouldmuchprefertomove inthe opposite direction.

2. Sunlightisthe ingredientthatgetsall these electronsjumpingaroundinthe firstplace.Aselectrons
move andare channeledintothe appropriate direction,electrical wiringwithinthe cell suppliesthe
circuitrynecessaryforthe generationof electrical power.
Typesof Solar ElectricPanels
Most of us are familiarwiththe boxy type of solarpanelsthatare commonlyseeninarrayson rooftops.
Thin-filmsolarpanelsare becomingmore availablethese days,aswell.These flexiblepanelsare notas
efficientastheirrigid-stylecousins,butare alsocheaper.Isee these productshelpingtospeedthe solar
revolutionnotonlywiththeirlowercostbutalsobecause theycanbe usedinapplicationswhererigid
panelsare eitherinconvenientorunattractive.Solarroof shingles,anyone?