How is Solar Energy Converted to Electricity ?

How is Solar Energy Converted to Electricity

?

What is solar power?

In simple terms, and as the name suggests, solar energy is the energy from the sun. The sun generates energy through a thermonuclear process that produces heat and electromagnetic radiation as visible light, infrared and ultraviolet (UV) (the type that burns the skin on a sunny day).

Only a small proportion of radiation reaching the earth, the rest goes to space, but it is more than enough to provide all our power needs many times. More energy from the sun reaches Earth in one hour that the world consumes in a year. The challenge is to harness that power and turn into more useful forms of energy for us, such as heat and electricity.

How is solar energy converted to electricity?

Photovoltaic (PV) process

The conversion process of small particles (photons) into electricity (voltage) is called the photovoltaic effect. Photovoltaic (PV) cells convert sunlight directly into electricity. Photovoltaic cells are generally of a semiconductor material similar to that used in silicon chip called a computer. When sunlight strikes a solar cell, photons "tap" electrons loose from their atoms, creating a flow of electrons is known as a stream. The cells have metal contacts on the top and bottom to eliminate the current electricity is used as shown below.

Unfortunately, solar cells are not very efficient, since not all the solar energy that falls from the cell to "knock" electrons loose. Much of the sunlight is reflected or absorbed by the cell (in the form of heat). Usually a cell has an efficiency of about 15%, which is why most cells arranged in arrays or panels are required to produce a usable quantity of electricity. Despite a return of 15% may seem low, this is a great improvement over the first photovoltaic cells built in 1950. It had a yield of less than 4%!

POST COMMENT

Westlake Artificial Turf Is The New Look In Grass Die kommerzielle Nutzung von Solarzellen How To Compare Tv Packages: A New Users Guide To Digital Television Giving Used Cars New Heights Need For Commercial Waste Collection China's New Drug R & D Capability To Improve I Class Medicine Developed By Leaf - New Drugs, A First-timers Guide To Choosing A New Used Car SEO Tips To Improve Your New Social Website Rankings The new miracle in healthcare Keep Your Carpet Looking Like New With These Tips Qingdao: Waste Paper Prices Rose 1 Cents Per Catty - Waste Paper, Waste Paper Recycling - Paper VASER Lipo - The New Liposuction Procedure Fine Jewelers New York Ny