subject: Learn Why This Is The Solar Panel Century [print this page] Solar panels convert sunlight into electricity, which can then be used to power various devices at home and industry, just like we use conventional electricity from the main switch board. Solar panels are becoming common today, and come in different shapes and sizes, being used in different products, like calculators, satellites, or even space ships.
It started a hundred years ago when a man got the idea to use the heat from the sun to power his machinery. The main focus was to use the steam from the hot sun light in order to start and maintain their machines. This new revelation peaked the interest of several scientists who did not waste any time traveling to see how this discovery worked. Since then, there have been groundbreaking products that have increased the convenience and the need to use a natural resource such as the sun in order to work machinery.
Photovoltaic, or PV, is the process of converting the light into electricity. Photovoltaic cells are self generating and consist of a very thing film made of silver. This film is placed on a semiconductor layer that can be found on an iron substrate. The photovoltaic cells are very important in producing enough sunlight and heat in order to successfully produce the energy that is needed in order to heat up water, heat homes and power electricity.
Solar panels can be found in all different shapes and sizes including round, square, and rectangle. You can see them on top of buildings and houses or standing alone in fields. Solar panels are in hand held devices and they are in energy efficient appliances.
Because this new way of production was in trial and error stage, it was somewhat expensive to turn your home or business into a natural way to heat and power. But newer material has surfaced and we know more about the solar panels the cost is not as high, although it is still higher than using man made methods of producing heat and electricity. In the long run using solar panels for all your electric needs will save money because don't have to pay for electricity. On cloudy days, the energy stored in your system could still be adequate enough to carry the electricity through another day.
The sun is a powerful source of energy, and current developments in Solar Power are making it make it possible to convert large amounts of energy and store it for longer time periods. This is the Solar Panel century.
