What are Energy and conversion?
There was a time when people have to do all their work independently, without the involvement of advanced machinery. But with the advancement in technology, people get most of the work done by machines. All these things happened after the discovery of energy, specifically electrical energy. With electrical energy, people are operating a lot of machines and devices that help them do their work with great efficiency and without effort.
The majority of these devices work on electrical energy. Several means produces electrical energy. According to Émilie du Châtelet’s first Law of thermodynamics, “Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, but it can be converted from one form into another.” So if we want to create electrical energy, we have to convert it from another form. Some of these forms are fossil fuels, heat energy, potential energy from water in dams, nuclear energy, etc. In this article, we will explain to you how we can convert solar energy into electricity.
What are Solar Panels?
Solar panels are clusters of Photo-Voltaic Module or PV Module. It is a sheet of photovoltaic cells that gets solar energy and convert it into electrical energy. These clusters of PV Modules, when mounted together, are called Solar Panels. In simple words, these panels convert solar rays into electricity and can run your electrical appliances.
Mechanism of Solar Panels:
In the following bullets, we will explain to you the method used by solar panels to convert solar energy into electricity:
- Solar energy is a combination of light and heat coming from the sun. This light and heat are produced due to millions of nuclear reactions occurring on the sun’s surface. Heat and light are packed into photons and sent to the earth.
- These photos are the actual energy material. The solar panels, when placed in sunlight, get these photons. The photons hit these PV cells. The electrons in these PV cells get out of their shells and begin to move.
- If these PV cells are joined together, it will form a circuit of moving electrons. And we know that moving electrons is called electricity. Thus electricity is produced.
- If we connect an electrical appliance to these panels, it will start working due to the current produced by moving electrons.
- The current produced by this method is of DC type. So, we have to use a solar converter to convert it into AC Type.
- So these photons make the electrons move and thus converting solar energy into electricity.
What are solar panels made of?
We need a substance whose outermost electrons can move when hit by photons for the construction of a solar panel. The best substance for making solar cells are semiconductors. Semiconductors have properties between a conductor and an insulator. The best elements in this category are silicon and germanium. Most of the PV cells are made up of silicon cells. Silicon is considered to be the second most abundant element on earth.
Pros of using Solar Panels:
Following are some of the advantages of using solar panels for generating electrical energy:
- The major advantage of using solar energy and panels is that it is a renewable energy source. It means that this energy source will never be depleted.
- Solar energy is a free source of energy and can reduce your electricity bills to a large extent.
- Solar energy is a safe source of energy and doesn’t produce pollution or noise.
- You can easily install solar panels without any headache.
- Solar energy has a vast application covering small watches to running the entire house.
Cons of Solar panels and energy:
Besides advantages, there is also some disadvantage associated with solar panels and energy. Some of these are elaborated below:
- Solar panels are expensive items to buy. It would help if you had much money to install solar panels that can run your house. But it’s a one-time investment.
- Solar energy needs a continuous supply of sun rays. If the weather is cloudy, you will not get the appropriate results. So it is weather dependent.
- If you want to run your house on solar energy, you need much space for solar panels. Solar panels consume much space.
Conclusion:
In today’s world, we are a lot dependent on electrical equipment. Without electrical appliances, our life will become tough, and also the world is running out of fossil fuel. So we need the means to produce safe electricity. So, solar energy is the only future. We can produce safe, clean electricity using Solar Near Me Fresno, even at the domestic level.
