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I. IntroductionI wrote this Solar Panel How To guide to start you on a path to a cleaner and brighter future. By the time you are finished reading it, you will have a thorough understanding from how solar panels work to how you can get them producing electricity and lowering your bills. It's time to put your home on a kilowatt diet and doing your part in making the planet a better place to live for both you and future generations. How Solar Panels Work
Solar panels are made up of photovoltaic cells that convert sunlight
directly into electricity by using a semiconductor, usually made
of silicon. The term photovoltaic comes from the Greek meaning “light”
(photo) and “electrical” (voltaic). When the sunlight
hits the photovoltaic cells, part of the energy is absorbed into
the semiconductor. When that happens the energy loosens the electrons
which allows them to flow freely. The flow of these electrons are
a current and when you put metal on the top and bottom of the photovoltaic
cells, we can draw that current to use it externally. Future of Solar PanelsSolar energy production has been doubling every two years, increasing by an average of 48 percent each year since 2002, making it the world’s fastest-growing energy technology. One day of sunshine produces enough energy to power the planet for a year and solar panel technology is improving drastically to harness this powerful source of clean energy. The cost of electricity from your utility company is always going to go up, and as the demand for solar panels grow, the less expensive they will become.
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