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What are Photovoltaic Solar Panels?

Posted Posted in Solar Energy Articles     Comments Comments Off
Nov
14

Photovoltaic solar panels are panels that channel solar power into energy. These panels are made of silicon materials including monocrystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon, and amorphous silicon. Other materials include cadmium telluride and copper indium selenide. These panels are in increasing demand because of public interest in renewable energy.

Photovoltaic solar panels are used in over one hundred countries around the world to generate solar energy. These panels use the photovoltaic effect, which causes electrons to be prompted to create electricity because they’ve been moved into a higher energy state by the light photons. Devices with these kinds of solar panels have similarities to photodiodes, which are detectors that can make energy out of light.

Sun light creates direct current electricity through solar cells. This electricity can be used for any number of applications, including recharging batteries and powering electrical devices. This kind of power was first used on satellites and space vehicles. Currently its most common use is to draw power onto electrical grids. Some of the other uses for photovoltaic solar panels include providing power for electric cars, dwellings in remote locations, recreational vehicles and boats. It can also be used to protect pipelines from corrosion using cathodic technology.

In order to protect the solar cells from the elements, they are usually encased in a sheet of glass. These cells can be used singularly to generate power, or they can be connected with other cells to form the photovoltaic solar panels. The more power required, the more cells are needed to generate power. Emergency telephones can be powered by a single cell, for instance, but larger structures require panels of cells.

There has been a great deal of advancement regarding photovoltaic solar panels. Some of the panels have been known to provide not only solar electricity but hot water heating, helping people to save money on utilities. There are also several advantages to their use. When compared to many non-renewable energy sources, these solar panels produce no pollution when they are used. There is some end-waste pollution that may take place during production of these panels, but the current measures for controlling pollution can be used to manage these effects. Solar panels require very little maintenance once installed, in contrast to current electrical grid setups. It is also true that solar panels make economic sense compared to electric power, which can be expensive to connect and to maintain. Solar power is especially useful where electrical power has limitations due to the remoteness of the location. In the short amount of time that photovoltaic solar panels have been in use, it has been shown that they return a remarkable rate of efficiency over other technologies.

This kind of technology can be used to offset some of the expense and inefficiency present in the current electrical grid setup. It is also easy to maintain the local power with solar energy, which prevents the power losses due to transmission issues that prevent efficiency in the current system. Photovoltaic solar panels are a wise investment because of their cost-effectiveness and efficiency in delivering power.