Solar Panels: How the Work (For Beginners)

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Welcome to The Contact Solar
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Solar Panels How the Work (For Beginners)
The sun produces a lot of energy. Each hour
enough energy reaches the earth to power the
entire planet for a year. In fact, enough energy
falls in that time to satisfy energy requirements
for the entire human population if we all
consumed as much energy as they do in the United
States (who is the largest consumers of energy in
the world). Given that we have an energy crisis,
i.e. fossil fuels are fast running out, it makes
sense that we try to harness the power of the
sun. It will solve our energy crisis for, what is
effectively, forever.  
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Photovoltaic solar panels
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Solar power is a dependable source of energy it
wont run out its clean its relatively easy
to harness now that we have developed the
technology. Part of solar technology is the use
of solar panels, specifically photovoltaic solar
panels. During the rest of this article, we are
going to provide an introductory explanation of
how they work.   Photovoltaic Solar Panels We
harness the energy from the sun via the use of
photovoltaic cells (PV cells). This technology
has existed for decades you probably had a
solar poweredcalculator when you were at school
during the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.
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Over the years, scientists have optimised this
technology to such a degree that these cells can
generate enough energy to power entire
buildingsand in the not-to-distant future,
entire towns, cities and countries.   How do
they work?   In simple terms, solar panels
collect sunlight. They then convert this
sunlight into electricity. Many people assume
that the panels work only when the sun is out,
but it is sunlight that is important, not the
direct rays of the sun. This means that they
work, even on cloudy days.  
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However, they do work best when its sunnier.
The electricity they produce is direct current,
or DC. This is converted into electricity that is
used by the national grid, so that it can travel
through the utility lines and into our homes, or
back to the grid for those people that are
selling their energy.   This doesnt say
anything about the technology though. You
probably assume that the technology behind solar
panels is extremely complex, but its actually
much simpler than you might imagine. Here is a
brief outline of the technical side of things
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1.Photovoltaic solar panels use silicon 2.It was
discovered several decades ago that silicon
emitted sparks of electricity 3.when in direct
sunlight. People realised that this meant silicon
transformed sunlight into electricity.
4.Scientists began finding ways to harness this
power and they created PV cells Over the years,
they have optimised the technology making these
cells increasingly efficient. 5.We have reached
the point where the technology is becoming
available to everyone. 6.In the near future, you
can expect to see a rapid increase in the use of
solar panels, particularly with new builds.  
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Thank You
Contact Solar
published by http//www.contact-solar.co.uk
_at_ Contact Solar