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An Overview of How Solar Panels Work

Sunrise Solar • Nov 29, 2019
An Overview of How Solar Panels Work
Sunrise Solar
Fri, 11/29/2019 - 8:08am
Solar Panels

A solar panel is made up of multiple parts working together in order to turn sunlight into electricity. Here is a breakdown of the many components of a solar panel. 

How Does a Solar Panel Work? 

A solar panel includes many cells that are designed to capture sunlight. Specifically, a solar cell is made of silicon with a positive and negative layer. When photons hit the cell, electrons are knocked loose from the atoms. This is what creates an electrical field similar to a battery. 

The panels generate DC (or direct current) electricity, and an inverter converts this into AC (alternating current) electricity which is then stored to power your home, appliances, or business. 

Inverters also provide ground fault protection and system statistics, such as voltage and energy production. 

What’s Next? 

Once electricity is produced, your home is properly powered. But many solar power systems include a deep cycle battery. 

Deep cycle batteries store the solar power generated by the solar panels. Whenever the sun does not shine as much, or it’s dark outside you can used stored power to keep the lights on in your home. 

If you are tied into your grid system, you can even use the electrical grid as backup power if your solar power system goes down This is a process called net metering. 

When it comes to installing your solar panels, or providing maintenance on them when needed, leave it for the professionals. Contact Sunrise Solar for help with your solar panels.
 

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