How do solar photovoltaic cells work?

Solar photovoltaic cells are grouped in panels, and panels can be grouped into arrays of different sizes to power water pumps, power individual homes, or provide utility-scale electricity generation. Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (copyrighted)

How do solar panels work?

You probably already know that solar panels use the sun's energy to generate clean, usable electricity. But have you ever wondered how they do it? At a high level, solar panels are made up of solar cells, which absorb sunlight. They use this sunlight to create direct current (DC) electricity through a process called "the photovoltaic effect."

What is a photovoltaic (PV) cell?

A photovoltaic (PV) cell, commonly called a solar cell, is a nonmechanical device that converts sunlight directly into electricity. Some PV cells can convert artificial light into electricity. Sunlight is composed of photons, or particles of solar energy.

What are solar panels used for?

Solar panels are used to produce electricity. They can be found on buildings but can also be used on a solar farm to harvest the power of the sun. Solar panels are made from lots of solar cells. solar cell Solar cells are put together to make a solar panel.

How do solar panels generate electricity?

This process is constant: Over 500 million tons of hydrogen atoms are converted into helium every second, resulting in photons that generate solar energy here on Earth. In a nutshell, solar panels generate electricity when photons (those particles of sunlight we discussed before) strike solar cells. The process is called the photovolatic effect.

How much electricity does a solar panel generate?

The electricity (or electrical energy) generated by solar panels is measured in watt-hours (Wh) or kilowatt-hours (kWh). Under ‘standard test conditions’, the most electricity that 1 kW of solar panels will generate in 1 hour is 1 kWh of electricity.