A Solar Electrical System is a device that generates electricity when exposed to the sunlight. It literally spins the electric meter backwards, providing you free solar electricity day and night! Silicon wafers laminated under non-reflective glass in solar panels collect photons from the sun, and turn this into DC electrical power. This power then flows to an inverter, which converts and transforms it into usable voltage and AC electrical power.

Solar Eletrical Basics

Monocrystalline Silicon Panels

Monocrystalline panels use crystalline silicon, a basic semiconductor material. Crystalline silicon is produced in large sheets that can be cut to a specific size and used as one large cell in a panel. Conducting metal strips are laid over the entire cell to collect electrons from the cell into an electrical current.

These panels are more expensive to produce than the polycrystalline panels that follow. However, they are highly efficient and are often more cost-effective in the long run as a result. Monocrystalline panels are typically 15-18% efficient, meaning that for every unit of solar energy that hits the cell, the panel can convert 15-18% of this energy into electricity.

Polycrystalline Silicon Panels

Polycrystalline, or multicrystalline, photovoltaics use a series of cells in place of the single large cell used in monocrystalline panels. Polycrystalline photovoltaics are the lease expensive form of photovoltaics available today, though the costs of producing individual cells can still be high. The drawback of these panels is that they have lower efficiency rates than monocrystalline panels, at 12-14% efficiency. There are several different types of polycrystalline panels:

Amorphous Silicon or Thin Film Panels

Thin-film panels are different from crystalline panels in their very makeup. Instead of molding, slicing, or drawing crystalline silicon to create a cell, amorphous silicon has no crystalline structure and can be applied as a thin semiconductor film on different materials. In addition to silicon, copper indium diselenide (CIS) and cadmium telluride (CdTe) can be used in amorphous or thin film panels. This film is then connected to metal conductor strips, but because the film is attached to another structural material it does not always require the same parts necessary for crystalline panels.

The primary advantage of thin-film panels lies in its low manufacturing costs and versatility. Because these panels are less time consuming and expensive to make, they can be produced much more efficiently. Because they can be applied in thin layers to different materials, it is also possible to make flexible, shaped, or unusually sized panels.

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