Build Your Own Solar Panels

When we talk about how much solar panels cost, the standard measure is in dollars per watt. The electricity that we buy from the grid is generally priced in dollars per kiloWatt hour. Solar panels generate at their full potential for about 5 hours per day. More on the cost of solar panels...

So you might be wondering how solar panels work….  or you might not.  I use a computer every day without having a precise understanding of how the actual processor works.  I’ve looked into that briefly, but I am not going to waste my time when it would be better spent learning how to effectively use the technology.  I feel the same way about solar technology, I’m happy to have just a basic idea of how it works.

This is the simplified explanation of how solar panels work. Solar energy hits the Earth as a particle that we refer to as a photon.  When a solar panel is bombarded with photons,  some of them are absorbed by the semi-conductor material (commonly silicon).  Each photon that is absorbed can potentially shake loose an electron.  An electric current is a flow of electrons.  Solar cells are constructed with materials that force the free electrons to flow in one direction, thus creating an electrical current.  A typical solar panel is composed of a group of solar cells joined in series and/or in parallel by a conductive material.