Residential solar panels are becoming more common than ever. With every year, they cost less and produce more energy. There has never been a better time to invest in a solar system, and many homeowners are rushing to put a new system on their roof. Interestingly enough, many people are willing to put thousands of dollars into solar before they know how their panels actually work.
Shop Renewable Energy wants to give you every advantage possible and help you become solar experts before going solar.
How do Solar Panels Produce Energy?
To put it simply, solar panels produce energy by absorbing light from the sun, which generates direct current electricity.
This process is called the photovoltaic (PV) effect. To better illustrate how the PV effect turns light from the sun into electricity, let’s break it down into three steps:
- Sunlight and Solar Panels – When photons from sunlight hit the negative-charged top layer of solar panels, electrons get knocked loose. Those free electrons are drawn into an electric field between the negative top layer and the positive-charged semiconducting silicon of a photovoltaic cell, creating a flow of Direct Current (DC) electricity.
- Power Inverters – Since AC power is the standard for household appliances, the DC current from solar panels needs to get converted before getting added to a home’s power supply. So, a power inverter gets wired in to make that conversion and create a gateway between a solar array and a home’s main electrical panel.
- Electrical Panels – To add solar energy converted to AC current to a home’s power supply, the main electrical panel gets some new wiring and circuit breakers. With the new solar power supply wired in, the electrical panel distributes the power to the other circuits throughout the home.
With a basic understanding of how solar panels generate energy, you can better determine if solar is the right decision for your home.
Types of Solar Panels
There are many different types of solar panels and choosing the right ones can make a big difference on how efficiently your solar energy is run throughout your home. Solar panels differ in appearance, technology, efficiency, cost, and warranty. It is important to investigate which solar panels will work best on your roof.
The three main types of solar panels are monocrystalline, polycrystalline, and thin film. There are advantages to each type.
Monocrystalline solar panels are made from crystalline silicon. They are the most expensive because they are the most space efficient. They can do more in a smaller space.
Polycrystalline work in the same way that monocrystalline panels do, except they are bigger and less expensive.
Thin film panels use a different technology than crystalline silicon panels. The technology for this type of panels is still developing because they are newer. Currently they are the least energy efficient solar panel, but they are expected to improve in coming years.
About Shop Renewable Energy
Shop Renewable Energy started because of a simple question: Which company should we go solar with? As we navigated going solar for our own roofs, we discovered that there were dozens of local and national companies offering different discounts, solar panels, ownership agreements, and more. With hours of research, we made our decision, but we recognized that many homeowners are choosing their solar installers blindly. That’s where we came up with the idea for Shop Renewable Energy. As a small business, we look to improve the lives of our customers by making the solar journey more simple than ever. We do this by connecting homeowners with the best local solar companies in your neighborhood. We hope that you can utilize our business to shop for the best renewable energy in your area!