What Are Photovoltaic Solar Panels?

You hear the word all the time: Solar. And this conjures up visions of space and how satellites and the Space Station are powered by the sun. And then you hear about people carpeting their roofs with solar panels and you wonder how the whole things works. But then you forget about it. (I always do.)

That's how I viewed solar: Sun goes in - Electricity comes out. Well, it's almost that simple.

A solar panel is made up of photovoltaic cells. They are very simple. Two slivers of silicon, one positively-charged and one negatively-charged, are activated into producing electrons by the sun's activity. This produces a DC current. This cell joins about 35 others to form a solar panel. Then, for major power, a number of panels are positioned to form an array and you have a good jolt of power to run stuff in your house.

However, if a toaster takes 1500 watts to toast your frozen waffle the amount of panels needed would be around 15 and, averaging out at $1,000 a panel, this would be very expensive toast.

The main idea is to decide what you want to run off solar electricity and be sensible. LCD televisions and laptops, LED lighting and small ECM fans run well and many other products are cutting down on their electrical signatures.

The price is coming down on the panels and second hand ones are available, as are the batteries and inverter systems to switch to AC current. As well, panels last a long time without maintenance because there are no moving parts.

So, just take your time and build your system slowly. And maybe one day you can have a waffle!