The question is often asked, what are solar cells and how do they convert light into energy? These are devices that are also known as photovoltaic cells and have the function of absorbing the light into a light absorbing material and then separating the electron charge into a cable.
What Are Solar Cells Applications?
Solar cells applications are many and varied, but some of the most common usages include supplying electricity to houses and recreation vehicles, also powering small handheld appliances such as calculators and watches.
An Explanation Of The Theory Behind What Are Solar Cells
Sunlight is made up Photons which is an elementary particle that travels at the speed of light due to it having zero rest mass. It is the particle that carries electromagnetic radiation. These particles when they are absorbed by the solar cells, which are usually made up of silicon, generate electrons by means of the photovoltaic effect. These electrons become excited and flow through the semi conductor material.
An array of will have to be used to collect a large enough amount of direct current to use it in a practical application. As the produce direct current and most appliances are run on alternating current it will need to go through an inverter which will turn it into either 240volts or 120volts AC. If there is any electricity left over this can often be sold back to the grid.
What Are Solar Cells Usually Made From?
Silicon is the most common constituent of solar panels, but not exclusively used.
It has a crystalline structure, which in a pure form is a bad conductor of electricity, so impurities are introduced so that the electrons can flow. One of these so called impurities is Phosphorus. The process of doing this is called doping. Once the silicon and phosphorus are combined this produces (negative)n-type silicon. Silicon is then combined with boron which produces (positive)p-type silicon. When the p-type and the n-type are combined this produces an electric field which is necessary to conduct the electricity.
What Are Solar Cell Batteries ?
Solar cell batteries are used when the electricity produced by the solar cells needs to be stored until it is used later. This kind of system would be applicable to houses in remote areas who can not hook up with the national grid. These batteries are known as deep cycle batteries as they are able to give more energy over a longer time, than the shallow cycle batteries, which discharge large amounts of electricity over short periods. These batteries are usually lead and acid or nickel cadmium. The nickel cadmium is more expensive, but they do have the advantage of being able to discharge more energy without damaging them. As a rule of thumb solar cells systems are designed to discharge no more than 50% of the battery power this ensures the batteries are not damaged.
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