What are Solar Panels Made of?
Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels are made up of many solar cells.
Solar cells are made of silicon, like
semiconductors. They are constructed with a positive layer and a
negative layer, which together create an
electric field, just like in a battery.
How Do Solar Panels Generate Electricity?
PV solar panels generate direct current (DC) electricity. With DC
electricity, electrons flow in one direction
around a circuit. This example shows a battery powering a light
bulb. The electrons move from the negative
side of the battery, through the lamp, and return to the positive
side of the battery.
With AC (alternating current) electricity, electrons are pushed and
pulled, periodically reversing direction,
much like the cylinder of a car’s engine. Generators create AC
electricity when a coil of wire is spun next to
a magnet. Many different energy sources can “turn the handle” of
this generator, such as gas or diesel fuel,
hydroelectricity, nuclear, coal, wind, or solar.
AC electricity was chosen for the U.S. electrical power grid,
primarily because it is less expensive to
transmit over long distances. However, solar panels create DC
electricity. How do we get DC electricity into
the AC grid? We use an inverter.
