Sunshine is the most primitive and direct source of energy. Only with sunlight can we breed abundant things on the earth. The emergence of solar energy allows human beings to have a stable and clean alternative energy solution.

Structure of solar panels

Before understanding how solar energy generates electricity, of course, you must first understand the protagonist “solar panel” in the solar system. A solar panel can also be called a “solar module”. Its smallest unit is called a silicon chip (that is, a common silicon material in the semiconductor industry). between the glass and the backing.

Next, let’s look at the materials used in solar panels:

◉ Aluminum frame – The aluminum frame is mainly responsible for the overall strength and reliability of the solar panel.

◉ Tempered Glass – Tempered glass protects solar cells from weather and external forces. Usually, the glass surface is coated with anti-reflective coatings, which can reduce sunlight reflection and increase energy absorption.

◉ Encapsulation material ( EVA ) – The encapsulation material on the solar panel is the same as the material of the sports shoes under the feet, the difference is that the material of the sole will be foamed to achieve the function of shock absorption, and the EVA used for solar energy is made transparent. Used to protect important silicon chips.

◉ Silicon cell – The core of solar power generation is to use the same silicon material as IC chips in the semiconductor industry.

◉ Backing material (coated PET) – The material PET of the coating film is the same material as plastic bottles, and the current backing material is also made of anti-UV material. In addition to the insulation effect, it can also provide solar cell strings Waterproof protection, assisting battery heat dissipation, etc., allow solar cells to maintain the best power generation status.

◉ Junction box – the main material is high temperature resistant plastic material PPO

In addition, the materials used to form the solar panel are all solid. In other words, the solar panel will not produce any waste liquid, which is very friendly to the environment.

How Solar Panels Generate Electricity

When sunlight irradiates the P-type semiconductor and N-type semiconductor on the solar cell, electrons (negative charge) and holes (positive charge) will be generated.

After the electrons and holes in the battery gain kinetic energy, they will start to flow between the semiconductors and accumulate voltage and current in the series-connected cells. The holes will move to the P-type region, and the electrons will move to the N-type region.

Therefore, positive electricity will flow out of the P-type semiconductor, and negative electricity will flow out of the N-type semiconductor. These flowing currents are so-called DC direct current.

When the current is exported from the hub of the solar panel, the solar system can convert the current into energy that can be used in daily life through the inverter (Inverter).

Can the power generated by solar panels be used directly?

The electricity generated by the solar panels cannot actually be used directly because the solar panel matrix can only produce direct current (DC).

Therefore, we need to connect a set of solar inverters to be able to convert direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC), and then we can start the electrical appliances in our home smoothly.