HOW SOLAR ENERGY IS HARNESSED
The sun creates light and heat that can be transformed into energy. ("How PV Cells Work", n.d.) This energy can be harnessed through Photovoltaic (PV) cells. The word photovoltaics translates to “light-electricity”. Photovoltaic cells are the technical name for what the average person refers to as “solar cells” and are what “convert(s) sunlight to electricity”. ("Energy Basics: Photovoltaic Cells", 2013)
PV Systems were created to harness the solar
energy that each PV cell receives.
("Energy Basics: Photovoltaic Cells", n.d.)
energy that each PV cell receives.
PV systems are made of the following:
PV cells (Solar Cells)
PV modules (Solar Panels)
PV arrays (complete power-generating unit)
Systems include “structures that point them toward the sun and components that take the direct-current electricity produced by modules and "condition" that electricity” ("Energy Basics: Photovoltaic Systems", n.d.)
PV cells can either transform heat from the sun or sunlight into electricity. The PV cell reflects, absorbs, or allows sunlight to pass through it. The U.S. Deartment of Energy’s article entitled Energy Basics: Photovoltaic Cells states that the absorbed light “is transferred to electrons in the atoms of the PV cell semiconductor material. With their newfound energy, these electrons escape from their normal positions in the atoms and become part of the electrical flow, or current, in an electrical circuit. A special electrical property of the PV cell—what is called a "built-in electric field"—provides the force, or voltage, needed to drive the current through an external load, such as a light bulb.” ("Energy Basics: Photovoltaic Cells", n.d.)
PV cells can either transform heat from the sun or sunlight into electricity. The PV cell reflects, absorbs, or allows sunlight to pass through it. The U.S. Deartment of Energy’s article entitled Energy Basics: Photovoltaic Cells states that the absorbed light “is transferred to electrons in the atoms of the PV cell semiconductor material. With their newfound energy, these electrons escape from their normal positions in the atoms and become part of the electrical flow, or current, in an electrical circuit. A special electrical property of the PV cell—what is called a "built-in electric field"—provides the force, or voltage, needed to drive the current through an external load, such as a light bulb.” ("Energy Basics: Photovoltaic Cells", n.d.)
Check out this video from the U. S. Department of Energy on harnessing solar power...