Solar panels are more common than ever before, but that doesn’t mean everyone knows how they work. How do they turn sunlight into electricity? Why are people installing them on their roofs?
Here’s our description of what solar panels are, how they work, and how they can save you money. It’s written simply and clearly.
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What Are Solar Panels?
A solar panel is a device that turns sunshine into electricity. Each solar panel is made from a bunch of smaller parts called solar cells, and those solar cells are covered by a strong piece of glass and held together with a metal frame.
Behind the solar cells, wiring helps collect the electricity that’s made by the solar panel and move it into your home. People use that electricity just like electricity made from coal, natural gas, or a nuclear power plant. It can power lights, TVs, gadgets, kitchen appliances, electric vehicles, and more.
What Are Solar Panels Made of?
Most solar panels are made of silicon, a material that likes sunlight a lot. You might be surprised to learn that silicon is actually the second most common material on Earth, behind oxygen.
In solar cells, the silicon material is made of silicon crystals in a grid. The grid makes it easier for the solar panel to turn solar energy into electricity.
Scientists experimented for many years to figure out what turns sunlight into the most energy. In fact, they’re still looking for new materials that might make even more energy from sunlight in the future.
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How Do Solar Panels Work?
Each solar panel has two layers: a “P Side” with a positive electric charge and an “N Side” with a negative electric charge.
An electric charge is when very small bits of material (called “subatomic particles”) either want to be near each other, or move away from each other. Positively charged material wants to move away from other positively charged material, and negatively charged material wants to move away from other negatively charged material.
Material doesn’t like to be charged, so positively charged material wants to move towards negatively charged material, and combine together to become neutral, which means it no longer has a charge.
The P Side of a solar panel is designed to let energy flow to the N Side, but there is a small gap between the two layers that prevents energy from flowing from the N Side to the P Side.
Sunlight is made of photons, which are little packets of light and energy. When photons hit something, they can give their energy to that thing.
When sunlight hits the solar panel, the energy from the photons excites electrons in the silicon on the N Side. The N Side cannot hold those excited electrons (which have a negative charge) so they move to the P Side. The movement of the electrons creates electricity. Scientists call this the “photovoltaic effect.”
Why Do We Need Solar Panels?
We need solar panels because it’s important to be able to make electricity without hurting the earth. People call energy made this way “clean energy” because it doesn’t make the planet dirty when it’s used.
Solar panels are a good way to make clean energy because the sun sends a lot of sunshine to the planet every single day, even when it’s cloudy. In fact, trillions and trillions of photons leave the sun every second! The more solar energy we use, the less we need energy that causes pollution.
Why Do People Install Rooftop Solar Panels?
Electricity from solar panels can replace some or all of the electricity you would normally buy from your electric company. Because you buy less electricity, you pay less for it.
Electricity your solar panels generate but you don’t use can be stored in a battery and used later. Or, flow back on the wires to be used by your neighbors. When that happens, you might earn credits on your electric bill thanks to net metering or net billing.
You’ll be using clean and renewable energy for most or all of your electricity. If you add solar battery backup with your system, you can avoid even more power from your utility company and have backup power during power outages.
Home solar panels and solar energy might be worth it for your home. Millions of homes in the US are using solar power to save money.
If you're interested in going solar, get started today by using our free solar savings calculator or by contacting us.
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Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only. Palmetto does not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. Please consult your own tax, legal, and accounting advisors.
Andrew GiermakWriter and EditorAndrew joined Palmetto in Charlotte in August 2024. He’s been a writer in journalism, then in business, going back to almost the 20th century. He’s lived in Indiana, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia again, and now North Carolina for the last 12 years. He likes golf. Is he good at it? Not so much.
