Have you been on the fence about investing in solar panels?
When you look around at the rising costs of traditional energy sources, it won’t take long to understand that this is the year to finally make the shift to a greener lifestyle. After all, the cost of living isn’t getting any cheaper, and more and more people are committing themselves to do whatever they can to protect the planet.
But perhaps you still have questions about how solar panels work. If that’s the case, you’ve come to the right place for answers.
Here we take a look at everything you need to understand about residential solar panels so that you can invest with confidence. Keep reading to learn more.
1. Photovoltaic Cells
The process of transforming sunlight into electricity for your home starts with…well…it obviously starts with sunlight. But to be more specific, light from the sun travels through space to your home, where it is absorbed by material on solar panels called photovoltaic (PV) cells.
These specially-designed cells emit electrons when they come into contact with sunlight, thus creating an electric field.
2. The Inverter
Once the electricity is generated, it then flows out to the edges of the solar panel, where it is dumped into a conductive wire. The conductive wire then delivers the power supply to an inverter, which is designed to transform DC electricity to AC to be used as a power source for your home.
3. Distributing the Solar Energy
Now the electricity produced by your solar panels is ready for distribution throughout your home. This part of the process is accomplished using a wire that delivers the AC electricity from the inverter to a breaker box that distributes the energy throughout your home as needed.
Here’s a great resource where you can learn about solar and how it can increase your property value.
4. Storing Unused Electricity
Believe it or not, each solar panel on your home is capable of generating an impressive amount of electricity every day. Thus you aren’t likely to use it all at any given moment. This means the excess electricity needs to be stored for later use.
The power generated by home solar panels is stored onsite. But some of the used electricity flows back into the community utility grid, which is called net metering.
The ability to store unused electricity is a significant benefit to you as the homeowner because you don’t have to worry about days when the panels might not generate as much electricity as needed. This also helps power your home at night.
A Homeowner’s Guide to How Solar Panels Work
It’s no secret that it’s becoming more and more important to reduce the use of traditional energy sources and focus on green energy alternatives. Fortunately, this guide to understanding how solar panels work will help you understand why this might be the best option for your home.
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