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Analysis Of Building A Functioning Solar Panel That Could Produce Energy On Cloudy, Sunny, And Overcast Days

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Nathan Arenas Myles Denholtz Period 1 11/21/14 Analysis of Building a Functioning Solar Panel that Could Produce Energy on Cloudy, Sunny, and Overcast Days. Introduction Switching to solar and alternative energy is a clean, efficient way to save money and even raise the value of your home. The group is researching what converts sunlight to electricity and how it converts the radiation to flowing electricity. Selenium, a photovoltaic cell, was found to convert sunlight to electricity flowing into wires. The importance of this helpful technology, is solar energy is an alternative and will help provide electricity without harming the ecosystem and economy like paying for an electric bill would. After investing in solar panels, it would …show more content…

William Grylls Adams, with his student, Richard Evans Day, discovered in 1876 that a solid material (selenium) produced electricity when exposed to light. Selenium photovoltaic cells were converting light to electricity at 1 percent efficiency Meaning that the panel doesn’t produce enough energy for its surface area. “Photovoltaic, is the word that describes converting sunlight into electricity: photo, means pertaining to light, and voltaic meaning producing voltage. It took, more than 100 years, however, for the concept of electricity from sunlight to become more than just an experiment”; but today made a lot of energy for many homes olar panel history. In 1839, Alexandre Edmond Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic effect which explains how electricity can be generated from sunlight. He claimed that shining light on an electrode submerged in a conductive solution would create an electric current. Alternative Energy Drives / Reasons A switch from coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear power plants to solar power plants could supply 69 percent of the United States electricity and 35 percent of its total energy by 2050. Solar plants made 74% of all new U.S. electric capacity installed in 2014, demonstrating the rapidly increasing role that solar is playing in the energy market and its fight against climate change. Solar energy is now generating enough clean, reliable and affordable electricity to effectively power 3 million American homes, while

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