The Sun is one of the most significant sources of renewable energy. In one hour the Earth receives enough energy from the Sun to meet its needs for nearly a year. A Photovoltaic (PV) cell is a semiconductor device that directly converts the energy of solar radiation into electric energy. In general, an element that converts sunlight into electricity is called a PV device. The fundamental PV device is the PV cell, while a set of connected cells form a panel or module. As an array either a module or a set of modules can be considered cite{Breza2013}. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an introduction into the photovoltaic solar energy and to present the fundamental knowledges on the behavior and the functioning of the PV devices. Furthermore, the different PV models are discussed. section{Solar Energy Conversion} The basic element of a photovoltaic system (PV) is solar cells which convert the sunlight energy directly to direct current by means of the photovoltaic effect. Thus, It is crucial to understand the basic of a PV cell construction and its relationship with the incidence of the light. subsection{Photovoltaic Cell Construction } In a typical photovoltaic cell, two layers of doped silicon semiconductor are tightly bonded together cite{Chin2015}- cite{Villalva2009}- cite{Ma2013a}. One layer is modified to have excess free electrons (a n-layer), while the other layer is treated to have an excess of electron holes or vacancies (a p-layer). When the two dissimilar
“The photovoltaic effect is the basic physical process through which a photovoltaic cell converts sunlight into electricity.”(Seale E, 2003) Sunlight is composed of photons, the photons contain various amounts of energy corresponding to different wavelengths of light. When the light strikes the photovoltaic cell, it will be reflected, absorbed or pass through the two side photovoltaic cell. One side has a positive electric charge while the other side has a negative charge. Light striking crystals such as silicon or germanium, in which electrons are usually not free to move from atom to atom within the crystal,
Solar cell or photovoltaic (PV) systems usually transformed energy from the sun in to electric current. It can be measured in terms of ‘‘conversion efficiency’’, the proportion of solar energy transformed to electricity. (Henderson, Conkling, & Roberts, 2007) Sunpower primarily focused on the production of solar cell. But by moving in to wafer manufacturing it soon incorporated in to manufacturing of solar power module units. In general Sunpower manufacturing process needed approximately two times as many steps as the usual solar manufacturing process need and many of these steps were distinctive to Sunpower. Sunpower has nearly 15 -20 established cell manufactures, a handful of silicon – based cell manufacturing upstarts and a number of thin film solar companies offering potentially unsettling technologies.
These solar cells are what absorb the energy from the light, and convert it into electricity. The solar cells are made up of crystals, and the electrons in the crystals are what absorb the energy from the light. The electron get excited and move up to higher energy levels and are then able to move around freely in the crystal, which results in
Solar power is the most abundant most renewable resource that we have and it is free. The process starts when the sun shines on Solar PV panels that have been installed on your roof. Photovoltaic refers to the scientific process by which solar energy is converted into electricity. There are a number of silicon cells within each PV panel. These react with photons, or units of light, from the sun to produce direct current or electricity. DC electricity then travels to an inverter, which converts this energy to electricity known as alternating current or AC that can be used in your home or office. AC electricity then travels to the distribution network in your home powering your domestic or office appliances. When your solar panels produce more electricity than your home or office is using, the extra electricity gets fed back into the national grid. Yet, there are many processes the PV cell actually goes through to produce power of electricity. The top and bottom layer of the PV cells are protective glass layers with conducting coding’s. Electricity in the form of electrons flows in and out of these conducting coding’s while electrical production process happens in the middle layer of the PV cell. At the molecular level, a photon strikes a dye molecule absorbed on the surface of the TiO2 causing an excited state, which releases an electron into the TiO2 that exists through the conductive layer. The
Solar power is a renewable energy source because humans are not using any of the earth’s resources and because the sun will never run out or be extinguished. Each day you will generate electricity from the sun
The greatest energy that can be produced by the sun is electricity. Photovoltaics, or solar cells, capture the sun and convert it into electricity. Solar cells were discovered by the Europeans back in the 1870’s when they used selenium to develop the telegraph. They found that when light hits selenium it would produce and electrical current. Soon enough there were many scientists and engineers working on photovoltaic systems. Silicon and Selenium proved to be the two best elements to conduct electricity when light hits them. Photovoltaic systems (PV cell) work by converting the suns light into electricity. A semi conducting material absorbs the sunlight, that energy knocks electrons loose from their atoms, this allows the electrons to flow through the material to produce electricity. The further development of solar cells can be attributed to the satellite industry. Solar cells were expensive and there was no use for them until satellites came. Because it is impractical to tether satellites it became important to develop solar energy at any cost that would power these satellites. This created a sustainable market for solar power, the first of its kind.
Previously, we didn’t have to rely to much on energy, however times change causing a large consumption of energy. Solar panels may seem like a good idea due to its constant release of energy. On the contrary, in Source A, Michael Dhar states,” when a photon of sunlight knocks an electron free, the electric field will push that electron out of the silicon junction. A couple of other components of the cell turn these electrons into usable power” showing that at an optimal state, the sun will produce energy. These result often vary due to the amount of inconstant
A Silicon solar PV Cell is a device which is made up of semiconductor materials that produce electricity when exposed to light energy. [1] The doping process of a Silicon based PV Cell works by the photovoltaic material converting the light energy, photons, it absorbs into electrical energy. [1]
The majority of commercial solar cells are composed mainly of silicon(Si),although there are many other technologies and types of solar modules currently available and being developed.There are basically three major types
As solar power take an more and more important roll in today’s world, we need to know this clear resource and understand how to use it. In this paper, we will discuss about solar energy, it’s application in real life, solar panel, two kinds of solar farm, PV cell and converter.
Solar photovoltaic (PV): The transmutation of sunlight directly into electricity by using photovoltaic cells. Photovoltaic systems can be lodge on rooftops, integrated at the top of building designs and vehicles, or scaled up to megawatt scale power plants.
Solar cells are also known as photovoltaic cells, which suggest that light energy is being converted to electrical energy. Most photovoltaic cells consist of silicon in its crystalline structure. In that structure, each silicon atom has four valence electrons, and each one bonds to an adjacent electron. Silicon then is a poor conductor since electrons cannot move freely through the substance, but the addition of impurities such as phosphorus, which is called doping, to the silicon crystalline structure provide extra electrons called free carriers that can be knocked off the atom via light energy.6 The section of the photovoltaic cell that is doped with phosphorus is called the N-type because it has numerous negatively charged electrons flowing and creating a current. On the other hand, the section of the photovoltaic cell that is doped with boron is called the P-type because boron only has three valence electrons.7 When the N-type and
Although the price for installing Solar Powers Systems is high, in the future years solar panels have potential not only return on their investment, but to save you significant amounts of money by not paying for electricity bills. Solar Panels or cells use photovoltaic effect to convert the energy of light directly to electricity. Solar cells are constructed from a semiconductor material, that is usually silicon. Each solar cell contain many electrons. The electrons are not able to carry an electrical charge in their natural state. Photons are being delivered within the suns rays, and when these photons reach the electrons, the electrons are turned into conduction electrons, what means that they are able to carry electrical charge to the
There are many resources that can be used to provide energy for life on earth. Some of those resources are better than others in terms of their environmental effect. An example of one of these “better” resources is the photovoltaic cell. A photovoltaic cell or solar cell converts light energy into electricity. This electricity in turn, can be used to power many aspects of human life such as; turning on lights or a television, charging a phone or driving a car. Photovoltaic cells also involve a great deal of chemistry from how they convert light energy to chemical energy, down to its own structural components. The basic process of energy conversion involves a semiconductor cell made of Silicon interacting with photons and
A renewable energy future seems eventually inevitable and beneficial, but how does solar energy work, and how good are the benefits? The main component in a solar panel is the photovoltaic cell, more commonly referred to as the solar cell. The cell’s first step is to absorb light using excitons. Excitons are electrons that stay in a consistent state around a hole to trap light. The next step is to separate the electrons into those absorbing positive and negative charged light. It is noteworthy that the electrons themselves will always be slightly negatively charged. Those two charges are then emitted into a circuit, outputting usable direct current power.