Solar Power: How does it work?

Brent Lane Racker Jr

Solar power(See Figure 1) and the processes involved in conver ng the

suns light into energy are very interes ng and worthwhile concepts to
know about for reasons both intellectual and economic.

The Basics
Solar Power is a form of energy that comes from the sun in the form of light;
the energy is harnessed by PV(Photovoltaic) cells that act as a photosensive diode; the energy comes from the light from the sun.3

The PV Cell

A PV Cell(See Figure 2) is composed of two dierent layers.3

Figure 1: An example the use of solar

power on the Interna onal Space
Sta on through the use of Solar Panel
Arrays courtesy of NASA1

Top Layer
The top layer is made of phosphorous-diused silicon. It contains free
electrons; free electrons are unanchored par cles with nega ve charges.3

Bo om Layer
The bo om layer is thicker and boron doped. It contains holes, or absences of electrons, that can move freely like the electrons in the top layer. 3
The careful manufacturing of both layers creates an eect that creates an
electronic imbalance between the top and bo om layers.3

How does the sun ac vate a PV cell?

First, photons hit the cell. The photons then ac vate electrons, knocking them loose in both silicon layers. Some of the electrons will move to
the top layer of the PV cell. These electrons flow into metal contacts and
become electricity. They then move through a circuit throughout a mul ple cell module. The electrons then flow back into the cell through a solid
contact layer at the bo om. This creates a closed circuit. Without a closed
circuit, electrons would be unable to flow and electricity would not be
created.3

Figure 2: PV Cell Crea on Courtesy of SolarWorld2

Pu ng that power to use!

The current leaving the module passed through a wire conduit and into
an inverter. This inverter changes direct current into alterna ng current.
Direct current has a fixed current and voltage while alterna ng current has
an oscilla ng current and voltage. Alterna ng current is used by appliances throughout the world. This alterna ng current leaves the inverter and
heads out to the circuitry in a house, business, or power plant and onto a
regional grid.3

Defini ons
Photosensi ve - reacts to light
Diode - semiconductor device that
typically restricts the flow of
current to one direc on
Diusing - distribu ng something over
a given area
Electron - nega vely charge par cle
Doping - adding an impurity to a
semiconductor to achieve a
desired electrical
characteris c
Photons - par cles of light
Inverter - device that switches direct
current to alterna ng current

Solar Power: How does it work?

Brent Lane Racker Jr

Two Types of Power Systems

Dependent Power system
A dependent Power System is connected to the main power grid. It does
not need a ba ery. If it is too light for a solar cell to produce energy, the
needed energy can be received from the other power stored upon the
grid and if it produces an excess, it can similarly sell the power back into
the main power grid.3,4,5

Independent Power System

The independent power system is not connected to the power grid; it is
in the form of a closed circuit system. This requires ba eries for storing
power in low-light situa ons such as night and require very precise calcula on of the overall needs throughout the night since the amount of
energy the sun produces on a given day or loca on varies greatly.3,4,5

End Notes
1. NASA. Solar Arrays on the ISS. Popular Science. Bonnier Corpora on, April 22, 2014, www.popsci.com/ar cle/science/inven on-solar-cell. Accessed on 11 Oct. 2016.
2. solar-cell-coloring-prin ng. SolarWorld, SolarWorld Americas Inc., www.solarworld-usa.com/solar-101/
making-solar-panels#Step_3:_Solar_cell_produc on. Accessed on 11 Oct. 2016.
3. How Solar Panels Work. SolarWorld, SolarWorld Americas Inc., www.solarworld-usa.com/solar-101/howsolar-panels-work. Accessed on 11 Oct. 2016.
4. Incen ves and Credits. NW Wind & Solar, NW Wind & Solar, www.nwwindandsolar.com/residen al-solar-power/residen al-solar-energy-systems-incen ves-and-credits/. Accessed on 11 Oct. 2016
5. Hilse, D., Kapala, J., Sztymelski, K., Zel ns, N., and Ekmanis, J. Researching And Designing Photovoltaic
Microsystems. Latvian Journal Of Physics & Technical Sciences vol. 53, No. 1, Feb. 2016, pp. 34-41. Academic
Search Premier, doi:10.1515/lpts-2016-0004. Accessed on 12 Oct. 2016.