Solar panels electricity can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The amount of energy that the earth receives from the sun is so great, that an hour of sunshine gives to the earth energy that can be used by the earth in the form of electricity for the whole year. This energy is available to the earth in the form of heat and light and mankind has been unable to find the technology to harness all this energy which is free and perennial. Some start has been made by using silicon to convert the light energy directly into electricity. But the cost of producing the silicon for the photovoltaic cells with the required refinement required to tap the sun’s light is so high that it almost becomes uneconomical. The efficiency of these solar cells which produce electricity is also limited. Such solar panels having these silicon wafers that convert light into electricity are also quite big, and so space becomes one of the restrictions in their use.
Electrical activity is created in certain solids when they come into contact with light. The light frees negative and positive charges in the solids which then produces the electricity in them. This is known as the Photoelectric effect and its discovery led to Albert Einstein receiving the Nobel Prize. Solar cells make use of this photoelectric effect to produce electricity. Solar cells are made from silicon that is 99.999 percent pure and to which atoms of other elements are added. These added elements enable the silicon to convert to p type silicon and n type silicon. One type supplies electrons while the other accepts the electrons thus producing the flow of electricity when the cells are exposed to sunlight. The solar cells are made using a layer of p type silicon, one of n type silicon and an electrically conducive layer. When the sunlight falls on these cells, the positive protons start moving within the layers as electrical current. The current produced is direct current or DC which can then be used to charge batteries or fed to a grid through an inverter. The inverter will convert the electricity to alternating current or AC which can be used to power most electrical equipment.
The direction of the panels containing the solar cells used for solar panels electricity is of importance. In the northern hemisphere the panels will have to face south, while in the southern hemisphere, the panels will have to face north. On clear days the sun has the power to generate 1000 watts of electricity for each square meter of area. But solar cells have generally quite low efficiencies and can only utilize about 5 to 10 percent of this. In addition clouds and other atmospheric conditions can severely limit the production of electricity from solar panels. Solar panels electricity has received a huge boost in recent times because of the awareness that such electricity is produced with zero emissions unlike present power stations. This has led to quite a few governments offering very high subsidies for electricity produced in this fashion, making the setting up of such solar panels electricity ventures profitable.