BUILD A HOME SOLAR PANEL

Solar panels became commercially available in the mid 1950's but the efficiency of the cells was quite low at that time. By the late 50's the efficiency problem had been improved enough that the first solar powered satellite was launched in 1958.

From then until the early 90's solar panels were only used for powering satellites, and small electronics like calculators and watches.

It was Germany and Japan who were the first to build solar panels designed for homes and both countries initiated long-term solar panel-installation incentive programs and that resulted in lower costs for solar panel power which spurred the growth of the robust solar power industry.

In 2006 California made a major commitment to solar powering homes by adopting the California Solar Initiative, a ten-year incentive program with the goal of installing 3,000 megawatts of solar panels on the equivalent of one-million rooftops.

This program continues the solar panel incentives started in 1998, but this overall long-term commitment to supporting solar will have a profound effect on the amount of solar installed and will make it easier for home owners to afford solar power.

Because solar panels have become more and more affordable rural areas that are not serviced by the utility grid are using them power homes that used to depend on generators for power. These systems are called off grid solar power systems since they do not depend on the utility grid for their operation.

How Do Solar Panels Work

The Basic System Operation: When sunlight hits the solar panel's cells, direct current (DC) flows through a electronic device called the inverter, which converts it to alternating current (AC). This AC power then flows directly into the home or building, or into storage batteries if the system has them, or if the inverter is of the proper type, directly to the utility grid. When the power is flowing back to the utility grid, the electric meter of the home turns backwards.

Individual solar panels are wired together to form a PV array, and the electricity they produce is fed through an inverter that changes the direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC), making it suitable for homes and business, and compatible with the electric grid. The special grid-tie inverter is the major electronic appliance associated with a grid-tied PV system.

The first major use of PV panels was a solar panel-powered satellite launched in 1958 and built by Hoffman Electronics. Back then and up to the late 1970s solar panels were used primarily to power space satellites, lights, and small electronics like calculators and watches.

Over the years PV panels have improved in performance and dropped in price. In the early 1990s Germany and Japan initiated long-term solar panel-installation incentive programs that resulted in lower costs for solar panel power and spurred the growth of robust PV industries in both countries.

California Solar Panel Initiative

In 2006 California made a major commitment to solar power by adopting the California Solar Initiative, a ten-year incentive program with the goal of installing 3,000 megawatts of solar panels on the equivalent of one-million rooftops. This program continues the solar panel incentives started in 1998. This long-term commitment to supporting solar power will have a profound effect on the amount of solar panels installed and the demand for oil.

Solar Panel Components

Photovoltaic cells are what make a solar panel. These cells are made up of at least two layers of semiconductor material (usually pure silicon infused with boron and phosphorous). One layer will produce a positive charge, the other a negative charge.

When sunlight strikes the solar panel, photons from the light are absorbed by the semiconductor atoms, which then release electrons. The electrons, freed from the negative layer of semiconductor, flow through wires to the positive layer.....thereby producing an electrical current.Since the electric current flows in one direction (like a battery), the electricity generated is called direct current (DC). Many individual cells are wired together in a sealed weatherproof unit called a solar module or panel.

The Three Types of Solar Panels

There are three types of solar panels: single crystal, multi- or poly-crystalline, and amorphous silicon. Each of these solar panel types is estimated to last at least twenty-five years. Some estimate that forty years is a reasonable expectation.

The longevity rating of a solar panel refers to the number of years before the unit starts producing only 80 percent of its original power rating. For instance, some solar panels are warranted to produce at least 80 percent of their full-rated power after twenty-five years. Now Instead of stopping production completely, a solar panel will gradually produce less and less power for many decades past its rating.