We’ve all heard about Solar Power’s environmental and energy saving benefits. But with high upfront investment costs for home Solar Systems, many of us are unfortunately not in the financial position to do so, especially under these economic times. Don’t fret though, there may be a ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds for us solar dreamers. The Economic Recovery Act that was recently enacted has some incentive goodies for alternative energy such as Solar!Solar electric systems, also known as photovoltaic (PV) systems, convert sunlight into electricity. Solar cells—the basic building blocks of a PV system—consist of semiconductor materials. When sunlight is absorbed by these materials, the solar energy knocks electrons loose from their atoms. This phenomenon is called the “photoelectric effect.” These free electrons then travel into a circuit built into the solar cell to form electrical current. To see a simulation of the photoelectric effect, please view our animation. Only sunlight of certain wavelengths will work efficiently to create electricity. PV systems can still produce electricity on cloudy days, but not as much as on a sunny day.
The basic PV or solar cell typically produces only a small amount of power. To produce more power, solar cells (about 40) can be interconnected to form panels or modules. PV modules range in output from 10 to 300 watts. If more power is needed, several modules can be installed on a building or at ground-level in a rack to form a PV array.
PV arrays can be mounted at a fixed angle facing south, or they can be mounted on a tracking device that follows the sun, allowing them to capture the most sunlight over the course of a day.
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