Solar Photovoltaic Energy

With diminishing energy sources people look for alternative energy sources such as solar power which is generated from sunlight through a solar photovoltaic device which can be installed on the roof of a building or installed as a stand alone pole set into the ground. Some solar photovoltaic devices may also be installed on the side of a building.

Solar panels can also be used as an alternative source of power on a motor home or recreational vehicle. Since most communities are not in an environment that supplies sunlight for most the days of the year these solar systems will have to be used in conjunction with some other unit such a battery system which can hold excess sunlight power for a time or coupled with the electric source from the local electric company so the solar source can be the second source of renewable energy to the electricity that comes into the home or business.

A solar panel is created from layers of various materials. It will begin with a photovoltaic or PV module which will have some glass glazing on it. It will then have a technical portion called the EVA cross linked encapsulant, then will be silicon layers which is one of the known semiconductor materials that can create a voltage when exposed to the sunlight. After this will come the wiring which is the avenue or highway whereby the converted sunlight energy enters the home so it can power the home and the appliances. There will be a protective back sheet material and a junction box. This whole unit will also be watertight so that no moisture of any kind enters the panel which would cause trouble in the functioning of the panel and the entire system.

Photovoltaic solar panels generate power when exposed to high levels of light. The photovoltaic effect was discovered in 1839 by nineteen-year-old Edmund Becquerel. Modern PV modules were first developed commercially for NASA at the time of the space race in the 1950's. High quality solar modules have power performance warranties of 25 years on the larger panels, with an expected life of 60 years or more. One early commercial Photovoltaic system, now 48 years old, is still producing power within those warranty guidelines.

Today these solar units are much more efficient and effective than when they were introduced. They are also smaller so they do not show up as much on your roof or wall. Different sizes of solar panels handle different wattage or watts which is how energy is computed.


Solar PV MCS Approved Solar Installer. 4 KW Solar Panels & SMA Inverter MCS Installation £11.600 incl. VAT 10KW Panels & SMA Inverter & MCS Installation £28.000.