What Is a Solar Panel?
Solar panels are the most popular form of devices that fosters the growth of a green environment. A green environment means to utilize renewable sources to reduce dependency on limited resources that causes pollution in the environment. Renewable sources of energy are solar, geothermal, hydropower, and wind. Windmills help to generate wind powers, while building dams on rivers help to generate hydroelectric power. Similarly, solar panels harness solar energy from the sun.
How Does a Solar Panel Work?
The solar panel works by absorbing the sunlight with Photovoltaic (PV) cells. The PV cells absorb and convert the energy into a direct current. Moreover, the inverter technology converts the direct current into alternating current (AC). AC helps to power home appliances and drive electricity. Furthermore, the solar panel consists of layers of silicon cells, and when the sunlight strikes the silicon layer, electrons that create an electric current move. Excess power transfers to the electricity grid if the solar panel is overproducing electricity.
What Is the Process for the Installation of Solar Panels?
There are three types of solar panels: polycrystalline, monocrystalline, and thin film. These three types differ in their cost structure and efficiency rate. There are several basics steps to install a solar panel. First and foremost, mountings for the solar panels that form the base for these panels are set up. Also, the mountings should be at an angle that allows for maximum exposure to the sunlight. After setting up the mounts, the panels are fixed on the mounting structure. As a safety measure, it is important to tighten all the nuts and bolts for it to remain stable. After placing the mounts, the major step takes place and involves wiring the solar panels. The wiring utilizes MC4 connectors, which are the most suitable for all types of solar panels. Finally, the system connects with the solar inverter. Moreover, the solar inverter connects with the batteries, saving electricity for later use and the consumer unit to generate electricity. The basic cost for installing solar panels is $18,500 for a 6KW solar panel system, and the price per watt ranges from $2.5 to $3.5.
What Are Solar Panel Sweats?
Solar panels can get overheated. While it is a fact that solar energies need sunlight to function, but their performance can hinder if the sunlight is intense or the temperatures are too high. Moreover, the solar panels start to lose their efficiency as soon as their surface temperature reaches 25 degrees. Therefore, several cooling techniques can reduce the overheating effect of solar panels. Solar panel sweat is one technology that can cool off the solar panels. The researchers have found a way to use atmospheric water-absorbing gel technology as a cooling technique for solar panels.
The initial purpose of this nanotube-polymer technology was to produce clean drinking water. Also, it has proven effective in the field of providing water. For energy purposes, this gel is put on the bottom of the panel, and it pulls heat from it. This starts an evaporation process, and the gel absorbs the water vapor in the night. In the daytime, when the temperature is rising, the gel releases water vapor. As a result, this evaporation process cools down the panel like sweat evaporating from skin cools down humans.
The results of this cooling technique are astounding. The solar panel temperature decreases by 10 degrees, which ultimately increases these solar panels’ efficiency by an average of 15%. The amount of gel for the solar panel is dependent upon the humidity of a region. For a region with 35% humidity, a square foot solar panel requires 1kg of gel, whereas, in areas with high humidity percentages, the panel requires less gel. Nonetheless, there are several other cooling techniques for the solar panel. A set of pipes can provide water to the surface of solar panels. Moreover, air coolant can also reduce solar panels’ temperature, but water coolant proves to be more successful than air coolant.