So, how do PV Cells work anyway?

We take for granted that a PV, or PhotoVoltaic Cell will generate electricity...but how does this process work?

First we need to recall that energy can be converted from one form of energy to another...So just like Chemical Energy which exists in a battery can create electircal energy as a byproduct when the acid reacts with the led or carbon (wet or dry) within the cell, so can the sun's light rays create electricity when the rays cause the crystal structures of the PV to resonate.

Yes, that's it...the crystal structure of the PV Cell receives the light energy (sun light) and the cell is excitated (vibrates due to the frequency of the light) and it resonates, which causes the cell, which is wired, to release electrical energy in a very low DC signal. This energy is ampliphied through the use of many cells in a PV Bank of panels (Basic electrical theory here, Ohm's Law...) and by putting some of this structure in Parallel we raise the voltage...and then by tying these banks in series we raise the apmlitude. Oh, generally this is a DC circuit, or Direct Current, but we can take tap the circuit and make it an AC (Alternating Current) circuit through the use of a converter.

So the creation of electricity is really just a conversion from light energy (a frequency) to electircal energy and it can either be used as it is produced or saved to a battery system or put back on the Grid (commercial electrical supply net).

There are some drawbacks...like you have to design a storage system (battery) that will be able to support you during darkness and even poor weather. You also can't grow tall shade trees as they will block the sun from hitting the pannels...and preventing the sun from working with the panels. Shade will reduce the performance of the system by 60% or more!

And as with most energy conversion technologies, there may be some heat shedding from the system as these panels focus sunlight on their hearts. Heat, as a side effect, may reduce the effectiveness of the process...that is the crystals may work less effectively if they can't easily release this heat, so the use of pannels that are raised off of the roof or mounted in a stand alone pattern is critical to equalizing system temperature.

There are several types of PV Cells, but generally they are made of some type of Silicone, and then they are cut, treated appropriately, and wired to optimize their performance.