How Solar Power Works

Does solar power make you envision those huge ugly panels on the roofs of some family homes in the 70’s?  They really didn’t work that well, but made you feel like you were doing something great for the environment.   If it rained very often, though, the energy levels dropped like a rock.  Solar power has advanced since then, but has much room for improvement.

Older solar panels were made out of large silicon crystals which become very active when struck by sunlight’s heat.  This activity actually produced electrical current which was stored and used as power.  The problem, though, is that the silicon crystals were expensive and hard to grow.  Now solar cells are made from newer materials including something called copper-indium-gallium-sellinide which is shaped into thin flexible films. This is cheaper than silicon and takes up less room.

Solar cells have been used to power cars, small aircraft and for heating and cooling  buildings.  Solar batteries are often used very efficiently in small consumer products including calculators and digital watches.  They seem to last forever.

Solar cells, or photovoltaic cells convert sunlight’s heat  into electrical energy like photosynthesis works for plants.  There is huge potential for growth in this industry.  There is a need for solar cells that are useful and efficient.  Research continues and is exploring new materials and methods.  There is even talk about reproducing the process of photosynthesis, where plants create energy for themselves from sunlight.  Scientists are hoping to be able to produce energy in the same way.

The best thing about solar power is that the energy source itself, the sun, is free and inexhaustible.  The equipment and process of harnessing that energy, however, is not cheap and is years away from being a truly efficient power source.

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