How Residential Solar Panels Work

Solar panels actually comprise many smaller units.

How residential solar panels work.

The solar panels produce electricity during the day when the sun is shining and that electricity is used to power your home. Simply put a solar panel works by allowing photons or particles of light to knock electrons free from atoms generating a flow of electricity. Solar panels work by letting photons released by the sun knock electrons free from atoms and thus generate a flow of electricity. The inverter converts the dc into alternating current ac the type of electricity required for household use.

From sunrise to sunset the solar panels generate direct current electricity dc which is sent to the inverter. The surplus electricity produced during the day can be processed for later usage. Panels generate electricity at night with the power storage space of the solar panel network. Usually when solar panels are installed on a home they are tied to the grid.

So even if it is cloudy you can use stored solar energy. Any surplus solar energy is redirected to your traditional power grid via net metering. Solar panels cannot produce electricity at night when the sun is down so that is when your home will draw power from the grid. The net calculation is also an alternative.

Solar panels are composed of many smaller photovoltaic cells linked together. How do solar panels work on homes. Photovoltaic cells absorb the sun s energy and convert it to dc electricity the solar inverter converts dc electricity from your solar modules to ac electricity which is used by most home appliances electricity flows through your home powering electronic devices.