Alabama Solar Association
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How Big is Solar?
a city in Germany
a solar farm in Canada
a solar powered airplane
On your Rooftop . . .
Solar Panels
convert the energy in sunlight
(called photons)
into DC Electricity.
How ?
one side of the panel is charged positively and the other side is charged negatively
when photons hit a solar panel, they excite the electrons of that panel
-
Solar panels are made up of many solar cells (also called Photovoltaic's or PV)
-
photons in sunlight excite the electrons of that solar cell
– making them move
– movement creates a current of
electricity
- that current is tranfered to be
used to power electrical devices
in your home
Solar Panels works very differently than any other source of electricity.
There are no moving parts are needed
(no turbine or generator).
a solar cell making current in the sunlight
close-up of solar cells
A device called an Inverter
converts the DC current
into AC current for your house.
close-up of a solar panel
How Does a
Solar Panel
Work ?
click
to play
sound
All the energy that lets us live on planet earth comes one way or another from the sun.
Photosynthesis
has been used for energy for life on earth for over 3 billion years.
For over a billion years,
plants have been using sunlight to produce their energy to live.
Why can’t we
do that ?
our Sun
Life Cycle of Sunlight on Earth
sunlight contains packets of energy called photons
Solar Power Green Energy
- for Kids
