DIY Solar and Wind Power Systems
Question by Angie: solar power how it works?
can i please have a explanation on how solar power works for like 14 year olds to easily understand? i need to present a powerpoint and i just cant find anything ! thanks
Best answer:
Answer by Lol
The solar panel uses radiation ( thermal heat ) from the sun to heat up water. Depending on what kind of solar power it is the warm water can be used for baths…etc, or to be turned to steam which turns turbines which produces energy.
Additional info: the solar pannel is black because black can absorb and emmit heat the most
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
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4 comments
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rowlfe says:
June 24, 2012 at 4:55 pm (UTC 0)
Light consists of photons.
Photons “excite” electrons in the outer “shell” of an atom which makes a “free electron”.
The free electrons migrate to one “pole”
The imbalance of electrons between the poles is an electrical potential, just as a battery has.
Electrons flowing from a point of surplus to a point where there is a lack causes current to flow though the load.
The result is to take energy form a light photon and turn it into electron flow, current through a load.
Solar power to turn light into work is inefficient, about 30% or so.
Pretty much ALL semiconductors are light sensitive, either causing electrons to flow or inhibiting electrons to flow.
Dev b says:
June 24, 2012 at 5:29 pm (UTC 0)
If u talk about Solar cells or Photovoltaic cells- they are made of special materials called semiconductors such as silicon, which is currently used most commonly. Basically, when light strikes the cell, a certain portion of it is absorbed within the semiconductor material. This means that the energy of the absorbed light is transferred to the semiconductor. The energy knocks electrons loose, allowing them to flow freely
Sam Arnold says:
June 24, 2012 at 5:53 pm (UTC 0)
Solar power works on the solar radiation principle as it generates heat, which in turn help in running solar power plant. Here sun energy is used to boil water which used to provide, power. The largest solar power plants like 354 MW SEGS, are concentrating solar thermal plants. Germany appears to be characteristic of the trend towards larger photovoltaic power stations. The heat generated by the solar radiation is the main cause for the manufacture of solar power. Here Net metering is particularly important because it can be done with no changes to standard electricity meters , which accurately measure power in both directions and automatically report the difference, and because it allows homeowners and businesses to generate electricity at a different time from consumption, effectively using the grid as a giant storage battery. For more information you can visit the following link.
http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/technology/solar-power/
Doreen Guo says:
June 24, 2012 at 6:35 pm (UTC 0)
Solar power is the conversion of sunlight to electricity. Sunlight can be converted directly into electricity using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly with concentrating solar power (CSP), which normally focuses the sun’s energy to boil water which is then used to provide power, and technologies such as the Stirling engine dishes which use a Stirling cycle engine to power a generator. Photovoltaics were initially used to power small and medium-sized applications, from the calculator powered by a single solar cell to off-grid homes powered by a photovoltaic array.
Now we use solar power panel to convert sunlight to electricity directly.You can go http://www.1powershop.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=solar&imageField.x=0&imageField.y=0 to see some of the solar power products