SOLAR power is converted into electric energy when the energy of the sun strikes a silicon surface that has gone through a wafer fabrication process, or a thin film layer on a substrate, the two common technologies for the manufacture of solar panels.
Thin film has a flat base of glass, silicon or some other substrate material on which layers of chemicals are applied to approximate the effect one gets from a processed silicon wafer. In a wafer fab, on the other hand, the devices are fabricated directly on the silicon wafer.
Photons from the sun hit the solar panel surface, and because of the devices that are fabricated on that surface, electrons are generated. Electric current is made up of moving electrons. The photons from the sun excite the device and generate electrons which produce the current. That’s the physics behind it,” FPSC chief Lachica explains.
How many panels does one need to run a household on solar?
Say it takes 225 watts to power up a computer. Solar panels, depending on the technology, can go from 10 watts to 300 watts. Assuming one’s panel is rated for 100 watts and is 85% efficient, it will take three solar panels to supply enough power to run just a PC.
To be able to harness the power of the sun, first, you need to find a flat and even location on your house that also receives enough sun. This is where the solar installation will go.
“If you’re generating solar power during the day, your installation will be useless at night. But you can still buy in what we call the off-grid situation, where you can use that solar-generated power at night if you have a battery,” Lachica expounds. “In other words, during the day you’re using the energy from your solar cell and at the same time charging a battery which you will use at night.”
At night, “you can hook up to the Meralco line, and use an inverter and meter that feed the surplus of whatever you generate during the day to Meralco. The net effect is you will have lower power cost because you are supplying your own.”
