I mean when light hits the solar panel where does the energy go and what does it become? Be specific.
5 thoughts on “where does the solar energy go to when it hits the solar panel?”
PraoWolf
I think you got half the answer, but basically like everyone else said, the light hits the electrons and create energy now that energy, since it is now an electrical energy is then saved within batteries connected to the solar panel and that provides the power itself, so as long as there is sun, the batteries will charge up, once the sun goes away, the batteries slowly deplete, but once the sun hits, more energy. =)
Frank
Energy is conserved, meaning that no energy is lost. It has to go somewhere.
So for solar panels, the main energy is electricity. The current that is produced by all of those silicon wafers is usually stored in DC batteries.
Some of the energy from the sun is transferred into heat.
Perhaps a Mechanical Engineer can better answer if any very minute expansion occurs from the sun. I would guess negligible.
Who, me?
In a photo-voltaic cell, the energy of the light knocks electrons loose within a semiconductor, causing electrical current to flow.
Some other kinds of solar energy plants use lots of mirrors to focus sunlight and boil water to drive a steam turbine and generate electricity.
Rob
The sun heats up the panel, which in turn generates electricity.
SammiChengHK
Visible light from the sun is in the form of photon before hitting the solar panel. In a silicon solar panel, the photon is caught by the semiconductor material. Energy equivalent of the photon is then used to excite an electron from the semiconductor molecule. The aggregate of free flowing electrons form the current in a closed electric circuit.
The efficency of conversion from sun light to electricity is not 100%. The majority of light energy hitting the solar panel is dissipated in the form of heat. As technology advances, the conversion efficiency is improving, hence reducing the cost of solar energy.
I think you got half the answer, but basically like everyone else said, the light hits the electrons and create energy now that energy, since it is now an electrical energy is then saved within batteries connected to the solar panel and that provides the power itself, so as long as there is sun, the batteries will charge up, once the sun goes away, the batteries slowly deplete, but once the sun hits, more energy. =)
Energy is conserved, meaning that no energy is lost. It has to go somewhere.
So for solar panels, the main energy is electricity. The current that is produced by all of those silicon wafers is usually stored in DC batteries.
Some of the energy from the sun is transferred into heat.
Perhaps a Mechanical Engineer can better answer if any very minute expansion occurs from the sun. I would guess negligible.
In a photo-voltaic cell, the energy of the light knocks electrons loose within a semiconductor, causing electrical current to flow.
see http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2002/solarcells/
Some other kinds of solar energy plants use lots of mirrors to focus sunlight and boil water to drive a steam turbine and generate electricity.
The sun heats up the panel, which in turn generates electricity.
Visible light from the sun is in the form of photon before hitting the solar panel. In a silicon solar panel, the photon is caught by the semiconductor material. Energy equivalent of the photon is then used to excite an electron from the semiconductor molecule. The aggregate of free flowing electrons form the current in a closed electric circuit.
The efficency of conversion from sun light to electricity is not 100%. The majority of light energy hitting the solar panel is dissipated in the form of heat. As technology advances, the conversion efficiency is improving, hence reducing the cost of solar energy.