Ever wondered how Solar somehow turns sunlight into electricity? Well here’s the lowdown on how solar panels actually function.  The sun releases tiny packets of energy called photons, which travel the 93 million miles from the sun to Earth in about eight-and-a-half minutes. Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels are made up of many solar cells. They’re constructed with a positive layer and a negative layer, which together create an electric field. When photons hit a solar cell, they knock electrons loose from their atoms. If conductors are attached to the positive and negative sides of a cell, it forms an electrical circuit. When electrons flow through such a circuit, they generate electricity. Together, these solar cells make up a solar panel. So the more cells you have, the more panels you have, and the more electricity you can generate. This flow of electrons produced direct current (DC) electricity, and homes and businesses use alternating (AC) electricity. Therefore, a box called an inverter is used to convert the DC electricity to AC so it can be utilised. Any excess energy is sent back to the grid, or into a solar battery if you have one. Sending it back to the grid means you may […]

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