![]() While solar panels are the basis of any solar installation, they’re actually just one single component. How do solar panels fit into an entire solar installation? A shaded panel still negatively affects overall production, but not nearly as much. The bypass diode allows electricity to flow past a non-working panel. Since all the panels are connected, this panel then blocks all the electricity produced by the other panels from following, seriously hampering how much electricity your entire system is generating. ![]() If one solar panel suddenly becomes shaded (let’s say a cloud moves over a corner of your installation), that panel stops producing electricity, meaning the electrons aren’t following. ![]() This is a cost-effective and simple system, but there is a drawback. In solar installations, multiple solar panels are typically connected together in a line or ‘series’. Junction boxes simply house wire connections for safety – you don’t want those out in the elements!īypass diodes are a bit more complicated. You can see it for yourself in the picture below. What about that last piece of equipment? If you look at the back of a solar panel, you’ll see a small black box near the top. Junction Box/Bypass Diode, which we’ll explain more about in a moment.ĭupont publishes an interactive solar panel diagram – check it out to learn a bit more about each component.Protective Back Sheet keeps moisture from entering the solar panel and protects against UV and temperature changes.Encapsulant on the back of the solar cells as well.Solar cells are right in the middle, protected from both sides.Encapsulant physically protects the solar cell.Anti-reflective coating to allow more sunlight to hit the solar cells.Glass protects the top of the solar cells and provides strength, while still allowing light to hit the solar cells.While frameless solar panels are beginning to come on the market, most solar panels still come with an aluminum frame. An aluminum frame provides structure and protects the glass.Here are the layers of a solar panel, in order from front to back: Since the glass is rigid and can crack, most solar panels are protected by an aluminum frame that goes around the solar panel to provide more strength. That’s the basic idea of how a solar cell works, so now let’s see how solar cells fit into the actual solar panel.Īll the solar cells in a solar panel are extremely flat and squashed between a sheet of glass on top and a protective layer underneath. At that point it moves – along with all the other homeless electrons – to whatever device you want to power.Īfter the electrons are used, they travel back to the aluminum sheet on the back and into the p-layer (the one with extra holes) where the process starts over. That homeless electron then moves to the outside of the layer and is collected up and deposited to a wire. When photons in sunlight hit the panel, they knock an electron in the n-layer out of its bond. ![]() Remember how electricity is simply the flow of electrons? Well, the n- and p-layers are both made of silicon, but the n-layer has extra electrons while the p-layer has extra holes that electrons can fill. The n-layer and p-layer are the powerhouse of solar cells – it is where electricity is made! What are those? That’s where the magic happens! P/N junction: the magic that creates electricity In between those two layers is the n-layer and the p-layer. You can see the aluminum at the bottom of the panel that allows ‘used’ electrons to flow back into the panel (thus completing the circuit) as well as the anti-reflective coating on top to allow the solar panel to absorb as much sunlight as possible. The image above represents a cross section of a solar cell. Silicon is the workhorse that actually converts sunlight to electricity, while the other materials help to gather and transmit that electricity. Solar cells are made up of extremely thin layers of silicon (the 2 nd most common element in the universe), silver, aluminum, and a few other elements. If you look closely at the image above, you can see each square blue solar cell in the panel. A typical residential solar panel includes 60 solar cells. The solar cells are what actually transform light into electricity. Solar cells are the cornerstone of solar panels Today, let’s break down what exactly composes a solar panel so that we can learn a little more about this wonder of the modern world. However, when you take a closer look at a solar panel diagram, you’ll see they are actually incredibly complex. There’s no motors and no moving parts (electrons are the only moving object in a solar panel). Sunlight hits them and they produce electricity, then flows out of a wire to whatever you want to power. On first glance, solar panels are pretty simple pieces of technology. Taking a Closer Look at a Solar Panel Diagram We break down a solar panel to find out what’s inside
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