Wednesday, June 19, 2013

What are Solar Panels?

Solar panels are a combination of approximately 40 individual solar/photovoltaic cells.  Photovoltaic (PV) cells were first invented in 1954 at the Bell telephone laboratories.  A scientist realized that shining sunlight onto sand with a high silicon content caused sand to induce a current.  This resulted in the creation of first generation solar panels.  The first generation technology has remained the most widely used PV type to date.  It has a high manufacturing cost due to the use of silicon wafers, but continues to demonstrate the highest efficiencies. 

Second generation panels are created by applying a thin film of semi-conductor such as cadmium telluride to supporting material.  This results in the production cost being significantly lowered; however, second generation panels also have lower efficiencies compared to first generation, and are currently mostly used in large scale projects. 

Solar manufacturing cycle 

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