Need Solar Panel Help?

Question

How does it work? Is it the hooter it is the more energy it produce? Please help.

Thank you

Answer 1

Do you mean HOTTER??  HOOTERS have nothing to do with solar panels . . . .  :-)

Heat has nothing to do with it.  It is the amount of light (sunlight), not the heat.  Solar panels work just as well in the cold.  Even in space, like on the Space Station, where temperatures can be as low as 300 degrees F below zero.

Very simply put, the solar panels are made of a special chemical that responds to photons of light.  When a light photon hits the chemical, it knocks an electron off an atom.  When this happens to millions and million of atoms, this causes electron flow -- which is, of course, electricity.

Just like a battery, the solar panels must be hooked "in series" with what ever you are wanting to power.  So the electrons flow right around the circut and back into the solar cell, where they go back into place and wait for the next photon of light.

VERY SIMPLE, first-grade explanation of a photo-chemical process that is far too difficult to explain othewise.

There are also solar water heating panels that some people use on their homes.  In this case the sunlight is focused onto a tube containing a "volatile" liquid, like an alcohol.  The focused light heats up the tube (like a magnifying glass), and the heat goes into the alcohol.

These tubes flow down to the water heater in the garage, where the heat is transferred to the water.  The cooled alcohol is pumped back to the roof to cycle again.

While this directly uses heat energy, it comes from the focused light, so these will still work on a cold day, so long as the alcohol doesn't freeze.