Information Guide

Types of Solar Panels

If you are interested in how solar panels work you can think of it as a three step process. First solar light hits the solar panels, and that solar energy from the sun is absorbed by semi-conducting elements that make up the solar cells, silicon for example. Second something called electrical potential difference results as solar light hits the solar cell surface, where electrons in atoms are excited, which means that the electrons go further off from the nucleus of the atom. A current starts to flow through the material to remove this potential difference and this is the electricity that is captured. Third the lineup of solar cells convert the solar energy into a usable quantity of direct current electricity to name a few, Silicon Solar offers wholesale, off grid, grid-tie, OEM, Aluminum framed and solar panels with different wattages.

Solar PV Panels

Solar PV Panels are devices that converts solar energy from the sun into electricity. Solar panels are similar to and bigger than their smaller relatives (solar modules, flexible panels and solar cells), but solar panels are made up of smaller interconnected units called photovoltaic solar modules. Solar panels come in many different types and variations. When moving solar panels are easy to disassemble. Solar panels have many perks, are very convenient to have, and today solar panels are more powerful than ever before.

There are two different types of solar panels:

• Mono-crystalline - Mono-crystalline solar panels which are taken from single slabs of silicon which also gives it a higher purity level than poly-crystalline solar panels. Their color is usually a consistent dark blue color. Their efficiency rate is generally higher than poly-crystalline solar panels.
• Poly-crystalline - Poly-crystalline solar panels can usually be distinguished from mono-crystalline solar panels from their color. Poly-crystalline will have a lighter blue and inconsistent color overall because it is cut from different silicon crystals. Therefore they generally will have a lower purity and efficiency level than mono-crystalline solar panels.

Flexible Solar Panels

Flexible solar panels are easy to carry around as you can roll up the flexible solar panel and you can keep the flexible solar panel in your bag or take the flexible solar panel along with you on the road. Flexible solar panels are excellent for camping and outdoor needs to heat up water or charge electronics. Flexible solar panels are fantastically affordable, low-foot print, green and convenient. Silicon Solar has a variety of flexible solar panels to meet all sorts of application needs

• Thin Film Flexible Solar Panels - Thin Film Flexible Solar Panels are made with a thin film makeup. Where a thin film of semi-conductive material is put over a thin piece of metal or plastic, followed with a transparent weatherproof material to cover it. They generally have lower efficiency levels to absorb light and convert it into energy than mono-crystalline and poly-crystalline solar panels because of their thin build-up.

Solar Modules

Solar modules are for the most part smaller than solar panels. Solar modules are used to power accessories like lamps, chargers and gadgets and small devices. Solar modules are made of smaller solar cells or photovoltaic cells.

Solar modules usually have a sheet of glass on the face that is exposed to the sun to protect the solar module from the elements such as wind, rain, snow and dust. The solar cells in a solar module are usually connected in a series of solar cells. Solar cells that are connected alongside other solar cells will usually produce a greater current but there are also some significant consequences that come with these connections. For example the shadow effect, when one set of solar cells are receiving less solar light, they become weaker than their well-illuminated solar cell counter-parts, which can cause critical power loss and harm the less-illuminated solar cells.

Solar Cells

Solar Cells are the most basic solar units that can be seen as the building blocks of solar panels. Solar cells are a great choice if you are a do-it-yourself kind of person that wants to have your own soldering experience. Silicon Solar offers a plethora of scrap solar cell pieces to provide for soldering needs. You can choose from either mono-crystalline or poly-crystalline solar cells, while their purity percentages can not be guaranteed. We highly recommend that you start experimenting solar cells to familiarize with solar devices before making a bigger investment on a solar product. There are two types of solar cells that Silicon Solar provides:

• Scrap Solar Cells - Solar cells that are broken up into smaller pieces, there whole purpose is to to experiment to get a better feel of using solar products.
• Commercial Solar Cells - After using experimenting with scrap solar cells, use these to build your PV module. Commercial solar cells feature ultra high efficiency, durability and is laser-cut for precision and quality control and performance

How Does A Solar Panel Work?

Here is how a solar panel works:

• Photovoltaic refers to the Scientific process by which solar energy is converted into electricity. There are a number of silicon cells within each photovoltaic panel. These react with photons, or units of light, from sun to produce direct current (DC) or electricity.
• DC electricity then travels to an inverter which converts this energy to electricity known as alternating current or AC that can be used in your home or office.
• AC electricity then travels to the distribution network in your home power up your home or office appliances, such as TV, lights, fridges, etc.

Usually a solar panel is a panel combine with small solar cells which wired together and connected to the output cable in the back of a solar panel.