Photovoltaic Cells – How Do Photovoltaic Solar Panels Work?
By now you would have heard about photovoltaic solar panels. This is the element in a solar panel which generates electricity. This is based on a particular phenomenon whereby electrons are agitated by the suns rays. The phenomenon is known as the photovoltaic effect. In this phenomenon some materials tend to produce certain amount of electric currents when they get exposed to some light. The source used for this purpose is usually sunlight. The process was developed and discovered by a scientist Edmund Becquerel. This was in the year 1839. The photovoltaic solar panels include a series of PN junctions that are semiconductors by nature. These junctions have two parts. One part is deficient in electrons and the other part is rich in electrons. There is a photovoltaic cell present in your DIY solar panel. This cell is designed in such a way that it creates an electric field. The electric field is created across the present junction that is between the two parts of the crystal. At this po
