What is a Solar Panel and How Does it Work?
A solar panel is essentially a battery charger that transforms sunlight into an electrical DC charge. Creating a Charge: • Light will hit the solar cells, activating the electrons on its surface. • The electrons then become agitated and begin to jump from one atom to the next, creating an electrical chain reaction in the form of a DC charge. • The energy created by the solar panel is then stored in batteries to be used at a later time. Marine Solar Systems Most marine solar systems consist of three major components (see illustration): • Solar panels produce the charge. • Charge controller or regulator regulates the charge going into the battery and prevents overcharging. • Batteries store the energy created by the solar panels. Then, from the batteries, the energy is used to run 12vDC appliances (lights, pumps, fans, etc.) as well as 120vAC appliances when an inverter is utilized (TV, radio, satellite dish, and microwave). An inverter is a separate unit that transforms the 12vDC curren
