Solar Explained
"Photo" means light and "voltaic" means electricity. Photovoltaic cells are often referred to simply as PV.
Solar Energy and Photovoltaic Cells
Energy created by the sun is called solar energy. This energy can be captured in two basic ways:
- Solar thermal energy uses the sun’s heat to make hot water or heat a home, and
- Solar electric energy converts sunlight into electricity.
The AllSun Tracker is a solar electric system that converts the light of the sun into electricity. This process happens in the solar panels consisting of photovoltaic cells. “Photo” means light and “voltaic” means electricity. Photovoltaic cells are also referred to as PV.
What is a solar panel or solar array?
Photovoltaic or PV cells may seem technically sophisticated, but they are made from something most people are familiar with – silicon or beach sand. Silicon is one of the most abundant elements in the earth’s crust, second only to oxygen. To make a PV cell, pure grade silicon is heated to very high temperatures and made into thin wafers. To make a solar power panel, silicon wafers are spread out with a network of thin wires laid on top and covered with a piece of flat glass. When you connect multiple solar panels together it is called a solar array.