Tag Archives: PV Cells

26Aug/14
Working Block DIagram of Solar Cell Used in Solar Panels

How Solar Panels Work

Solar Panels are constructed from solar cells , when energy in form of Sun Light ( Photons ) falls on the surface of solar cells electricity is generated by Photovoltaic Effect. The majority of modules use wafer-based crystalline silicon cells or thin film cells based on cadmium telluride or silicon. The electricity thus generated is in DC and it is used to charge the batteries , the power from these charged batteries is taken out and can be fed into the DC power driven appliances based on the rated voltage, if the appliances run on Alternating Current ( AC ) Inverters Solar are used along with batteries to convert the DC into AC. The inverters of rated capacity are used to serve the loads.
MPPT charge controller and Hybrid Inverters are used to maintain the efficiency of Solar Panel Systems.

A complete system consists of A Solar Panel ( Array ) , Inverter , Batteries , Mounting Structure and Wires.

Working Block DIagram of Solar Cell Used in Solar Panels

For complete understanding of How Solar Panels Work you can refer to this working block Diagram of Solar Cell.

In this block diagram you can see a Glass Lens Place that is mounted on the top of solar cell and below that glass layer there are three more layers:

  • Layer with N-Type Silicon
  • The Depletion Layer
  • Layer with P-Type Silicon

The N-Type Silicon Layer consists of Negatively Charged Electrons. The P-Type Silicon Layer Consists of Positively Charged Holes.

The Depletion layer of this PN Structure stops Electrons. Electrons must jump from valence band to conduction band for current flow. They need energy to cross this depletion layer and that energy is supplied by the Power in Sun Lights. When sun light fall on the surface of this Solar Photo-Voltaic Cell the electron flow occurs and hence we get the necessary electricity in DC ( Direct Current Form ). The voltage produced by these cells is of magnitude .58 Volts Approximately.

Metallic Strips are mounted on the structure to complete the circuit and get electrical output.

You can connect these cells in arrays to form a bigger structure and get Voltage and Current as per power requirement. A Solar Panel is an array of similar cells explained above.

Many Solar Panels can be connected in Series or Parallel or a Combination of Series and Parallel to get Required Electrical Power.

You can Refer to this block diagram to understand how a Solar Power Plant works :

Solar Power Plant Block Diagram

Read This Article For Working of Solar Power Plant for Residential Use