Friday, January 22, 2010

Factors You Might Contemplate When You Buy Solar Panels Online


By Mike Brown

Solar panels have become a desirable additional to any household these days, they have become efficient enough to be able to supply the average family with enough hot water during the day or assist in reducing heating bills and as such many people would like some information on how to buy solar panels online. Since they were first created much has changed in terms of their ability to convert the energy from the Sun into usable energy, thanks to modern engineering techniques and innovations in the field of Science.

The main part of the solar panel is the photovoltaic cell, numbers of these are linked together to create a large system of cells which together are able to provide energy needs. This type of system is known as a photovoltaic array. A solar panel will involve an array of this type, batteries, appropriate wiring and an inverter.

In order to achieve the desired levels of voltage and current the cells are connected in either series or parallel. A series circuit allows the voltages induced from each cell to be summed together produces a large voltage. Within the parallel circuit the current is increased as there is more space for more electrons to get through which is what current is (current: the number of electrons which pass through a point at one time). The photovoltaic cells currently in use today are usually made from thin crystalline silicon cells or by creating a thin film cell from cadmium telluride or silicon.

Factors that can damage the individual cells can be from moisture as this can corrode the metal contacts and also the conducting oxide layer within the thin film cells, to combat this you should ensure the casing supplied with the cells is successfully sealed to ensure no moisture can enter.

The next is that the panel is sealed to ensure moisture cannot penetrate, as moisture can corrode the connections between metal contacts and also in the conductive oxide layer in thin film cells.

Presently photovoltaic cells operate at efficiencies between about 5% and 18%; although cells have been designed with efficiencies of up to 43% they are not suitable for commercial production. From this it is reasonable to assume that panels made with different cells will produce different voltages and currents under similar conditions. As the cost associated with each cell differs, it would be helpful to determine how much power you require the panel to generate. Therefore you may not have to buy the most expensive panel available as you may not use all of the energy produced.

Another factor which affects the efficiency of the cell is heating. The warmer the cell gets the less efficient it becomes. Therefore it is a good idea to search for a panel that provides good cooling technique and ventilation.

In order to reduce costs some manufacturers have started using fewer cells but combining them with a variety of lenses and mirrors assisting in focusing the light onto the fewer cells. The cells that have been used are of higher efficiency and whilst they will cost more individually the total saving from using less is more.

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