Solar Panels: What They Are, How They Work, and Their Benefits
What is a solar panel? Learn how photovoltaic and concentrated solar systems turn sunlight into electricity, plus the environmental and cost benefits.
You may already be familiar with the term PLTS. PLTS, short for pembangkit listrik tenaga surya (solar power plant), is now being used by more and more people. Using solar panels is one way to cut electricity consumption from non-renewable fuels. So how do solar panels work? Read on for the details.
What Is a Solar Panel?
Before getting into how a solar power plant works, it helps to get to know the solar panel itself by first learning its definition. A solar panel is a system that generates electricity using sunlight as fuel, or in other words, uses the sun's energy to produce electrical energy.
In practice, this system can generate electricity in two ways: directly, using photovoltaics, and indirectly, using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaics convert light energy into electricity. Concentrated solar power, meanwhile, works with a system of lenses and a tracking system.
How a Solar Power Plant (PLTS) Works
As mentioned in the definition of a solar panel, this system can produce electrical energy in two ways, directly and indirectly. To explain further, photovoltaics, also called solar cells, are devices that convert energy from light into electrical energy through the photoelectric effect.
A photovoltaic solar panel works by using a voltage difference created by the photoelectric effect to generate electricity. This solar power plant consists of three layers: a P layer panel on top, a barrier layer in the middle, and an N layer panel at the very bottom. The photoelectric effect happens when sunlight knocks electrons loose in the P layer.
These electrons then flow toward the N layer at the bottom. This movement of charge then becomes an electric current. A concentrated solar power system, meanwhile, uses lenses and a tracking system to focus the sun's energy onto a single point. The concentrated heat is then used as a heat source.
The heat produced is useful for generating electricity. In practice, Fresnel reflector lens systems, parabolic mirrors, and solar towers are the most widely used technologies. The heated working fluid can then be used to drive a generator or serve as a heat storage medium.
Benefits of Solar Panels
The benefits of solar panels can be seen from several angles, from the environmental and the economic to reach and electricity demand. Environmentally, a solar panel is an eco-friendly system, and economically it can help cut spending, because the fuel energy is free.
After learning more about solar panels, you will surely weigh whether you want to use this kind of power generation system or not. If you are interested, SUN Energy, as a solar panel provider, can help determine the right solar panel capacity for your home.
