Solar panels, and more particularly Photovoltaic Panels in Hawaii, have been steadily increasing in popularity in recent decades. More homes and businesses on the Islands are taking advantage of state and federal tax breaks to install this affordable technology every year. Most property owners, though, have no idea how photovoltaic panels actually work.
Comprised of numerous smaller photovoltaic cells, solar panels produce electricity by allowing photons, which are really just light particles, to knock electrons off of atoms via the establishment of an electric field. An electric field can be created by separating opposite charges. In the case of photovoltaic cells, this is accomplished using silicon. A small cell with two opposite poles is created by infusing the silicon layer on one side with phosphorous, and the other layer with boron. Phosphorous creates a negative charge by adding extra electrons to the silicon layer. Boron does the opposite, removing electrons to create a positive charge.
The end result is the creation of what’s known as an electric field between the two layers of silicon in each cell. When photons from sunlight enter this field, they knock electrons free. These extra electrons are pushed out of the electric field and collected by conductive metal plates. These plates, located on the sides of the panels, transfer the electrons to metal wires. Once this step has been completed, the electrons created by Photovoltaic Panels in Hawaii can be moved around via wires in the same way that conventionally supplied electricity is.
Households and businesses that make use of this technology almost always find that installing photovoltaic cells substantially reduces their electric bills each month. Some even find that they are selling power back to the grid on particularly sunny days. Since solar panels require a certain amount of sunlight to produce adequate power, this arrangement is perfect for most property owners. It allows them to make up for particularly cloudy or overcast days on exceptionally sunny ones by earning credits toward future use of conventional electricity.
Interested in learning more, or ready to find out how to take advantage of this amazing technology? Click here for more information about one local company that can help. You can also follow them on Twitter.
