How We Arrived At The Latest Photovoltaic Systems
March 24, 2011 Posted by alex
The photovoltaic system is the set up which converts sun light into electricity. There are several components to these systems.
The simplest system to explain is a stand alone system, starting with a single solar panel. This is a simpler system as it does not involve the electricity grid. It is also a very versatile system as it can run anything from a watch or calculator right up to a space craft!
The system starts with the photovoltaic panel. This is placed to get the correct or maximum light. The energy from the activity of the electrons within the cell is then stored in a battery. This is the basics of the system.
Depending on the end usage for the power an inverter may be necessary. The majority of items we use or ‘plug in’ are run with AC (alternating current) power. The power collected through the PV cell is DC (direct current) power, so an inverter is used to change this.
The photovoltaic system was originally designed from a research perspective and was then adapted and developed to be used as a replacement energy source for fossil fuels.
The thought process behind the photovoltaic system was originally with large industry in mind. There was one major issue. Global industry did not turn to solar energy as a replacement of fossil fuels, they opted for nuclear. This was primarily due to cost and convenience.
The result of the failure of global industry to adopt the photovoltaic system meant that more research was needed into the actual photovoltaic cells and their capacity to economically produce energy.
To make the whole PV system more attractive certain changes had to be made. Firstly the photovoltaic cells had to be cheaper. Then they had to be put in a more versatile format than the current glass covered solar panels. The next issue was mass installation and finding at what point solar energy was going to be sufficiently attractive for industry to make a second change.
During this time more and more nuclear power stations were being built and nuclear power was looking like the most financially viable way to supplement and ultimately replace fossil fuels.
Solar power was not going to vanish and there were many reasons why ultimately this power system was better than nuclear. The first and most obvious is that nuclear power may be an alternative power source, but it is not a renewable power source. The difference being that solar power is naturally replenished and nuclear power is not!
So even though the photovoltaic systems were not developing as fast as people wanted it became apparent that there was an obvious and immediate use for solar power. By attracting more users to solar power it meant that there was funding for more research and that there was more opportunity to create better and stronger photovoltaic systems which in the long run would be able to compete in the global market with other energy sources.
Hence the photovoltaic systems were utilised increasingly in smaller gadgets and was also adopted as second energy source for homes and other small buildings. The ability to link to a traditional electrical grid meant that there was the added attraction that photovoltaic systems could also be used to generate extra income by ‘selling’ unused solar power back to the electricity company.
Links to more great solar information pages: