The name Solar panel came from the sun when astronomer started calling the light of the sun as “Sol”. Many others call them photovoltaic meaning “light electricity”. Solar panels are engaged in converting light energy (sunlight) into electrical energy. They are an assembly of solar cells or photovoltaic cells.
There is another controversy regarding the name of solar panels. Panels are actually modules which are made from solar cells. Therefore it is actually the solar cell, which is the main component engaged in the overall process of collecting and converting sunlight into useable form of energy for all commercial and domestic purposes. A large grid may contains contain many solar panels inside it. Solar cells in a single panel contains energy which remains for a very short period of time therefore when desired to get it on a larger scale, many solar panels are attached together. The number of solar cells attached depends upon the electricity needs. When sunlight falls on solar cells, they immediately start functioning; the greater the sunlight the greater would be the electricity generation.
The use of solar panels for domestic consumption especially for those living in remote areas is encouraging. People at the far side of urban population can make use of sunlight to make electricity thus making their lives easier. Thus even if you make your own solar panels, certain precautionary measures should be taken to avoid any damage. For installation, the size of the place (mostly roof) must be considered accurately. Besides while making solar panels, it must be made with suitable material to make it resistible to bad environmental conditions. For effective working of solar panels, they must be placed on the roof, where they could grab direct sunlight and function well. Therefore its proper placement is essential to make sure those buildings and homes don’t block its sun exposure.
An interesting observation is made regarding the shape of the solar panels. One designed for use in spacecraft is of wings shape. The wings help to grab more light to generate more electricity for the flight of spacecrafts. When they move, they normally face the sun thus electricity is constantly generated in their solar panels which results in smooth flight. There are three types of solar panels one can found in the market. Mono- crystalline panels, as the name indicates they are single celled solar system usually smaller than polycrystalline panels. Second form is poly-crystalline, they are made up of many cells grouped together to make an efficiency of a panel much better than the mono form. Finally the amorphous, they are huge in size but require more space than the other two. The efficiency of the solar panels is determined by the amount of energy captured by its solar cell on sunny days.