You might be wondering how solar power system works.
Solar Energy works by converting sun power into electricity. The electricity is stored in batteries and used anytime you want.
The electricity so produced can be used in home or can be transported to grid when not used. The electricity needs to be converted to AC (Alternating Current) before using with the help a solar inverter.
Well, this is very simple working principle of solar energy.
You will get to know details about solar energy in the below article with step by step process using diagrams.
H2 – how solar power system works step by step process
Our sun is a natural nuclear reactor which produces tiny particles of energy called photons. These photons travel 93 million miles in 8.3 seconds to reach our planet.
“Well this is hell lot of distance.”
When these photons hit solar cell, it knocks out electrons from solar cell which is made up of semiconductor. When a metal or wires is attached to positive and negative side of these semiconductors, it produces electricity.
“Every hour sun produces enough cover earth’s one year energy needs.” This tells us the clear potential of sun energy.
H3 – What is Solar Cell
You might think – “What the hell is solar cell?”
Without being too technical, let’s see the answer.
Solar cells are electronic device which converts sunlight into electricity.
The production of electricity has 2 parts: –
1. Materials – The materials which could absorb sunlight and could excite the electron. The material is made up of silicon.
2. Circuit – The external path in which electron could flow. They flow into the external circuit and return to solar cell.
“Solar cells are also called as Photovoltaic cell.”
Let me tell you, single solar cell is not sufficient to produce power to light bulb or anything else. Solar cells are often combined to form what we called as “Solar Panel”.

H3 – How solar power generation works
The steps involved in solar light generations are as below: –
1. When sunlight (photons) falls on solar cell, a loose electron is excited from its initial stage.
2. The excited electron follows the electric path to the meet the positive side on semiconductor.
3. In this process, the electrical current is produced.
4.
H3 – How solar power works at night
Till now, you have got the clear idea that solar power works from absorbing the sunlight from the sun and converting it into electricity.
But how the hell did solar power work at night?
Frankly, solar light doesn’t work in night. But there are other ways out.
Solar power provides energy in 2 ways:-
1. By directly providing us electricity.
2. By storing the electricity in batteries and using in when needed.
In night time, there are no photons to excite the electron which results produce electricity.
To bridge the gap of electricity, batteries are often used. When there is enough sun light, solar panels produces electricity which is stored in batteries. In this way, batteries will be charged.
Whenever you need energy, inverters convert DC current (stored in batteries) into AC current. In this way, you get the power required.
H3 – Advantages and Disadvantages of Solar Power
Here are the lists of advantages of using sun energy.
1. Pollution free – Technically speaking, sun power is almost pollution free. It doesn’t emit green house gases after installation.
2. Low Maintenance – It doesn’t require much maintenance.
3. Good ROI – When you look at the long term usage of sun energy, it costs very less.
4. Safer Alternative – Sun power is way much safer then electricity.
5. Save On Tax – Government these days are promoting green energy. So, you will get lots of rebate on taxes.
6. Lot of Improvement – Sun energy is ever changing field. There are lots of improvements still going on in this field. So that makes sense to use this power.
7. Less Stress On Environment – The energy puts very less stress on our environment. It doesn’t release any gases that harm our environment.
8. Remote Location – With traditional electricity reaching to rural remote location is a tough work. But this is not the case with sun energy. We can install small and medium size plant in rural areas with ease.
9. Abundant energy – Sun produces enough energy in 2 hours of time to cover earth’s entire year’s energy need. This means if we could trap all the sun energy for just 2 hour, we will no longer have to use fuel.
10. Improved Public Health – Many studies have suggested that using of sun energy is one of the cleanest sources of energy. The study also shows that over $1 Trillion (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/energy/reference/fossil-fuels/) is spent each year to recover from these health issues.
As every coin has 2 sides, so this is the case with solar energy.
Some disadvantages of this energy are as below.
1. Initial Cost Is High – using of solar energy required modern technologies and lots of ideal space. This makes setting up of sun energy high.
2. Weather Effects Energy Supply – Solar energy depends on sun for energy production. A bad cloudy weather can severely effect power production.
3. Low Energy Production – It is very difficult to produce ideal power source. Lots of power is lost in production and transportation.
4. Can’t install everywhere – Installation solar energy is not suitable in colder weather. We could have little to no energy in colder places like – Siberia, Russia, etc.
5. Still Pollutes Environment – Sun energy is very much eco-friendly. But it pollutes environment. The silicon and other equipment used in cell come from mining.
H3 – Final Thoughts
Solar power system works by using free and renewable source of energy, sun. This is an evolving field and many technological changes are going on. Though it has some minor disadvantages but is very useful source of energy.
It is often considered as one of the cleanest source of energy. With technological advancement, it has the potential to replace traditional source of energy, fossil fuel.
So, this makes sense of invest in this energy.
H3 – Your Turn Now
Do let me know in the comments below about your thought on solar energy.