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Introduction

We've used the Sun for drying clothes and food for thousands of years, but only recently have we been able to use it for generating Power.

The Sun is 150 million kilometres away, and amazingly powerful.

Just the tiny fraction of the Sun's Energy that hits the Earth (around a hundredth of a millionth of a percent) is enough to meet all our power needs many times over.

In fact, every minute, enough energy arrives at the Earth to meet our demands for a whole year - if only we could harness it properly.

Currently in the UK there are grants available to help you install Solar power in your home.

How Solar Power Works

There are three ways to convert solar energy into Electricity.

1. Solar Cells

The "photovoltaic effect" is the basic physical process through which a PV cell converts sunlight into electricity. Sunlight is composed of photons, or particles of solar energy. These photons contain various amounts of energy corresponding to the different wavelengths of the solar spectrum. When photons strike a PV cell, they may be reflected or absorbed, or they may pass right through. Only the absorbed photons generate electricity. When this happens, the energy of the photon is transferred to an electron in an atom of the cell (which is actually a semiconductor). With its newfound energy, the electron is able to escape from its normal position associated with that atom to become part of the current in an electrical circuit. By leaving this position, the electron causes a "hole" to form. Special electrical properties of the PV cell