Solar Energy Cheat Sheet

As solar energy becomes more and more cost-competitive with oil as an energy source, we at Environmental Research Advocates are very excited to see the incredible strides being made by solar scientists and engineers.  

For those of you who are less-familiar with solar panels and how they function, or if you just want to brush-up on the facts, here is ERA’s Solar Panel Cheat Sheet. 

How a solar panel works:

Sunlight hits a solar panel, and a semi-conductor (most commonly made of silicon or cadmium telluride) absorbs the photons. Electrons in the semiconductor are knocked free of their atoms, which creates an electrical current that is fed into the grid to power our homes.

Commercial solar panels:

Today, commercial panels generally operate between 12-20% efficiency, which means that less than 1/5 of the sunlight’s photons are converted into electricity.

Solar Research and Design

The two main goals of solar research are to (1) increase the electrical yield and (2) lower the costs of solar electricity.

Increasing the electrical yield is possible in a few ways:

      1.  Adding more solar cells to the panel.

      2.  Improving the efficiency of electricity transfer from panel to grid.

      3.  Broadening the spectrum of light frequencies that the cells are able to absorb and convert into electricity.

Lowering costs involves:

      1.  Reducing the hard and soft costs of solar installation.

      2.  Increasing the electrical yield of solar panels (lowering the price of electricity).

      3.  Creating more durable solar panels that require less maintenance and repair.

Two important facts to note about “Efficiency:

Solar companies and researchers will throw around many numbers to describe their solar products, namely concerning the panel’s efficiency. When someone claims that a particular solar product or breakthrough is more efficient than another, keep this in mind:

      1.  Efficiency of a single solar cell is usually greater than the aggregate efficiency of the entire panel.

      2.  Performance in a controlled lab will usually yield better results than in commercial application.

So when it comes to solar efficiency claims, always make sure to note the conditions of the testing and take them with a grain of salt.

RSS Industry News

RSS Expert Insights

  • Wildlife Returns to Site of Devastating Southern California Wildfire
    Four months after the Eaton Fire tore through Altadena, California, wildlife is making a comeback. Read more on E360 →
  • U.S. Aid Cuts Are Hitting Global Conservation Projects Hard
    The Trump Administration’s dismantling of USAID has done more than cut off life-saving humanitarian assistance. It has also eliminated funding for environmental protection and conservation work in dozens of countries, with many programs now being forced to shut down.Read more on E360 →
  • Heat and Fire Making Pollution Worse Across Much of the U.S.
    By several measures, air pollution is getting worse in the U.S., a trend due in large part to more severe heat and wildfires, according to a new report.Read more on E360 →
  • How a Former Herder Protected Mongolia's Vast Grasslands
    Batmunkh Luvsandash has fought to protect more than a million acres of steppe lands in his native Mongolia. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, he explains how, by drawing on the knowledge of local herders, he was able to take on the powerful mining industry and win.Read more on E360 →
  • In a First, Chimps Found Sharing Fermented Fruit
    For the first time, wild chimpanzees have been caught on film sharing fermented fruit. The footage comes from Cantanhez National Park in the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau, where camera traps recorded chimps eating fermented breadfruit together on 10 separate occasions. Read more on E360 →