How Are Solar Panels Made

Most solar panels are made of silicon.

How are solar panels made. Those smaller squares are silicon solar cells and they link together in a series to form a circuit. Crystalline silicon c si solar panels are the most common. The more interconnected cells in a series the more electricity produced by the system. How are solar panels made.

The first step in making a solar panel is to mine and purify silicon. The frames mostly made from aluminum provide the rigidness required to keep with the harsh environment. Solar panels consist of silicon cells connected in an array mounted on a rigid metal frame. The silicon in solar panels is manufactured through a reduction process in which the silica is heated with a carbon material and the oxygen is removed leaving behind purer metallurgical grade silicon.

From there the grade must be further purified into polysilicon the solar grade purity of which is 99 999 percent. In fact it s the second most abundant element right behind oxygen on the planet. These are made out of the element silicon a hard and brittle crystalline solid that is the second most abundant element in the earth s crust after. Solar panels contain cells of semiconductive material usually silicon usually encased in a metallic frame and tempered glass.

A pv module is an assembly of photo voltaic cells mounted in a framework for installation. Solar pv modules top and two solar hot water panels bottom mounted on rooftops the term solar panel is used colloquially for a photo voltaic pv module. First silicon panels are generally made out of a semiconductor grade polysilicon. Now that we ve talked about the different ways panels can create electricity and the different kinds of panel materials let s look at how solar panels are made.

The silicon is collected usually in the form of solid rocks. Solar cells are made out of silicon wafers. Purification is usually done with an electric furnace. Hundreds of these rocks are being melted.

They re the ones that look like blue or black rectangular grids of smaller squares. When light passes through these solar cells they set the electron present in them to move this effect is known as a photovoltaic effect. How are solar panels produced. This flow travels in a circuit of wires that connect groups of solar panels called arrays.

Thankfully silicon is a highly abundant resource.