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6.1.3 Photovoltaic Electricity


Solar panels are attached to an aluminium mounting system. Photovoltaic (PV) cells are made up of at least 2 semiconductor layers - a positive charge, and a negative charge. As a PV cell is exposed to sunlight, photons are reflected, pass right through, or absorbed by the solar cell. When enough photons are absorbed by the negative layer of the photovoltaic cell, electrons are freed from the negative semiconductor material. These freed electrons migrate to the positive layer creating a voltage differential. When the two layers are connected to an external load, the electrons flow through the circuit creating electricity. The power generated - Direct Current (DC) is converted to Alternate Current (AC) with the use of inverters.