Current PV Technology
Since the earliest PV cell created at Bell Labs, the technology
has come a long way. Read this section to get a look at what types of
PV technology are available today.
History of PV
Since its recognized beginning at Bell Labs over 50 years ago, each
year has brought a number of important discoveries to this technology.
Explore this section to review the history of this important technology.
How PV Cells Work
Though they have "no moving parts" PV cells are very complex devices.
Here we look at how light from the sun it used to generate electricity.
Cells, Modules, & Array
At the heart of any PV system is the PV cell. From there,
cells are connected together into modules and those modules are connected into arrays.
This section explores how the various components described are connected together.
How a PV System Works
In order to power large systems using PV like buildings, PV
panels are connected to other electricity management and storage devices such as
batteries. We'll explore what the roles of these components are.
Types of PV Systems
There are a variety of ways that PV systems can be designed. This
section explores some of the more common configurations of PV systems.
In a similar way that computer chips are made, the PV cells are built in very carefully constructed machines and factories. We'll look at what
it takes to make these amazing devices.
Thin Film PV
The hope of very cheap yet useful PV cells made with thin-
Take a look at this section to learn more.
Pros and Cons of PV
PV holds the promise of being the solution to many of our energy
needs but it's not suited to all tasks. We'll explore some of the advantages and
disadvantages of PV.
Glossary
There's always new words and terminology that is used to describe new technologies;
solar electricity is no exception. Lookup this section to better understand some
of the terms used by this primer.
Not sure of what the terminology means? Visit the
solar glossary by clicking here.
