How does solar power help

Why is solar energy important?

Solar energy can help to reduce the cost of electricity, contribute to a resilient electrical grid, create jobs and spur economic growth, generate back-up power for nighttime and outages when paired with storage, and operate at similar efficiency on both small and large scales. Solar energy systems come in all shapes and sizes.

How does solar power work?

Solar power works by converting sunlight into electricity through the photovoltaic (PV) effect. The PV effect is when photons from the sun’s rays knock electrons from their atomic orbit and channel them into an electrical current. Using PV solar panels, sunlight can be used to power everything from calculators to homes to space stations.

How do solar panels help the environment?

While solar panels are most often associated with producing very low-emission electricity, but by replacing fossil fuels they also benefit the environment in terms of land use, water use, noise pollution, and materials extraction (aka mining).

What are the benefits of solar panels?

The productivity of your solar panels: If you live in a sunny area and your solar panels are very efficient, your system will generate more electricity and have a shorter EPBT. The solar panel manufacturing process: Some solar panels require more energy for production than others.

Why should you switch to solar energy?

Solar energy is sustainable, renewable, and plentiful. As the cost of using solar to produce electricity goes down each year, many Americans are increasingly switching to solar. Now, there are over a million solar installations across the country. Below are additional benefits of switching to solar electricity.

How do solar panels convert solar energy into electricity?

Solar panels on your roof convert solar energy into usable electricity via the photovoltaic effect. The photovoltaic effect is a property of materials in solar cells called semiconductors that enable them to generate an electric current when exposed to sunlight.