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Bruce Bernhart RV Webpages

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RV Solar Panels

Original articles plus the "best of the web" on beginning and advanced RV care and maintenance topics by RV writer and enthusiast Bruce Bernhart


New! Destination Reviews:

1,000 Islands • Dakotas

Updated January 4, 2021

In Minnesota, Bruce Bernhart has been an RV enthusiast since the 1980's

The Bruce Bernhart "Camping Bear"

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How Solar Panels Work (explainthatstuff.com)

Whether on a solar-powered calculator or an international space station, solar panels generate electricity using the same principles of electronics as chemical batteries or standard electrical outlets. With solar panels, it's all about the free flow of electrons through a circuit.

To understand how solar panels generate electrical power, it might help to take a quick trip back to high school chemistry class.   The basic element of solar panels is the same element that helped create the computer evolution -- pure silicon. When silicon is stripped of all impurities, it makes a ideal neutral platform for the transmission of electrons. Silicon also has some atomic-level properties which make it even more attractive for the creation of solarpanels.

Silicon atoms have room for eight electrons in their outer bands, but only carry four in their natural state. This means there is room for four more electrons. If one silicon atom contacts another silicon atom, each receives the other atom's four electrons. This creates a strong bond but there is no positive or negative charge because the eight electrons satisfy the atoms' needs. Silicon atoms can combine for years to result in a large piece of pure silicon. This material is used to form the plates of solar panels.

Here's where science enters the picture. Two plates of pure silicon would not generate electricity in solar panels, because they have no positive or negative charge.  Solar panels are created by combining silicon with other elements that do have positive or negative charges.

Phosphorus, for example, has five electrons to offer to other atoms. If silicon and phosphorus are combined chemically, the result is a stable eight electrons with an additional free electron along for the ride. It can\'t leave, because it is bonded to the other phosphorus atoms, but it isn\'t needed by the silicon. Therefore, this new silicon/phosphorus plate is considered to be negatively charged.

In order for electricity to flow, a positive charge must also be created. This is achieved in solar panels by combining silicon with an element such as boron, which only has three electrons to offer. A silicon/boron plate still has one spot left for another electron. This means the plate has a positive charge. The two plates are sandwiched together in solarpanels, with conductive wires running between them.

With the two plates in place, it's now time to bring in the 'solar' aspect of solar panels. Natural sunlight sends out many different particles of energy, but the one we're most interested in is called a photon. A photon essentially acts like a moving hammer. When the negative plates of solar cells are pointed at a proper angle to the sun, photons bombard the silicon/phosphorus atoms. 

Eventually, the 9th electron, which wants to be free anyway, is knocked off the outer ring. This electron doesn't remain free for long, since the positive silicon/boron plate draws it into the open spot on its own outer band. As the sun's photons break off more electrons, electricity is generated. The electricity generated by one solar cell is not very impressive, but when all of the conductive wires draw the free electrons away from the plates, there is enough electricity to power low amperage motors or other electronics. Whatever electrons are not used or lost to the air are returned to the negative plate and the entire process begins again.

One of the main problems with using solar panels is the small amount of electricity they generate compared to their size. A calculator might only require a single solar cell, but a solar-powered car would require several thousand. If the angle of the solar panels is changed even slightly, the efficiency can drop 50 percent. 

Some power from solar panels can be stored in chemical batteries, but there usually isn't much excess power in the first place. The same sunlight that provides photons also provides more destructive ultraviolet and infrared waves, which eventually cause the panels to degrade physically. The panels must also be exposed to destructive weather elements, which can also seriously affect efficiency.


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Check out the other Bruce Bernhart RV Websites and Blogs:

Solar power for your RV

The care and feeding of your RV battery

The sport of "geocaching" and RV refrigeration basics

The basics of RV power inversion

RV travel tips and tire care

Advanced discussion on power inversion

Tips on buying a house battery and cold weather maintenance

RV insurance basics

Buying the right generator for your RV and portable power

RV television reception options

Care and maintenance of the RV air conditioner

Top RV destinations

RV long-term supplies and weight considerations

RV insurance- Road protection and bodily injury coverage

RV battery types and winter charging considerations

Deep cycle battery basics

Bruce Bernhart RV Websites

Also, be sure to check out Bruce Bernhart Mandolin Websites:

Bruce Bernhart mandolin rock tabs

Bruce Bernhart mandolin lessons- common scales

Bruce Bernhart on buying and setting up your new mandolin

Bruce Bernhart mandolin lessons- tuning

Bruce Bernhart mandolin lessons- chord patterns

Bruce Bernhart on mandolin history and basic chord structures

Bruce Bernhart on string and saddle adjustment

Bruce Bernhart more tuning tips and whole/half steps
Bruce Bernhart on more chord patterns

Bruce Bernhart on the mandolin family
Bruce Bernhart on mandolin bluegrass chords and patterns

Bruce Bernhart on temperature considerations
Bruce Bernhart lessson on mandolin flats and sharps
Bruce Bernhart lesson on scales, circle of 5ths and meter

Bruce Bernhart on triads, gears

Bruce Bernhart mandolin chord diagrams

Bruce Bernhart on modern emergence of the mandolin

Bruce Bernhart on simple chords

Bruce Bernhart on whole and half-note steps on the mandolin

Bruce Bernhart mandolin practice excercises
Bruce Bernhart on playing waltzes
Bruce Bernhart on majors, minors and sevenths

Bruce Berrnhart RV Websites


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