How are solar panels made?
How are Solar Panels made?
Solar panels are mass-produced by accurately collecting the six principal components. The main target is on panels made using silicon-based crystal-like solar cells, which are the foremost commonly available and deployed electrical device technology.
The six main components of a solar array are:
- Solar photovoltaic cells
- Toughened glass – 3 to 4mm thick
- Extruded Aluminium frame
- Encapsulation – EVA film layers
- Polymer rear back-sheet
- Junction box – diodes and connectors
Solar photovoltaic cells
What are Solar Cells?
Semiconductors in silicon are structure blocks of solar cells. The cells engross sunlight and convert it into electricity. They effort on the principle of Photovoltaic Effect, hence the choice name photovoltaic cells. The solar array cell is connected electrically and put together into an outsized frame that creates a solar array.
Small residential solar panels contain 60 cells linked together to come up with a voltage between 30-40 volts reckoning on the kind of solar cell used. Larger solar panels used for residential, commercial systems and utility-scale solar farms contain 72 or 96 cells and operate at a better voltage. The solar cells connect via electrical contacts called busbars, which permit the present to flow through all the cells during a circuit.
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Glass
The forward-facing glass guards the solar cells from weather and impact from hail or airborne debris. High asset tempered glass, which is 3 to 4mm thick, is used. It’s designed to resist mechanical loads and extreme temperatures. within the event of an accident or severe impact, tempered glass is far safer than standard glass because it shatters into tiny fragments instead of sharp jagged sections.
Highly transmissive glass is employed by manufacturers to boost the efficiency and performance of solar panels. The self-same transmissive glass has low iron content and an anti-reflective coating on the rear side which reduces losses and improves light transmission.
Aluminium Frame
The aluminium frame protects the sting of the laminate section housing the cells and provides a solid structure to mount the solar array in position. The bend sections can either be screwed, pressed or clamped together providing distinct levels of strength and stiffness.
EVA Film
Ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) may be a specially designed polymer highly transparent (plastic) layer accustomed to encapsulate the cells and hold them in position during manufacture. The film must be extremely durable and tolerant of maximum temperature and humidity. It plays a major part within the long run performance by preventing moisture and dirt ingress.
Back-sheet
The back-sheet is the backmost layer of solar panels which acts as a moisture barrier and provides both mechanical strength and electrical insulation. The rear sheet material comprises assorted polymers including PP, PET, and PVF. It offers different levels of protection, thermal stability, and long run UV resistance.
Junction Box and Connectors
The junction box could be a small weatherproof enclosure located behind the panel. The junction box is important because it is the central point where all the cells interconnect, and hence must be protected against moisture and dirt. The junction box also houses the bypass diodes which are needed to stop back current which occurs when some cells are shaded or dirty.
Solar MC4 Connectors
MC4 connectors special weather-resistant plugs and sockets. The connectors must be very robust, secure, UV resistant and maintain an honest reference to minimal resistance at both low and high voltages up to 1000V. The design of the connectors is to be used with the quality 4mm or 6mm double-insulated solar DC cable, with tinned copper multi-strand core for minimum resistance. The base of the silicon cell is built using various additives. The result’s either positive (p-type) silicon or negative (n-type) silicon.
The Big Picture
Today, solar panels used for domestic purposes can absorb only 20% of the daylight that they receive and switch it into electricity. The metric is understood as electrical device efficiency. Solar panel manufacturers today offer a spread of models with various features and efficiencies.
A number of the widely used technologies in India include:
- PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell)
- HIT (Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin-layer)
- Split modules with half-cut cells
- BIPV (Building-Integrated Photovoltaics)
- Bifacial solar panels
- Duplex solar panels
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