Photovoltaic Cell

Photovoltaics is the direct conversion of light into electricity at the atomic level. This is the fundamental block of solar power technology. Specific materials can exhibit a property known as the photoelectric effect that causes them to absorb photons of light and release electrons. When these free electrons are captured, an electric current results that can be used as electricity.

To produce energy for commercial use, multiple cells are connected together to form an array. In general, the larger the area of an array, the more electricity that will be produced. Photovoltaic arrays produce direct-current (dc) electricity stored in a battery and in case of alternating current operation, the DC is fed to an inverter to produce a modulated AC wave.