Solar Lights - Energy Cost

With the cost of energy steadily rising, along with a greater concern for
the state of the environment, more and more people are searching for clean
and affordable alternative sources of energy. Many people feel that solar
power is the answer for generating electricity in their day-to-day lives.
With so much emphasis being placed on this new technology, people
need to know how Solar Lights work and what their applications are for
the future. However, before you can address how Solar Lights work, you
have to know what they are made of.

Presently, the solar panels on most Solar Lights are made of silicon
because it is one of the best elements for transferring electrons.
In total, silicon has 14 electrons. That seems like a lot, but silicon
only has four electrons in its outermost shell. Nevertheless, this
element can fully support up to eight. Because this empty space
exists, silicon has a natural tendency to draw electrons toward itself.
Two pure silicon plates will never be used for solar panels because
they would just borrow each other’s electrons and form a new bond of
eight. So, scientists use two other elements along with silicon, one
on each plate, to make them work. One plate is formed using silicon
and a five electron element. The other plate is formed using Silicon
and a three electron element. The plate containing 5 electrons has an
additional ninth electron and this spare electron creates a negative
charge. The plate with 3 electrons present has a space available for
a spare electron, which creates a positive charge.

When sunlight hits the positively charged plate, photons from the light
separate the excess electron. That free electron is then drawn to the
negatively charged plate. While that free electron is moving toward
the negatively charged plate, highly conductive wires are steadily drawing
it away. When the electron travels through the wires, we have electricity.
In the presence of sunlight, this cycle repeats itself continuously,
and the Solar Lights continue to shine.

Most people hear how easy it is to get Solar Lights to work and assume that
they are the best way to go. However, there are some drawbacks. Solar panels
have to be intact for Solar Lights to work, so something like a hail storm
could pose a serious problem. Also, solar panels need a direct feed of sunlight.
The good news is that Solar Lights can be on the ground and still work, provided
they are at the correct angle with the sun. However, because they don’t produce
huge amounts of energy, panels must be packed together to keep large devices
going, but energy can always be stored in batteries for the future

SOLAR ENERGY - SOLAR LIGHTS