Solar panels are great — they provide your household with clean, renewable energy and cut down your electricity bills. They do have one flaw, though — they only work during the day. Yet, now that you think about it, couldn’t the moon do the exact same thing as the sun? Isn’t it possible to power your home at night with lunar energy?
Unfortunately, so far, we don’t have that kind of technology. But let’s explore in more depth how solar panels work and why the moon can’t power them.
How Solar Panels Work
If you don’t know anything about solar panels, their ability to convert the sun’s rays into electricity may seem like magic. But of course, it’s nothing like that — just a bit of science and technical ingenuity. So let’s unravel the mystery of solar panels!
First, you should know that solar panels aren’t just large metallic boards — they are made of numerous tiny photovoltaic cells. These cells contain two slices of silicon infused by materials with opposite charges. For instance, phosphorus, with its negative charge, is added to the top silicon layer, while the bottom one receives a dose of positively-charged boron.
But why is all that necessary? Well, because these opposite charges create an electric field at the junction of the two silicon layers. Once sunlight hits the panel, it knocks some of the electrons free, and then the electric field pushes them out of the silicon junction.
Now, these free electrons actually comprise the power that you receive from the panels. However, before they become usable, they have to pass through conductive metal plates that collect and transfer them to wires. Then, you can use this energy to cook a meal, warm up water, or simply store it for later!
Why Lunar Energy Doesn’t Work
As their name alone suggests, solar panels need sunlight to work. In fact, photons, tiny light particles from the sun’s rays, are the main ingredient that causes electrons to run free. Thus, if there are no photons, there’s no solar energy.
Now, as you know, the moon doesn’t produce any light on its own. In fact, that silver like glow you see at night is simply the sun’s reflection. And while the full moon may be able to light up your way, it’s nowhere nearly as bright or powerful as the sun during the day. In addition, the moon doesn’t generate its own photons. Thus, its light intensity is far lower.
As a result of all that, moonlight isn’t able to power up solar panels and create lunar energy. There simply isn’t enough light, nor are its photons powerful enough. And even if the panels could collect lunar energy, it would take too long to have enough to power a home. All in all, at least for now, your solar panels will have to remain dormant at night.
Get a Solar Panel Today
But even though you can’t use your solar panels at night, you will certainly have lots of benefits from them during the day. After only a month, you’ll notice a huge difference in your electricity bills, and you could even earn some money! On top of that, you’ll have a constant source of clean energy that is immune to blackouts and power cuts. All that if you simply install a solar panel!
And who could do it better than Atlantic Key Energy? As experts in this field, we’ll help you convert to renewable energy sources in no time. Maybe you can’t power your home at night with lunar energy yet, but you certainly can make a difference for our planet!
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