methley
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- Sep 27, 2011
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Energy of photons in sunlight are absorbed by the electrons in the solar cell.
Once the energy is in the electrons, they will move around the circuit and generate a flow of electricity.
If the energy in the electrons can't be vented-off as movement of the electrons through the system, then the energy must be ofloaded in some other form - heat, light, radiation, movement etc.
So if the solar panel can't move all the "energised" electrons, then those electrons will give up their absorbed energy to the solar panel as heat. This might not be noticed on an oversize array since the panels will be over-producing anyway, so there will still be "full power" flowing - but the panels will be working at a higher temperature and probably have a shortened lifespan due to more temperature fluctuation.
Eh? I think you need to go back to your physics books and understand the difference between energy and power.
A solar panel is basically a junction of p-type and n-type silicon. When the sun shines a free electron is generated in the n-type silicon and a corresponding "hole" in the p-type silicon. This process continues and builds up a potential across the panel. This is potential energy and can be measured at the panel terminals as the Voc value. No current is flowing at this stage and hence no work is being done and no power generated.
Only when the panel is connected to a load will current begin the flow and power be generated. This is what the tracker in your inverter does - it varies the load to extract the maximum power from your panel at any one time.
So as we now have current flow, this means power, and hence, heat will be generated across any resistive load in the system. An open circuit generates no current flow and hence no power, or heat, can be generated. Power is only expended when the energy does "work".