What are solar panels?

The term "solar panel" describes two different technologies. Both of the terms generate energy from sunlight and are in the form of panels.

A photo voltaic module is used to generate electricity and a solar thermal collector is used to generate heat and hot air.

What do they look like?

The panels are flat looking and come in different heights and widths; the photo voltaic modules contain many cells which are electrically connected and are packaged behind glass and with electrical insulation. Thermal solar panels are connected together and have a passive circulation system which heats water in a hot water tank.

What happens?

Thermal solar panels help to heat the water tanks, water is pumped through pipes within this panel. Usually, the pipes are painted black, this is so the sun shines on them and heats them up faster.

Advantages

• Solar energy does not cost you anything, you can cut costs on your energy bills
• It does not need fuel and produces no pollution
• It is a handy way to obtain energy in sunny regions e.g Australia
• It is handy for low power uses such as garden lights and battery chargers

Disadvantages

• The bad thing is that it does not work at night
• Solar panels and power stations are very expensive to build
• If the country is not warm then solar energy is unreliable