Solar 101 Solar Panels | Page 8

Photovoltaic

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Photovoltaic

Photovoltaic comes from the greek for light and electric. It is often used when referring to a solar cell using the sun’s light and converting it into electrical energy.

Recombination

Recombination is when an electron goes from a metastable state to a stabilized lower energy position in the valence band.

When this occurs, it must move into an empty valence band state. Therefore, it also effectively removes a hole.

Efficiency

Efficiency is affected mostly by the three Rs:

Reflectivity- how much light is reflected off of the solar cell instead of absorbed.

Resistance- how much energy is lost when fighting to flow through the wires.

And.....Recombination.

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