Education Center

How does PV technology work?

PV technology produces electricity directly from the electrons freed by the interaction of sunlight with certain semiconductor materials such as silicon, in the PV module. The electrons are collected to form a direct current (DC) of electricity, like that of a car battery. The basic building block of PV technology is the solar “cell”. Many Cells may be wired together to produce a PV “module”, and many modules are linked together to form a PV “array”. A complete PV system usually consists of one or more modules connected to an inverter that changes the PV’s DC electricity to Alternating Current (AC) electricity to power your electrical devices and to be compatible with the electrical grid. Batteries are sometimes included in a system to provide back-up power in case of utility power outages. We use a True Sine Wave inverter in order to take advantage of Net Metering and feed electricity into the PG&E transmission grid. A True Sine Wave inverter transforms the direct current from the PV modules to alternating current of 120 volts and 60 cycles per second. This transformation also synchronizes your system with PG&E’s system.

For more Education Center information:

• What is a solar electric or photovoltaic (PV) system?
• How does a PV Solar System Work?
• Is my home or Business a good place for a PV system?
• Do I have a good roof?
• What are the different types Of Mountings?
• How much electricity will a PV system produce?
• How big should my PV system be?
• What features should my PV system have?
• How affordable is a PV Solar System?