The Science of Solar Power Explained

How exactly does solar energy work?

1. The sun is a giant nuclear fusion system composed mainly of hydrogen and helium.

2. Extremely high temperatures and pressure in the sun’s core force hydrogen nuclei to fuse (combine) into helium.

3. This fusion releases photons (sunlight), which travel about 150 million kilometers to reach Earth. So the energy we receive has traveled millions of miles through space.

4. When a photon hits a solar panel, it transfers its energy to electrons in silicon atoms in the panel.

Why silicon atoms?

Because silicon is an element whose electrons can be freed relatively easily when energy is added.

Solar panels use silicon because when a photon (light) strikes a silicon atom, it can knock some electrons loose, making them “free” — like a ball kicked and left briefly in the air.

But electrons don’t stay free for long in that state. So they move, and an internal electric field in the solar cell guides them in one direction.

A large number of these free electrons, all pushed in one direction, flow through the material. We then guide their path and force them through a wire. That is what we call electricity.

How we use electricity

As the electrons we force through wires keep moving, we can send them through other materials like coils, causing them to collide with the atoms in the coil. Just like bumping stones together releases heat, these collisions produce the heat you see in water-heating coils.

We also use electricity for TVs. The same flowing electrons pass through the TV’s transistors and other components, where they are switched and controlled to form images on the screen.

A similar process happens in batteries in your phone or other devices. Inside a battery, chemical reactions create a separation of charge that produces voltage. When you use the battery, electrons flow through the circuit to restore balance.

WHY SOLAR IS THE BEST ENERGY SOURCE

The sun is about 109 times bigger than the Earth and releases only a very small fraction of its total energy. The energy reaching Earth in about one hour is more than enough to power human energy use for a year, depending on how efficiently it is captured and used.

The sun will continue doing this for billions of years.

So why do you still pay for electricity?

Generate your own electricity.

We install solar to power all types of energy needs:

📍 Location: Ground Floor of Venus Complex along Northern Bypass, Nairobi

📞 Contact: +254710422071