Ok, so my homework was to research and write about how solar panels and solar furnaces work and about their construction. We didn't even take one lesson on it in class and we are not allowed to copy and paste much and have to keep it simple wtf? Its soo annoying as we have hardly took it in class. Please can someone help.
A solar panel (photovoltaic module or photovoltaic panel) is a packaged, connected assembly of solar cells, also known as photovoltaic cells. The solar panel can be used as a component of a larger photovoltaic system to generate and supply electricity in commercial and residential applications. Because a single solar panel can produce only a limited amount of power, many installations contain several panels. A photovoltaic system typically includes an array of solar panels, an inverter, and sometimes a battery and interconnection wiring.
Well solar panels conduct electricity from the suns waves and turns it into dc current then it is either put into a grid tie inverter to change it to AC and it makes you meter go backwards instead of forwards. or if its not a grid tie inverter it is just put into batteries as dc then changed into AC from the inverter and then used for household appliances. nothing really does run on DC that is why it has to be changed. and for solar furnaces if you mean a water heater that works by a substance here in Pa its antifreeze is heated up by the sun in the panel it is in a continous loop and that is what gets heated up the water then flows over tow of the tube that contains what ever substance such as antifreeze and heats the water.were the water and the tube that changes the water from cold to hot is called the heat exchanger. the substance is actually get heated first then the water. solar heating for water accounts for 29% of water heating in the us. Now if you mean solar furnace as in passive solar thats completely different because here in Pa if we want it our houses have to face to south to get the suns rays. (alot more windows) and there is a cement slab placed only on the south side of the house and it has insulation covering it. There is a certain type of glass that is used for this that will allow the suns rays to come in and let the heat in for the summer and also for the winter. the main place for that would mostly be the first floor of the house due to the height of the windows and the angle of the sun(pa in the summer is 73 degrees and in the winter its 27 degrees) thats when the second floor would be ok to heat the rooms. Hopefully i helped and i explained it in a way that you can understand.
