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How Solar Works
Photovoltaic energy works when photons in sunlight hit the solar panel and are absorbed by semiconducting materials, such as silicon. Negatively charged electrons are then knocked loose from their atoms, allowing them to flow through the material to produce electricity. Due to the special composition of solar cells, the electrons are only allowed to move in a single direction. The positive charges that are also created are called holes and flow in the direction opposite of the electrons in a silicon solar panel. An solar array of solar cells converts solar energy into a usable amount of direct current (DC) electricity.
Direct current electricity is what powers most small portable devices. When solar panel arrays or wind turbines are wired in series or parallel wiring sequence to create enough electricity to power larger applications that require Alternating Current (AC), they must be wired to an inverter to convert the DC current to the AC current that most larger appliances, households, farms and commercial applications require.
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Energy photovoltaic effect was first described by Albert Einstein and was the work that actually won him the Nobel Prize in Physics. The photoelectric effect is when suns light of certain wavelengths comes to earth delivering a type of electrons which can be used to create an electric current. This current can be used like any other DC current, so in effect, because the light comes from the Sun, this is "free" energy. This solar energy can be tapped directly as solar energy (thermal and Photovoltaics), and indirectly as wind, biomass, and hydroelectric energy.