Solar Panels In Rhode Island

Flexible solar panels are limited in the materials they can be made from. Rigid solar panels can be made with more efficient components, and are generally thicker, which means more material to interact with solar rays and produce electricity.

Residential solar panels are typically 65 inches by 39 inches or 3.25 feet by 5.4 feet, although there are some variations among manufacturers. Each panel will also weigh about 40 pounds on average.

Solar panels, or solar photovoltaic panels, transform sunlight into usable energy by converting the light into an electric field that then flows into a conductive wire.  The conductive wire flows into the inverter which then transforms the electricity to an alternating current which can then be used to power a property.

You can read our full article about how solar panels work here.

When the photons in sunlight hit the atoms in your solar panel, electrons can be kicked loose. Solar panels are designed to collect these disassociated electrons and store them in a battery to power your home and electronics.

In order to figure out how many solar panels you need, you’ll need to determine how much energy your household uses, how many panels you can fit on your roof, the peak sunlight in your area, how efficient the panels you’re considering are, and whether net metering is available in your area. The easiest way to find out is to get a solar panel estimate from a local installer.

Solar Panels still produce some electricity during cloudy days from indirect and UV light, but their production is reduced to around 15-30% of what they would create in direct sunlight.