How does a solar powered fountain work?
Solar energy is produced using energy from the Sun through radiation. Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity. In tis most common form, this is acheived through the use of by photovoltaics .
Solar electricity
How?
Photons in sunlight hit the solar panel or collector and are absorbed by semiconducting materials, such as silicon.
Atoms have thier negaively charged electrons separated, allowing them to flow through the material to produce electricity.
Positive charges are also created called holes. These bubbles flow in the direction opposite to the electrons in the solar panel.
For larger instalations, several solar panels (an array) are grouped together to convert solar energy into a usable amount of direct current (DC) electricity.
This electricity (electrical energy) can be used to directly power electrical equipment or stored in a bank of batteries for later use.
For a solar array or collector panel to charge a battery, the output from the cell must be greater than the charge in the battery.
Some people struggle with electricity, so it may help to think of it this way:
Imagine you had to water tanks of equal size sitting side by side and connected at their bases with a pipe or tube This tube has a valve in it which is closed.
If you fill one tank and leave the valve closed, the other tank would of course remain empty.
When you have around 75% filled the first tank, you stop the flow of water and open the valve.
What happens?
Of course, the water will flow from one tank to the other until they have an equal amount of water (37.5%) in them. (remember the two tanks are identical).
At first the flow would be quite fast, slowing as the tanks got closer to equally full.
A solar collector charging a battery bank act sthe same way with amps equating to pressure and volts equating to flow.
Wikipedia Extract
Sunlight can be converted into electricity using photovoltaics (PV), concentrating solar power (CSP), and various experimental technologies. PV has mainly been used to power small and medium-sized applications, from the calculator powered by a single solar cell to off-grid homes powered by a photovoltaic array.
A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell (PV), is a device that converts light into direct current using the photoelectric effect. The first solar cell was constructed by Charles Fritts in the 1880s. Although the prototype selenium cells converted less than 1% of incident light into electricity, both Ernst Werner von Siemens and James Clerk Maxwell recognized the importance of this discovery. Following the work of Russell Ohl in the 1940s, researchers Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller and Daryl Chapin created the silicon solar cell in 1954. These early solar cells cost 286 USD/watt and reached efficiencies of 4.5–6%.
With emerging technologies, the solar cell is becoming increasing more efficient and small inexpensivve units are being manufactured to power a wide range of equipmet and plant including water pumping equipment.
It has been these continuing advancements in technology that now allow us to affordably create small pumps to power water features for home and office use both indoors and outdoors.
A solar powered fountain is a great way to get introduced to the world of solar electricity and can provide a great escape or conversation starter.
Rick
