What Is Solar Energy?

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Understanding Solar Energy in Portable Solar Chargers and Devices

The following basic data can help you to find and purchase the correct portable solar power device for your needs. It is explained here in the simplest terms possible.

Definitions:

Solar means "from the sun." Solar electricity is electricity which is created by the sun.

Photo means "light." It comes from the Greek word phos, which means "light."

Voltaic means "producing electric current." The word comes from the name of Alessandro Volta, an Italian physicist who was a pioneer in the field of electricity during the 1700's.

Photovoltaic means "creating electrical energy when exposed to light."

A cell is a device that produces electricity. An example of an electrical cell is a flashlight battery.

How Portable Solar Power Devices Work

Most (if not all) portable solar power devices use photovoltaic cells.

Photovoltaic cells produce electricity when they are exposed to light. They usually consist of panels. The panels contain two layers of different materials.

When light hits these two layers, one of the layers becomes positively charged, and the other becomes negatively charged.

This works similarly to a regular flashlight battery, which has a positive end and a negative end. When the two ends are connected by a wire, they produce an electric current.

When the two layers of material in a solar cell are exposed to light, they create an electric current.

You can then use this electricity to charge or run your electronic devices such as, cameras, laptops, cell phones, lights, MP3 players, PDAs, and many other items.

The amount of electricity which is generated by a solar power cell depends on several factors. Mainly:

How big is the solar power device, and how much surface is exposed to the sun?
How strong is the sun?
How long is the solar power device exposed?
How much obstruction is there between the sun and the solar power panels? (such as dust, clouds, mist, shadow, etc.) These factors will reduce the amount of power created by a solar panel.

In other words, a solar power cell generates electricity faster when the sun (or light) is brighter. A device with larger solar panels will produce more electricity than one with smaller panels. On a clear sunny day, the device will create more power than it will in hazy or dusty conditions. Finally, exposing the cell for a longer period of time will create more electricity than exposing it for a shorter period of time.

Some solar cells produce only enough current to power small electronic devices, but can be "daisy-chained" (connected together) in order to create more electricity for other items.

Solar cells which produce enough electricity to run larger equipment (such as laptops) may be larger, more expensive, or heavier than the others.

But there are many varieties available. Individuals and companies are consistently striving to create ligher and more efficient portable solar cells.

When you are shopping for portable solar power, you will probably find that different devices have different "watts" ratings. This shows you how much power that device can create.

For more information on watts ratings, see:

Watts? How Many Watts Does My Device Need to Supply?