If you haven’t read our latest blog prior to this one, then we suggest you do so as it may help to understand parts of this blog. Titled ‘how solar energy helps the environment’, we covered how it helps the environment (obviously) but also did our best to debunk an array of criticism that you may quite often hear from doubters of renewable energy, particularly solar panels. This included but wasn’t limited to the manufacturing and recycling process, and how some believe that because fossil fuels are used in the manufacturing process, that somehow means it is no longer a ‘green’ or ‘renewable’ option. We quickly shut down the suggestion by proving that while it is true, solar panels do (currently) require fossil fuels in production, one day in the hopefully not-so-distant future, we will be using electricity generated by sources such as solar itself to produce even more solar. Of course, it is a shame that solar panels do need to use carbon-emitting fuels at the moment, but as our previous blog covers, it is still a much cleaner and greener option compared to coal or gas. Now that’s out of the way, we can begin to explain how the manufacturing process works, and you can truly see for yourself how solar and renewable energy still leads the way into the future.
Where are solar panels made?
Solar panels are produced in a range of different countries, our very own panels here at Helix Solar are created in multiple different nations, for example, Longi, Viridian, JA Solar, and more are all produced in China. We also have UKSOL which is produced in Spain but is made by a British company and shipped all
around the world. Meanwhile, there are a variety of American and Canadian Solar panel manufacturers which we don't unfortunately stock.
What materials are required?
Solar panels are made up of a mix of Silicon, glass, metal, and lots of little PV cells (these are all made of silicon and are positively or negatively charged). Gallium or Boron and Phosphorous is used in the process of creating the solar cells.
What steps are involved?
These solar cells are made with silicon which is melted and mixed with either gallium or boron to create silicon Ingots. Phosphorus is then added, combining with the silicon ingot to give the panel its electrical functionality. Following this, the ingots are cut into cells which make up the panel, then they're cut further and separated into smaller and more plentiful cells, you can of course noticeably view this when looking at a solar panel. Giving the panel its ability to capture and distribute around the electricity, which is absorbed from the sun once an anti-reflective coating is applied to the sheet of PV cells. From then, the little cells are all added to the panel together to make up the face of the panel, then the back sheet and glass are added for protection. Finally, add a metal frame to secure all the layers together. Oh, and don’t forget the junction box for the wires.
Conclusion:
So, we think we’ve proved that really the manufacturing process isn’t so bad for the world after all, who knew?
We did… and we hope you do too after reading this blog.
Of course, international shipping of these products uses fossil fuels, but so does the international shipping of fossil fuels themselves, so we think it’s a fair trade-off for all of the extra green clean energy produced in the lifetime of a solar panel. We hope you agree, if you do, then contact us below to enquire about getting solar installed on your own premises today!
01302 897778
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