A semiconductor device that converts light directly into electricity through the photovoltaic effect, observed by Edmond Becquerel in 1839. Charles Fritts built a selenium cell in 1883, and the first practical silicon cell came from Bell Laboratories in 1954 with about six percent efficiency. Sustained cost declines of roughly ninety percent per decade of deployment made photovoltaics the cheapest new electricity in most of the world by the 2020s.
Facts
Technology Type Invented Year1954 marks the first practical silicon cell at Bell Laboratories; the photovoltaic effect dates to 1839 and the first selenium cell to 1883. Classification
MaturityTRL 9: Actual System Proven in Operational Environment 1 FAQs
How does a single photovoltaic cell become enough power for a home or the grid?
A cell yields about 1 or 2 watts; chaining cells into modules and arrays and adding mounting and DC to AC conversion builds a full system.
One photovoltaic cell is small and typically produces only about 1 or 2 watts. To boost the power output, cells are connected in chains to form larger units known as modules or panels. Modules can be used on their own or connected into arrays, and one or more arrays are then connected to the electrical grid as part of a complete photovoltaic system. The system also needs mounting structures that point the panels toward the sun, along with components that convert the direct-current electricity the modules produce into the alternating-current electricity used to power household appliances.
Connections
Associated With
Source EBSCO Research Starters
Source United States Energy Information Administration Official Site
Thin film solar cells are a manufacturing category of photovoltaic cell distinguished from crystalline silicon wafer cells.
Discovered the photoconductivity of selenium, 1873, foundational to later photovoltaic and photoelectric technology.
Zhores Alferov, Pioneers Developed semiconductor heterostructures foundational to high efficiency solar cells; shared the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Developed By
Co-invented the first practical silicon solar cell at Bell Labs with Gerald Pearson and Daryl Chapin, 1954.
Built the first working selenium solar cell, 1883.
Co-invented the first practical silicon solar cell at Bell Labs with Gerald Pearson and Calvin Fuller, 1954.
Co-invented the first practical silicon solar cell at Bell Labs with Daryl Chapin and Calvin Fuller, 1954.
Discovered the semiconductor p-n junction and patented an early silicon photovoltaic device at Bell Labs, 1941.
Discovered the photovoltaic effect in solid selenium with Richard Evans Day, 1876.
Uses Source
Source National Renewable Energy Laboratory Official Site
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Photovoltaics
2. National Renewable Energy Laboratory Official Site
United States Energy Information Administration Official Site
US Energy Information AdministrationAssociated With: Concentrated Solar Power, Solar explained, Solar thermal power plantsQuote, Associated With: Concentrated Solar Power, Solar explained, Solar thermal power plants
Solar thermal power systems may also have a thermal energy storage system that collects heat in an energy storage system during the day.
EBSCO Research Starters
EBSCO Information ServicesAssociated With: Bell Labs Silicon Solar Cell, Research Starters, Bell Scientists Develop Photovoltaic CellQuote, Associated With: Bell Labs Silicon Solar Cell, Research Starters, Bell Scientists Develop Photovoltaic Cell
The first of their new solar cells, with an efficiency of about 6 percent, was presented at the National Academy of Sciences meeting in Washington in May, 1954.
Wikipedia: Solar cell
In Group: Solar Cell Types, LeadQuote, In Group: Solar Cell Types, Lead
A solar cell, also known as a photovoltaic cell (PV cell), is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by using the photovoltaic effect.
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