Solar 101: My Crash Course in Panels, Power, and Possibility

Second week at AM Power Solar, and for some reason the team had still not handed me the keys to the company, shocking, I know. After all, I had already dedicated more than my fair share of personal time to TED Talks on climate change, which basically qualified me to run the Energy Ministry. Instead, my supervisor signed me up for a solar training course. Suddenly, my evenings looked less like doomscrolling through TikTok and more like scribbling notes on electrons, photovoltaic cells, and grid systems. And here I thought I was done with school. When does it end?

I thought I understood solar before. I mean, I could spot a panel on a roof and brag that it was “green energy.” Case closed, right? Wrong. Turns out there’s a whole world behind that shiny blue surface, and my crash course broke it down piece by piece.

Step One: The Panel Itself

Each panel is made up of small squares called photovoltaic (PV) cells. “Photo” means light, and “voltaic” means electricity. Put it together and you’ve got “light-to-electricity” cells. Sounds fancy, but here’s the playground version: sunlight is like the school bell ringing. The PV cells are full of electrons which are tiny particles that normally sit around behaving. When the sun shines on them,(the school bell rings) the electrons get so excited they jump out of their seats and start running around. That movement is what creates electricity. Simple, right? Sun hits, electrons move, power is born.

So Step Two: Just Plug In My Laptop right?

The electricity that solar panels produce is called direct current (DC). Think of DC like a steady, one-directional push. It's constant and predictable, like holding a swing steady at the top of its arc. But our homes and the entire power grid operate on a different system: alternating current (AC). AC is like the natural, rhythmic motion of pushing the swing back and forth and this makes sending electricity across vast distances possible with minimal loss.

Since your house is designed for the back-and-forth rhythm of AC this is where the inverter, the system's essential translator, comes in. It takes the steady, motionless push of DC from your panels and transforms it into the usable, oscillating rhythm of AC that your home's circuits and appliances are built to understand.

So no you cannot plug your laptop directly into the panel's DC? While your laptop's battery runs on DC, it needs a very specific, low, and perfectly smooth voltage. The raw DC from solar panels is variable and too unpredictable; it's like a push that's sometimes too strong and sometimes too weak. Without the inverter to convert and regulate it, you would risk frying your laptop's delicate internal components. The inverter ensures the power is not only in the right "motion" but also safe and stable.

Step Three: The Unsung Heroes - Batteries

I had always assumed panels were the whole story. They get the glory, after all you see them on rooftops, gleaming in the sun, silently screaming “eco-friendly.” But in reality, batteries are the reason solar is practical. During the day, panels often make more electricity than you can use at once. Without batteries, that extra energy just goes to waste. With batteries, it gets stored, waiting to be used at night or when the grid fails. 

Step Four: Wait, There’s More?

Solar systems don’t all work the same way. Some systems are grid-tied; connected to the national power grid, using solar during the day and switching back to the grid when needed. Others are off-grid, completely independent, like little solar islands powering homes, schools, or businesses in remote places. And then there are hybrid systems, the flexible middle ground, combining solar with batteries and a grid connection to get the best of both worlds. But that’s a lesson for later

Two weeks in, I’d gone from “that’s a solar panel” to actually understanding how light becomes electricity that powers a clinic or classroom. The best part? I’m only scratching the surface.

Next, I’ll be diving into off-grid and hybrid systems and I’d love for you to keep walking this journey with me. 

PS, they were smart not to give me those keys.