How Do Electric Companies Work

How do solar panels work to generate electricity.

How do electric companies work. Utilities are boring and opaque but central to any clean energy future. Competition between these two systems was fierce. So it s time to demystify them. Competing electric companies strung wires on the same streets in cities while electric service for rural areas was ignored.

A standard solar panel also known as a solar module consists of a layer of silicon cells a metal frame a glass casing and various wiring to allow current to flow from the silicon cells silicon atomic 14 on the periodic table is a nonmetal with conductive properties that allow it to absorb and convert sunlight into electricity. You use electrical power for heating cooling cooking refrigeration light sound entertainment computers mobile devices and maybe even your car without power life as we know it doesn t exist. It s not the way most companies do. The utility company charges you for the power you use based on the monthly readings of an electric meter that measures the current passing through the service entrance into your electrical service panel the meter can either be a mechanical analog meter that is read monthly by a utility service person who visits your home or a newer digital meter that may send information via internet or radio.

Here s a plainspoken intro to how they work and why. Electrical power travels from the power plant to your house through an amazing system called the power distribution grid the grid is quite public if you live in a suburban or rural area. In an industry that has been slow to change historically there is a lot at stake for utilities advanced energy companies and consumers. In cities and towns where homes and businesses are close together power companies make more money per line mile.

How do they work. Electric cooperatives bring electricity to rural areas because for profit electric companies are reluctant to serve areas where customers may be miles apart. A typical volumetric electric bill is made of fixed and variable charges that are combined into a rate that you pay based upon your consumption every month. In order to understand what transformations are needed it s first necessary to understand how electric utilities make money today.

Energy companies can work in any of these different areas and some operate in all of three of them the electricity and gas markets in the uk are privatised. The dc or direct current system and the ac or alternating current system. In most cases utilities rely on volumetric electric rates for residential customers to track electricity consumption. As the sun hits the solar panels they generate direct current dc electricity where the electrons flow around a circuit in one direction.

During this time two different types of electricity systems were being developed. Once solar panels are installed on your roof and begin to create energy there are a few steps required to turn it into energy your home can use.