Of course as with anything involving the sun, there will be heat. Using solar power panels, this heat can be used to warm the water and the air in the ventilation systems using solar power panels. What people commonly call a solar panel is more properly called a PV or Photovoltaic panel. Solar cells line the panel and are made with silicon, or some other semi-conductive material, that produces electricity when the sun shines on it. After being collected in the cells, the electricity can flow directly to your home.



Traditionally solar power panels or PV panels were limited to large square or rectangular shaped enclosures. In recent years the process of manufacturing solar cells has developed significantly and has opened the doors to massive changes in the way you can integrate solar power panels into your home of business. Solar cells can now be found in a huge variety of building materials. This technology is commonly referred to as Building Integrated Photovoltaics or BIPV. Solar cells can now be incorporated into everything from roofing material to the edges of the panes of glass in your windows.

Solar cells integrated into your roofing material offer you the same protective properties as traditional asphalt shingles while collecting the suns energy at the same time. The same technology can also be applied to exterior walls, skylights, windows, awnings, walkway coverings, car ports, and it seems as though every day a new way to integrate solar power panels into everyday materials becomes available.

There are a variety of solar power panel assemblies that are mounted off of the building itself. The two most common are ground mounted or pole mounted fixtures. These features are valuable as they allow for optimal placement of the solar panels where they would receive the greatest exposure to the sun, thus allowing for greater flexibility in both building design and solar power system design. Although solar power panels will generate some power with indirect exposure to the suns rays, you will only generate the most efficient amount of solar power with direct exposure of the solar panel to full sunlight.

Ground-mounted structures are typically mounted to metal frames that are anchored into the ground via traditional construction methods. These frames may be built with motorized mounts for solar power panels, which let them track or follow the course of the sun during the daylight hours.

Pole mounted solar power panels can be made to adjust themselves to the sun's path as well, This is important so a solar cell can capture as much sunlight as possible as the sun moves throughout the day. Solar cells mounted on poles are mounted on the side, top or front of the metal pole.