Even though people generally think of solar power panels as some sort of oversized reflective box that catches the sun’s rays, that perception is changing quickly as the technology for solar cells is progressing.

As with anything related to the sun there is going to be heat involved, this heat can also be collected and used to heat both your water and incoming air for your ventilation systems using solar power panels. Commonly known as a photovoltaic panel, or PV panel, solar power panels are lined with a semi-conductive material, typically silicon based that produces electricity when sunlight passes through it. This lining is called the solar cell. The electricity then travels through the conductive material into the electrical system that powers your home or business.

Originally, the solar panel or PV panels were restricted to big square or rectangular-shaped enclosures. Recently, the manufacturing process for solar cells has developed tremendously, opening new doors to significant changes in the way solar power panels can be integrated into your business or home. As solar cells become as a more practical alternative to energy problems, solar panels have become easier to install and can be made a part of roofing material or even parts of windows. Building Integrated Photovoltaics, or BIPV, is the emerging technology of integrating solar cells into all kinds of building materials, so that a building can be green from the ground up.

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.

Many types of solar power panel assemblies can be installed on buildings directly. Ground mounted or pole mounted fixtures are the most widely used assemblies in this category. Being able to use the different methods of maximizing the sun’s rays makes it easier to get the most out of these solar panels and easier to design a the layout. Indirect sun exposure will still allow solar panels to generate power, but direct sun exposure is the most efficient way to create the greatest amount of solar power.

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 structures, mounted to either the side or top of a metal pole, can also be built to have the solar panels move with or track the path of the sun to get the optimum amount of solar exposure during the course of the day.