Power in Watts

Electrical power is created in two fundamental ways:  as a cycling current we call Alternating Current or AC and as Direct Current or DC, which doesn't oscillate. Electrical power is generated by a solar panel as DC.  The current supplied at the two terminals of a solar panel is DC. 

We generally measure the power capacity of the solar panel in units of Watts. Watts can be converted to other units of Power using the vCalc calculator vPower.

Power is related to current and voltage by a very simple expression found in the vCalc equation:  Power [V, A], that is power as a function of voltage and amperage.

Solar Panel Power

A typical example of the nominal max power of a high efficiency solar panel might be around 325 Watts.  That is a common power rating for a solar panel used in home systems.  That same solar panel might have a max power voltage of 57.6 Volts and a max power current of 5.65 Amps.

You'll note there is a very simple relationship between power, voltage and amperage in the following example:

EQ1: `"Power" = "Volts" * "Amps"` ; see one of vCalc's many different power equations to examine this relationship, such as the equation Power [V,A]

EQ2: Power (nominally 325 Watts) = Volts * Amps = 57.6 V * 5.65 A `~=` 325.44 Watts

This example solar panel does not by itself generate a tremendous amount of electrical energy.  Four standard 100 Watt incandescent light bulbs will consume more power than this example solar panel generates.  And so we must typically combine the power generated by multiple solar panels to achieve our common household objectives. That is why the typical installation on a home roof has many panels installed. 

And we can configure the output voltage or output amperage of our solar power system by first storing the energy in batteries and also by wiring the panels in either series or parallel circuits to achieve the right combination of voltage and amperage for our system.