Power from Above: how residential solar power works.

• Author: Felix, Devin

Tax incentives, dropping prices and changes in regulations have led to significant growth in the number of Utah homeowners who have chosen to turn their rooftops into at-home power stations. In September 2013 about 1,700 homes in the state had solar power and participated in the state's net metering program. That's still just a fraction of the roughly 800,000 households in the state, but it a huge increase over 2007, when only about 140 homes had a system. Here's an overview of how the average residential solar system works:

Solar cells are made up mostly of two separate layers of silicon. The N-type (negative) layer is set up to lose electrons, while the P-type layer (positive) is set up to receive electrons. When sunlight hits the panel, some of it is absorbed by the panel, where it knocks electrons loose from their atoms, Those electrons flow to the P-type layer. This electron movement creates an electrical current, which is channeled to create electricity.

Residential and commercial electrical systems use alternating current (AC), but solar cells produce direct current (DC). To make it usable, the current must be sent through a device known as an inverter, which converts it from DC to AC. There are two types of...