When the sun rises each day, sunlight hits the solar panels on your roof and generates electricity for your home. A whole-home solar system generates enough electricity to run everything your home needs, including appliances, lights, and electronics. Solar energy works using photovoltaic (PV) cells stored inside rooftop solar panels, which are made up of layers of silicon and other materials, to convert sunlight into electricity. When sunlight hits the solar panels, the photons knock electrons free from the atoms in the silicon, generating an electric current. This direct current (DC) electricity is then converted into alternating current (AC) electricity by an inverter, which can be used to power your home or fed back into the grid.