With the ever-increasing interest in residential photovoltaics (solar electric systems), more and more people come to sites like GetSolar.com to figure out what all the fuss is about, and how these things actually work. Even homeowners who have progressed to the stage of figuring out the pitch of their roof and talking about budget — even homeowners who already have a system! — can be vague on the details of how these beautiful little systems do what they do.

Read here for a quick GetSolar.com crash course in how PV technologies work.