We’ll spare you from the nitty-gritty of how semi-conductive materials create electricity through the photovoltaic effect. In short, when a solar panel absorbs sunlight, it generates direct current (DC) electricity. However, the electricity that comes out of the outlets in your home or business is alternating current (AC). To match this, when you go solar, you’ll also need a solar inverter to convert DC electricity from your solar panels into usable AC electricity to power your home or business.