where e- go when solar panel not hooked up? and does panel get cooler when operating?

[supernova87a]

Just a friendly discussion I'm having with a friend --

question #1) what happens to the electrons in a solar panel when it's being hit by sunlight, but not hooked up to a circuit? I imagine they just get excited and decay back to some ground state, and simply re-emit energy in the infrared or something instead of transfering that energy to motion of the electrons in a circuit? Or is there a better way to think about it?


related question #2) If you compare the unconnected solar panel to one beside it that is connected to a circuit and generating current, is the "working" solar panel cooler than the non-working one? My gut feeling is that it is. Is this some reverse Peltier effect?

Thanks, all!

 

[cirthix]

1) energy is turned into heat (leakage recombination current=generation)
2) the loaded panel will be cooler because the power will be dissipated in the load rather than in the panel itself.