As we look towards a more sustainable energy future, photovoltaic systems composed of solar module arrays will be more and more commonplace. Our students have an important stake in the transition to alternative energy technologies, so familiarity with the underlying operating parameters of devices like solar modules will be increasingly valuable. At the same time, the experiments described here provide opportunities for studying a wide range of introductory-level physical phenomena including Kirchhoff's rules, the concept of flux, Ohm's law, and the relationship between current, voltage, and power. If a thermal camera is available, more advanced topics related to the mechanism of heat generation can be investigated. More generally, solar panel physics can be used to form a meaningful link between the introductory curriculum and our shared environmental future.