Solar Energy: 5 Advantages, Usage, Facts

What is solar energy?

Solar energy is generated from the sunlight – photovoltaic cell is utilized to get energy, which can be readily utilized for the generation of electricity or generation of heat like solar heater.
Photovoltaic solar cells are used to convert sunlight directly into electrical power through the so-called photovoltaic effect, where substances can absorb photons (light particles) and liberate electrons, creating an electrical current. On the flip side, solar thermal collectors utilize mirrors or panels to both absorb and concentrate the Sun’s heat, moving it to some fluid and running it through pipes to use it in household heating and other applications, and even for electricity generation (solar power ).

What is solar energy? Key takeaways

  • Solar energy comes from sunlight and may be obtained with various technologies, mostly solar panels.
  • The “photovoltaic effect” is the mechanism where silicon-based solar panels use the Sun’s energy and produce electricity.

Benefits of Solar Energy

Solar energy is among the most promising energy forms, providing several advantages in comparison to other form of available sources. Non-polluting, renewable, and accessible planet-wide, where it’s installed, contributes to sustainable development and job development.

  • Renewable.
  • In-exhaustible.
  • Non-polluting.
  • no global warming
  • Decreases the usage of fossil-fuel
  • Decreases house power requirement by self-powered house
  • Generates local prosperity and job
  • Contributes to sustainable development
  • Versatile, adaptable to diverse situations

Suited for large-scale electricity generation and on a small scale household application with greater flexibility.

What Type of Energy is Solar?

Light energy is a form of electromagnetic radiation, comprised energy in the form of photon which propagates as wave. Presently solar panels convert the majority of the spectrum and roughly half of the infrared and ultraviolet light spectrum to use solar energy. Semiconductor based photovoltaic cell absorb sunlight, and forces e- to flow thru the material to generate electrical power.

Solar energy based technologies exploit the sun’s energy and light to offer heat for various applications like household usages primarily for electricity productions, heating the water, electric battery powered cars utilize solar panel, and industrialization etc.

Solar Energy Technologies:

  • Photovoltaic Cell based Panel — To generate electricity directly from the sunlight, used in solar power plant .
  • Solar Roof top Heater — To Heat up water with solar energy, can be used to household application and save eletricity.
  • Solar Electricity — Using the sun’s heat to produce electricity by converting steam similar to thermal power plant.
  • Passive Solar and lighting.
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Solar Water Heater image credit : pixabay free images

How is solar energy obtained?

There are quite a few ways to utilize sunlight. Main 2 traditions to exploit energy from sunlight are photovoltaics and solar thermal means. Photovoltaics are typical for electrical power generation (i.e., solar panel installations in house hold or solar powerplant connected in grid), and in other hand, solar-thermal storages are largely capturing heat and utilize it for various applications. These may be utilize in different cooking and heating application such as solar heater in roof.

Solar energy is one of the growing projects all over the world and surely remain in the forthcoming year too and will be one of the fastest growing energy sectors. Solar-panel know-how, every year advancing, helps financial benefits, adding to the ecological recompenses to make it as preferable renewable supply.

Different ways to generate energy from Sun:

Photovoltaic panels offer light that’s converted to electricity through photovoltaic panels. Photovoltaic module designed by collections of solar cells that alter light or photon to electrical energy. The electricity is generated directly from sunlight via photovoltaic an electronic procedure and used to supply power generally for small electronics i.e calculators and road-lights to household; and commercial purpose too.

Solar heating and cooling utilized in various application such as water heating in rooftop heater.

Solar Updraft Tower
Solar Updraft Tower image credit : Wikipedia commons

Another way provides heat tapped by reflective mirrors that focus sunlight on a receiver that contained a liquid may reach temp. around few hundred degree. This technique is used for Solar Cooker.

Parabolic Solar Cooker

Solar Cooker
Parabolic Solar Cooker image credit : pixabay free images
Solar Reflective Mirrors Mechanism
Solar Reflective Mirrors Mechanism for Solar cooker. Image Credit: CmgleeFocus-balanced parabolic reflectorCC BY-SA 3.0

Solar energy in Advance Science

cosmos earth galaxy nasa
Solar panels in Space Shuttle image credit : pixabay free images

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