Solar energy is derived from the sun's rays, harnessed through solar panels to convert heat and light into usable energy. There are two primary types: passive solar energy, which involves direct use of sunlight for heating and lighting, and active solar energy, which employs photovoltaic technology to generate electricity.
-Two basic problems limiting the use of solar power
include energy intensity and cost of the technology
-for centralized collections of solar energy, large land
areas need to be covered with solar collectors in order
to gather sunlight
-focusing the energy to produce higher temperatures
leads to more energy loss, since efficient energy collection
systiems run at temperatures closer to the temperature of
the environment around the collector
-solar energy technology is relatively expensive compared
to coal-fired power plants
-it will probably take government regulation to force higher
efficiency standards on the building industry
-solar collectors in space propose rough factors of the
increase of energy intensity offset by inefficiencies in
transmitting the energy to the ground, with the use of
antennas.
Disadvantages/advantages of solar energy
-solar energy technologies still remain costly alternative
to the use of readily available fossil fuel technologies
-solar installation where space is short and expensive
(such as inner cities)
-pollution can degrade the efficiency of photovoltaic cells
-clouds can reduce the energy of the suns rays
-during the night, expensive solar equipment will be useless
-location of solar panels can affect the performance, due to
obstructions from the surrounding buildings of landscapes
Advantages
-Solar energy is not geographically limited
-solar energy panels can be harnessed almost anywhere
without causing pollution
-no limits in terms of its applciations
-solar energy seems to be a solution for main sources of
renewable energy
-newer technologies enable us to store the solar electricity we harness through the use of solar power battery chargers
-some very poor villages in Africa use inexpensive solar collection devices for cooking and heating of water
Use of solar energy
-Heat various substances
-redirected to maximize the growth of plants
-convert to electricicty
-natural lighting purposes so electricity can be saved
-traditional energy production
Types of solar energy
Passive solar energy --> which is solar power in
its most archaic and practical form
Active solar energy--> is energy that uses photovoltaic technology.
Purpose: to harness energy from the sun and then use special semiconductors to convert it to usable energy.
What is solar energy?
Subtopic
Solar energy: is the energy that is derived from the
suns rays. The heat and light provided by the sun is
"collected" or harnessed by solar panels and converted
into a useful form of energy.