About Solar Energy

With the increasing awareness of the benefits of renewable sources of energy, it is imperative that certain issues, concerns and facts about solar energy must be discussed so as to shed light on the topic. Solar energy is the main source of everything that humans have used to produce electricity from the coals used in the power plants to the radiant energy harnessed by the solar panels. It is fitting that the processes by which solar energy is transformed into usable electricity for the homes is discussed in depth.

The Sun as the Source of Life

In many ways, it is an accurate statement that the sun is the source of life on Earth. The existence of nearly all life forms on the planet is fueled by sunlight since it is the primary source of energy. Plants use sunlight in photosynthesis while animals indirectly use sunlight by consuming plants, which represents the food necessary for survival in a process known as cellular respiration.

When conversation turns to topics about solar energy, the ways in which sunlight is harnessed for power generation are invariably discussed. For one thing, the energy coming from petroleum, coal and other fossil fuels in wide use today was solar energy converted from sunlight by the plants via photosynthesis millions of years ago. For another thing, the renewable sources of energy in use today including wind turbines and solar power equipment used in the generation of electricity all come from harnessing the sun’s power as it is received on Earth today. Indeed, the sun may be a small star – a yellow dwarf – in the general scheme of the universe but its presence is necessary for life on Earth to thrive in so many ways.

Conversion from Energy into Heat

The next question in any discussion about solar energy is how exactly it produces energy that can be harnessed for human uses. The answer is relatively simple on the surface – nuclear fusion. Solar energy is the radiant energy produced by the sun as a result of nuclear fusion, which is the joining of smaller atoms with the result being a larger atom. In the case of the sun, the smaller atoms are the hydrogen atoms that combine to form the larger helium atoms.

Every second, the sun converts over 4 million metric tons of hydrogen into helium, which gives a perspective of the tremendous amount of radiant energy that can be harnessed on Earth. Even at such a tremendous rate, the sun will continue to produce radiant energy for the next 5 billion years, thus, making it the ultimate source of renewable energy.

Man’s accumulated knowledge about solar energy also points to the interesting fact that the Earth does not actually receive any amount of heat from the sun mainly because of its distance – 93 million miles away. Besides, if we are to receive direct heat from the sun, life as we know it will be non-existent. Instead, the sun’s radiant energy travels through space at the speed of light as electromagnetic waves, which are then absorbed by an object and subsequently transformed into heat.

Keep in mind that the planet’s land surface, bodies of water and atmosphere including the clouds absorb the sun’s radiant energy at a rate of approximately 70 percent. The remaining 30 percent is reflected back into space. When the sun’s radiant energy is absorbed by the above mentioned planetary features, their temperatures start to rise. The results are weather patterns like wind, rain and cyclones while the process of photosynthesis starts to happen.

Uses of Solar Energy in Modern Life

Now that we know the basics about solar energy, the next step is to know about its uses in terms of power generation in the renewable energy sector. Although we continue to use solar energy stored in plants and animals from millions of years ago through petroleum, coal and other fossil fuels, we have seen and continue to bear witness to the environmental impact of their uses. Thus, we seek to harness the power of the sun through clean means, so to speak.

The solar energy sector continues to discover better ways to harness the sun’s tremendous power. We have seen the advances in solar panel technology coupled with the public and private initiatives and incentives to adopt solar energy in commercial and residential applications. The growing interest in all things related to and about solar energy is good news for homeowners and business owners who desire to make a positive impact on the environment and on the bottom line of their finances.

The following are just a few of the modern-day applications of clean solar energy:

• Electricity can be generated in two ways. First, the direct way is through photovoltaic cells that convert solar light into electric current by using the photoelectric effect. This is the most popular way to start becoming less dependent on main grid electricity generated by fossil fuels with many houses even completely going off the grid. Second, the indirect way is through concentrated solar power wherein lenses/mirrors together with tracking systems are used to focus a very large area of sunlight into a small concentrated beam akin to a laser beam.
• Solar heating systems are often the first fruits of a homeowner’s search for information about solar energy. These systems can be used to provide heat to residential spaces as well as to heat household water including the swimming pool.
• Solar cooling is also possible. It comes in three forms – passive cooling, solar thermal cooling and photovoltaic cooling, the last two of which takes advantage of high solar intensity to provide the necessary energy to power up the cooling device.
• Solar lighting can be applied to either outdoor spaces like gardens, patios and driveways through solar-powered lights as well as day lighting where passive solar design principles are applied to provide natural lighting to indoor spaces.

When an individual seeks to know more about solar energy, many windows of opportunity to save the environment and to save on costs are opened. Are you ready for these opportunities?