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Solar Energy; The Real Facts
Most power plants in the United States and all over world are using fossil fuels to operate and generate electricity. Fossil fuel has been used as an energy source as long as man has learned to generate power. Fossil fuel has been around for ages and when man started using this energy sources no one though about the consequences. Fossil fuels will run out and there will be a shortage of it in near future. This shortage in fossil fuel will have its affect on our daily live and various industries. Today we see some of these affects already, fossil fuel prizes are raising and electricity is becoming more expensive. Although fossil fuels are more scares, to need for fossil fuels will still be here and will not decrease in near future. To solve this shortage of fossil fuels we will need to look for other possibilities for our energy demand.
Fortunately, alternative energy sources are growing in interest. For instance, locations with high water falls are experimenting on building a hydro-electric power plant, which turns out to be successful. Other locations with high wind speed make use of a power wind mills that can convert wind power into electricity. Also thermal and tidal powers are good alternatives.
Solar energy is also one of the energy sources that is gaining in interest. Solar energy has steadily been growing. Today solar energy is widely used in the US and the advantages are numerous. Our solar energy source, the sun, its life span is estimated to be another 4.5 billion years. It is fair to say that this energy source is almost endless.
Rate of Energy from the Sun
The sun’s radiation reaches a certain unit of area in space in the region of the Earth’s orbit and is estimated to be at 1,400 watts per square meter. Out of this, photovoltaic cells (also known as solar cells) can capture 19 to 56 watts per square meter (for 15% efficiency) or an equivalent of 0.45 to 1.35 kilowatt per hour (kWh) in an annual day and night average.
Therefore, if there would be more area that will be covered by several solar panels, these panels can produce slightly more energy in the form of electricity than what is currently available from oil, gas, and other sources of energy combined (assuming 8% solar cell efficiency).
Conversion of Solar Energy
There are two
1000
ways of conversion of solar energy. First is the direct solar energy which involves only one conversion into a usable form. For instance:
• Sunlight hits the solar cell, converting it into electricity.
• Sunlight hits the absorber surface of a solar thermal collector, converting into thermal energy which can be used to heat homes during cold season.
The second is the indirect solar energy which involves more than one conversion to reach a usable form. For instance:
• Plants use photosynthesis to transform solar energy to chemical energy, which can be burned later as fuel to generate electricity (also known as bio-fuel technology).
• Hydroelectric dams and wind turbines are indirectly supplied by solar energy through its interaction with the Earth’s atmosphere.
Pros and Cons of Solar Energy
Just like any other types of energy resources, solar energy has its ins and outs.
Pros:
• Pollution-free.
• Solar facilities can be run with little extra input or maintenance.
• It is abundant. As mentioned earlier, most of the inhabited areas here on Earth can be reached by sunlight.
Cons:
• Although it is abundant, non-tropical locations can receive little sunlight. Thus, power that will be produced in these locations is a minimum.
• Only during daytime thus not available during night time.
• Photovoltaic cell technologies generate direct current (DC) power which needs to be converted to alternating current (AC) power used in distribution grids.
Once massive development of the use of solar energy is materialized, expect that every household or industry in the world will now be powered by solar energy. It is not just a dream, it will be a dream come true.
By: Bryan Wong
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
Bryan Wong is the owner of the website
www.GetEasyInfo.com/solarpower – A great website that shares quality Info, News and TIPS on solar energy.
I hope you’ve been enjoying my posts lately. I thought I might do something different today and rustle up a few bits of info from around the WWW. These are some of the news items and blog posts that have been popular over the last few weeks. Leave me your thoughts.
New technology that could turn every house window in Britain into …
Every window in Britain could potentially be turned into a solar power generator thanks to new technology developed by scientists. The new solar cell technology for harnessing green energy could revolutionise the power industry – and …
New Technique Could Turn Windows into Transparent Power Generators …
EnSol AS in Norway has patented a thin film solar cell technology that it is seeking to develop commercially by 2016. The company is now working with experts in the University of Leicester Department of Physics and Astronomy to develop …
Can a Disruptive PV Technology Topple First Solar? : Greentech Media
The intermediate band solar cell developed by RSLE, is a thin-film technology based on highly mismatched alloys. The three-bandgap, one-junction device has the potential of improved solar light absorption and higher power output than …
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Look at the calculator on your desk. Chances are the sun powers your calculator. Just check for the familiar small, dark gray panels on the front of the calculator. If they are there, your calculator operates with solar panel technology.
How does that little solar cell do its job? It uses photovoltaic cells. Photovoltaic (PV) comes from the words light (photo) and electricity (voltaic). Photovoltaic cells or modules (groups of cells) convert the light of the sun directly into electricity. It may seem exotic to use photovoltaic cells to power a small hand calculator, but solar panel technology is being applied to more every day.
Here’s how PV cells turn sunlight into electricity. They are made of materials called semiconductors. A frequently used semiconductor is silicon. When the sun strikes the semiconductor, the silicon soaks up some of the light. This transmits the energy within the sunlight to the semiconductor.
The energy breaks the electrons free, permitting them to flow unrestricted. To make something useful of all these free-floating electrons, the cells use electric or magnetic fields that drive the free electrons to flow like river, creating a current.
By inserting metal contacts at the top and bottom of the PV cell, we can extract the current to power something outside the cell. And there you have the basics to all solar panel technology. The total wattage (or power) is determined by the extracted current added to the cell’s voltage.
Advances in solar panel technology may actually see the panel itself disappear. The newest and most promising advance is the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) technology. In 1991Michael Gratzel, a chemist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology pioneered DSC (also called Gratzel cells).
DSC solar panel technology is designed in layers. A photosensitive layer composed of nano-sized, ultrathin semiconductor crystals over a fine layer of titanium dioxide. When sunlight hits the photosensitive layer, the loose electrons collect on the layer of titanium dioxide and produce an electrical current. A dye made of amorphous organic material covers the titanium dioxide — the dye absorbs sunlight and attracts free-flowing electrons, which creates a charge.
DSC lends itself to thin layers of photosensitive film. This transparent, lightweight, flexible and low-cost, sheets or dye film can be applied to the windows of your house or car, even to your sunglasses. The film generates a charge that can be applied to a small battery to power anything, including your phone or MP3 device.
The military even has applications for the DCS solar panel technology. The film can be applied to tents to power lights and laptops. In larger applications, it could power entire command centers. It could cover backpacks or be made into wearable solar panels and power a soldier’s electrical devices, eliminating the need for bulky and heavy supplies of batteries.
Jeff Fisher is a renewable energy enthusiast. You’ll finds tons of helpful green energy information at http://renewableenergysimplified.com/.
Do-It-Yourselfers can Take Action Today! With my FREE e-Course you can cut electricity bills by 70%.
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