What
is solar energy? How is it
generated?
The
radiant energy emitted by the sun’s rays can be captured
and converted into different other forms of energy
according to our requirements. This conversion of the
sunlight into electricity, mechanical power etc. is
called solar energy. Solar heaters, photovoltaic cells,
solar chimney etc. are the various devices used in the
mechanism. The sunlight is said to emit radiant energy
since sun’s rays are made up of radioactive waves. The
upper layers of the earth usually absorb around seventy
percent of the incoming sunrays through the water
bodies, landmasses and the clouds and the remaining
thirty percent is reflected back to the space. This
solar energy absorbed by the earth’s atmosphere is
captured and machinated into various forms like
mechanical power, chemical power and electrical power.
The pros and cons of this solar energy, however, need to
be talked about in details.
Solar
energy: Pros and cons revealed
Solar
radiation is being widely utilized for our day-to-day
practical purposes. Apart from the widespread domestic
use of solar power, the latter is also being honored in
other various aspects like agriculture, architecture,
urban planning, solar lighting, solar thermal, solar
chemical, solar vehicles, cooking etc. The application
of solar power is broadly divided into active solar
power technology and passive solar power technology
according to the respective usage. However, active solar
power technology stresses upon more and more use of
solar power whereas passive solar power technology tends
to minimize the use of alternative resources of power
and helps in direct use of sunlight by citing buildings
optimally to the sun, designing well-lit and
well-illuminated spaces in the buildings. Thus solar
energy is becoming an integral part of our lives by the
day. In spite of such awesome records, we need to
discuss the pros and cons of solar energy to understand
its potentials closely.
While
pondering upon the pros and cons of solar energy we
definitely should focus on the innumerable advantages
that make this power an ultimate source till date. The
very first thing that we come across while discussing
power is pollution and solar energy assures us with a NO
pollution emission produced from the solar panels. The
only bit of pollution that occurs is while transporting
the goods and installation that is absolutely
unavoidable. Not only solar energy does not produce any
greenhouse gas but it also does not produce any sound
like the other conventional power plants that result in
noise pollution. Thus electricity is produced very
quietly by solar power. Solar power has the ability to
produce electricity at remote locations, for example,
the satellite in the space is catered by high efficiency
photovoltaic or solar cells that are not connected to
any grid. This also supports installation of solar cells
in rural or remote areas which is actually more economic
than the usual high voltage wire installation. Solar
energy technology has an impressive back up facility
that supports production of energy on dull days and even
nights as well. The solar roof tiles are a space saving
kit that fits almost all rooftop tiles for placement of
the solar panel giving them a streamlined look. The
underlying fact that solar energy is absolutely free and
has an uninterrupted supply makes it an obvious pro of
solar energy. Also, using solar power makes you overcome
the dependency on the conventional fossil fuel
supplies.
How
to use solar energy to be
benefited?
In
spite of all the advantages solar energy has a couple of
disadvantages that restrict the use of solar power to
some extent. Firstly, the set-up cost of a solar energy
device is not that cheap, a thousand dollars being the
starting price for a standard quality solar power
generator. This installing a solar power generator in
selective places with plentiful of sunlight is very
important in order to make the investment work
economically. The solar power generators can only
produce electricity during the daytime and are thus
sluggish half a day. Although solar power generators do
not produce any air pollutant themselves, they are
definitely affected by those present in the atmosphere.
Thus, a solar power located in a city does not give its
100 percent output due to its retarded efficiency by the
pollution levels in that area. Thus installing a solar
power generator at a remote and rural locality yields
the maximum output. This discussion of the pros and cons
of solar energy is definitely going to guide those who
are planning to set-up a solar
cell.
Solar
power is really great and the reasons are both financial
as well as environmental. That is why so many people are
interested in installing a system in their homes – you
can too. But for that you need to know where to put it
up, how to install and wire it, where to get the parts
and the batteries from and also the safety regulations
that have to be followed.
