What
is solar power? How is it
generated?
Energy
from the sun can be utilized in a number of ways. This
utilization of radiant energy from the sun is called
solar energy. Sun’s rays reach the earth’s atmosphere
and get absorbed by the landmasses, clouds and water
bodies. Sunlight is essentially a beam of
electro-magnetic waves that can be captured and
converted into different forms of energy. This
conversion of solar energy into mechanical, chemical and
electric energy is called solar power. The modern device
that converts solar power into other forms of energy is
called a solar power generator. There are different
types of solar power generators like
the photovoltaic cells, solar thermals, solar heaters
etc. In this article we will be throwing some light on
the types and functions of solar power
generators.
Solar
power generator: how does it
work?
To
realize the regeneration, utilization and application of
sun’s radiant energy, we definitely need to realize this
solar power as a viable resource. As stated above let us
discuss in detail as to what at all this solar energy is
and how it can be regenerated into desirable and
applicable forms of power. The sun’s rays are made up of
electromagnetic waves that hit the earth’s upper
atmosphere. Approximately seventy percent of this
radiation is absorbed by the earth like the clouds,
water bodies and the landmasses. The remaining thirty
percent is reflected back to the space. The absorbed
radiation heats the landmasses, water bodies and the
atmosphere that fences the earth. This is called
radiative heating of the earth’s atmosphere. And the
radiation produced due to direct sunlight causes solar
radiation and the heat produced is called radiant heat.
This solar radiation accounts for about 99 percent of
the usable flux of the renewable energy on earth. Now
how does a solar power generator work in a particular
field economically and practically depends on how
efficiently this solar radiation is being tailored by
the solar power technologies at that very practical end.
Solar
power generator basically works on the simple principle
of capturing the sun’s radiant energy and machinating it
into the required form of energy according to our needs.
Solar energy generators can be broadly classified into
two types, namely active and passive solar power
generator. Active solar power technologies make use of
the sun’s radiant energy directly in the concerned
practical end like pumps, to convert sunlight into
mechanical power, photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight
into heat, and even fans to convert solar energy into
electrical power. Other examples of active solar
technology are solar thermals, solar heaters, solar
vehicles, On the other hand passive solar technology
emphasizes on the direct use of sunlight like designing
buildings with well-lit and well-circulated spaces,
citing a building optimally to the sun etc. Thus it is
very clear now that passive solar technologies greatly
deter and actually minimize the use of alternate power
resources and active solar technologies favor more and
more supply of solar power.
Solar
power generator: Advantages and
disadvantages
To
understand the fact that how does a solar power
generator work, we need to single out each and every
pros and cons of this high end application of modern
technology. The main advantage of solar power is that it
is an unlimited source of energy. Secondly, solar
power is perfectly pollution free and none of the solar
power technologies produces any air pollutants or
greenhouse gases like the other traditional power
plants. Solar power is such an amazing replacement of
alternate energy resources that even cars and satellites
are being run with this versatile and specialized fuel!
Economically also solar power cells are pretty cost
effective to be deployed for practical usage since the
source itself is free and once installed properly the
maintenance cost is barely minimal. However, the fact
that a very strong sunlight and therefore areas with
very strong and consistent sunlight are required for the
solar power generators to work limits the use of this
technology to only some few parts of the world. A
diffused source would produce a low energy which will
not be economic to the expensive set-up. Developments
are happening though to overcome these limitations so
that solar power technologies can be used without any
dubiety by the environ-conscious citizens worldwide.
The
many advantages make it logical to generate
solar power at home itself by installing a
system. All you need is a guide to know where to set it
up in your home, how to complete the wiring and the
installation procedure, where to affordably find the
batteries and the parts and what are the safety
precautions that have to be
followed.
