What is solar energy? What are the
solar energy systems?
Solar
energy system is all about utilizing the
radiant energy emitted by the sun in the form of sun
rays that are essentially electro magnetic waves.
Sunlight is actually a beam of electromagnetic waves
that are absorbed by the upper layers of earth’s
atmosphere. This is called solar radiation and the
energy is called radiant energy. A good amount of this
absorbed sunlight can be captured and machinated into
different forms of power suiting our various
requirements. This conversion of this radiant energy
into electricity, mechanical power or even chemical
power is called as solar energy. The modern devices that
convert solar power into other forms of energy are
called solar energy systems. 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
energy systems: how effectively do they
work?
Solar
energy systems work on the simple principle of
trapping the sun’s radiant energy and devising it into
the needed form of energy according to our needs. Solar
energy systems can be broadly classified into two types,
namely active and passive solar power generators. Active
solar energy technologies make use of the sun’s radiant
energy directly in the concerned practical end like
pumps, to convert sunlight into mechanical energy,
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, etc. And
passive solar technology stresses 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 now it is very clear that passive
solar energy technologies greatly deter and actually
downplay the use of alternative power resources and
active solar energy systems favor more and more supply
of solar power.
To
empathize the utilization, regeneration and application
of sun’s radiant energy, we definitely need to realize
this solar power as a feasible 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. About seventy percent of this radiation is
absorbed by the earth like the clouds, water bodies and
the landmasses. The remaining thirty percent gets
reflected back to the space. The landmasses, water
bodies and the atmosphere that fences the earth are all
heated up by the absorbed radiation. 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 flow of the renewable energy on earth. Now
how does a solar energy generator work effectively in a
particular field economically and practically depends on
how expeditiously this solar radiation is being oriented
by the solar energy technologies at that very practical
end.
Solar
energy systems: advantages and
disadvantages
To
realize the fact that how do the solar energy systems
work, we need to single out each and every pros and cons
of this high end application of modern technology. The
biggest advantage of solar power is that it is an
absolutely limitless source of energy. Secondly, solar
energy is perfectly free of any air pollutants and none
of the solar power technologies produces any air
pollutants or greenhouse gases like the other
conventional power plants. Solar power is such an
amazing replacement of alternate energy resources that
even cars and satellites are being drawn with this
versatile and specialized fuel! Economically also solar
energy cells are very much cost effective to be deployed
for practical usage since the source itself is free and
once installed properly the maintenance cost is barely
minimum. However, the fact that a very strong sunlight
and therefore areas with very strong and consistent
sunlight are needed for the solar energy generators to
work, limits the use of this technology to only some
elite parts of the world. A diffused source would
produce a low solar energy which will not be economical
to the pricey set-up. Developments are happening though
to overcome these limitations so that solar power
technologies can be used without any uncertainty by the
environ-conscious citizens worldwide.
Solar
power is a superb alternative because as previously
mentioned, the advantages are both financial as well as
ecological. Thus setting up a system at home makes a lot
of sense. And the best news is you can do it yourself
provided you have some knowledge of where best it will
work, how to install the home solar power
system, getting the parts cheaply, procuring
the batteries free, wiring the system and the safety
precautions. With this knowledge, you can install the
solar power system efficiently and safely in no time and
make it up and running.
