subject: How Does Solar Energy Work [print this page] How Does Solar Energy Work - The most all pervasive and abundant source of energy available to mankind is of course solar energy. Since the beginning of life on Earth, the Sun has been a never-ending source of heat and light. It is responsible for life on the planet. It helps plants to grow, affects global temperature and sustains life. Technology has enabled us to utilize this perennial source of energy. Some of these technologies include solar photovoltaics, solar architecture, solar heating and solar thermal electricity.
The upper impression of the Earth gets around 174 peta watts of full solar energy. Of this total, 30 percent is returned back into space. On the other hand, the rest of the energy is immersed by oceans, land masses and also clouds. The entire solar energy that is immersed by the atmosphere of the earth, the oceans and the land masses is around close to 3,850,000 exajoules. Solar energy is utilized in different parts of the world and at different levels based on the distance of that place from the equator.
How does solar power work? Solar energy basically refers to the use of solar radiation for meeting practical ends. But at the same time, barring tidal and geothermal energy, the sun is the source of energy for all other renewable energies. Solar technologies can be broadly divided into either active or passive depending on the way they capture, transform and finally distribute sunlight. Some of the active solar techniques comprise pumps, photovoltaic panels, fans and pumps that can transform sunlight into useful energy.
On the other hand, inert solar methods comprise materials that have favorable thermal properties or even spaces that can circulate air and also referencing the location of a building to the Sun. Solar energy is put into practice in diverse fields such as urban planning and architecture, heating, horticulture and agriculture, cooling and ventilation, solar lighting, and water heating and treatment.
How Does Solar Energy Work -We all know that solar energy is not available at night and therefore it is necessary to store it as most contemporary energy systems work on the premise of continuous flow of energy. Thermal mass systems are designed in a way so that they can store energy in the form of heat at certain temperatures to be used on a daily basis or seasonally. A properly designed system can lower peak demand, conveniently alter time of use to comparatively off peak hours.
The widespread use of solar energy can go a long way in solving the energy problems that we encounter today.
