As people become aware of the dangers coal and oil present to the environment, more and more are looking at clean solar power. To determine whether it is an option for you, its best to learn a bit about it first. Solar power can have several long term benefits for you.
About Solar
The most basic definition of solar power is the creation of energy from sunlight. This can be done both directly and indirectly. Direct generation of solar power is through the use of photo voltaic cells, or solar panels in other words. Indirect electricity generation from sunlight is through the use of concentrated solar power or CSP. This basically is when light is focused onto a central point to generate heat to boil water and then produce energy. As abundant as solar power is, in 2009 it only made up 0.02% of the total energy output in the entire world.
Solar power could end up being the worlds dominant source of electricity by the end of this century if output could just be doubled every two and a half years. The largest solar power plants are of the concentrated solar variety. But technology is improving and its now possible to create photo voltaic plants that produce many mega watts. Portugal and Germany have both invested huge amounts of money in photo voltaic (PV) plants and are the worlds leaders in solar energy production.
More Solar Power
The collection of sunlight to produce solar energy is relatively predictable. Meaning that while the sun doesn’t always shine, it is predictable enough to be able to produce enough of it during daylight hours. And using newer technology like solar thermal concentrators, the storage of solar power is now a reality to a degree.
Predictability is removed from the equation when we start talking about orbital solar collection. The sun always shines in space. And the intensity of sunlight above our atmosphere makes this type of collection many times more efficient.
About Solar Energy
Solar energy, heat and radiant light that emanates from the sun have been controlled by humans beginning in the ancient periods using a wide range of evolving technologies. Solar radiation, together with secondary solar-powered resources like biomass, wind, wave and hydroelectricity are accountable for the majority of the available renewable energy on Earth. Only a small fraction of the available solar energy is utilized.
Photo voltaic cells and heat engines make up the bulk of our current energy collection using solar. How we harness the vast energy resources of the sun is only limited by the human mind. The ways in which we can use solar power is many, from solar cooking to water distillation, and of course direct energy production. The most effective and basic way to use solar energy is still the use of solar panels.
The collection of sunlight to produce solar energy is relatively predictable. People can still predict it using a certain degree of accuracy when the energy source will or will not be available. Kyocera Solar Panels So What Exactly Is Solar Power?
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