Solar energy for our use
Solar energy can be a solution.
The sun has been producing
solar energy for a long time now. For billions of years there is solar energy available. In all those years humans are harvesting only a fraction of the available amount of solar energy. For example: the amount of solar energy available on the earth in half an hour is enough for filling our total energy usage for a whole year!
Solar energy can be used for heating objects or water, for example heating homes and buildings or swimming pools. Solar energy can also be converted to electricity, and then it can be used for everything to work which will need energy. The conversion can be done in two ways: Photovoltaic (’Solar cells’) or Solar Power Plants. The first, Solar cells, convert sunlight directly into electricity. They can be used in areas that are not connected to the electric grid. The second, Solar Power Plants, generate electricity from heating fluids: steam will be produced and the steam will be used for the power generator to produce electricity. So in this way, the sunlight will be converted into electricity indirectly.
What are the major disadvantages of solar energy? The amount of sunlight that arrives in the earth depends on location, weather conditions, time of day and time of year, it’s not constant. The second disadvantage is a large surface area is required to collect energy at a useful rate.
Solar energy is free, and its supplies are unlimited. Using solar energy produces no air or water pollution but does have some indirect impacts on the environment. Manufacturing the photovoltaic cells consumes silicon and produces some waste products. In addition, large solar thermal farms can also harm desert ecosystems if not properly managed. But once we have installed the Solar cells, the conversion of
solar energy into electricity is a clean process.
Posted on 25/03/2009 11:16:00 By the editorial, last modification on 10/06/2009 18:38:00
