Solar energy is the energy that is produced by our sun. During the fusion process that the sun undergoes during its lifetime, it emits radiation. The fusion process produces many different wavelengths of radiation and sub-atomic particles.
Collecting and converting usable energy from solar radiation can be accomplished by using many different forms of technology and includes various direct and indirect methods of harnessing the solar energy.
There are basically two ways to use this solar radiation, by collecting the heat from the light, and photovoltaic conversion of the light.
There are many different methods of collecting the heat and converting it to electricity, and many ways of converting the light as well. I'll keep it simple here and give just a few examples.
One of the simplest ways that people use solar heat energy is by using greenhouses. A greenhouse is built so that it can best collect the sunlight and heat that it receives from the sun. Using special glass or plastics, the greenhouse and everything within it retains the heat energy from the sun. This heat is trapped inside the greenhouse by the roof and walls allowing plants to grow in an otherwise too cold climate.
By combining various technologies and the use of alternative power sources such as electricity from the grid, a controlled growing climate can be maintained to optimize specialty and agricultural crop growth.
A large greenhouse could make use of a solar updraft tower to generate most or all of the additional electricity it may require to keep the climate controlled.
A solar updraft tower is a simple use of the excess heat generated by light heat that the greenhouse receives. Heated air rises. Heated air is channeled from along the ceilings of the greenhouse and directed into a tower. The hot air rises and the turbine blades are pushed by the hot air rushing past them to generate electricity. Storing any excess power in batteries for the night when there is no sun can also keep the use of grid power to a minimum.
Expanding on the collection of heat from the sun, there are power plants in the hot sunny desert areas that collect the heat from the sun and convert the heat to electricity.
Some of these solar energy plants make use of curved, highly reflective and focused surfaces to optimize the collection of heat from the sunlight. They focus the light onto a central tube that is filled with synthetic oil that gets very hot. This hot oil is then piped into a boiler filled with water that is flashed into steam from the heat of the oil. The steam produced is then used to turn turbines that produce electricity. This is a highly effective way to convert solar energy into usable power.
Another way to collect the energy from the sun is through direct photovoltaic conversion. What this means is that the light is converted into electricity by using special materials called photodiodes that are made into cells. The photodiodes emit electrons when the photons from the sunlight hits them. By using arrays of the special cells and electrically connecting them together, enough power is produced by the transduction process to make it a worthwhile alternative energy.
As more and more people demand the use of free solar energy, governments as well as businesses are subsidizing researchers, and these combined efforts are meeting this demand by coming up with materials that can produce more and more energy from a given amount of sunlight. Solar electricity produced by arrays of solar panels is now almost as cost effective as using petroleum, coal, and nuclear generated power.
I hope I have explained this reasonably well to you the reader, and am only expressing what I know on a personal level. I make no claims to be an authority figure, nor anything other than an interested party.
Thanks for reading!
Collecting and converting usable energy from solar radiation can be accomplished by using many different forms of technology and includes various direct and indirect methods of harnessing the solar energy.
There are basically two ways to use this solar radiation, by collecting the heat from the light, and photovoltaic conversion of the light.
There are many different methods of collecting the heat and converting it to electricity, and many ways of converting the light as well. I'll keep it simple here and give just a few examples.
One of the simplest ways that people use solar heat energy is by using greenhouses. A greenhouse is built so that it can best collect the sunlight and heat that it receives from the sun. Using special glass or plastics, the greenhouse and everything within it retains the heat energy from the sun. This heat is trapped inside the greenhouse by the roof and walls allowing plants to grow in an otherwise too cold climate.
By combining various technologies and the use of alternative power sources such as electricity from the grid, a controlled growing climate can be maintained to optimize specialty and agricultural crop growth.
A large greenhouse could make use of a solar updraft tower to generate most or all of the additional electricity it may require to keep the climate controlled.
A solar updraft tower is a simple use of the excess heat generated by light heat that the greenhouse receives. Heated air rises. Heated air is channeled from along the ceilings of the greenhouse and directed into a tower. The hot air rises and the turbine blades are pushed by the hot air rushing past them to generate electricity. Storing any excess power in batteries for the night when there is no sun can also keep the use of grid power to a minimum.
Expanding on the collection of heat from the sun, there are power plants in the hot sunny desert areas that collect the heat from the sun and convert the heat to electricity.
Some of these solar energy plants make use of curved, highly reflective and focused surfaces to optimize the collection of heat from the sunlight. They focus the light onto a central tube that is filled with synthetic oil that gets very hot. This hot oil is then piped into a boiler filled with water that is flashed into steam from the heat of the oil. The steam produced is then used to turn turbines that produce electricity. This is a highly effective way to convert solar energy into usable power.
Another way to collect the energy from the sun is through direct photovoltaic conversion. What this means is that the light is converted into electricity by using special materials called photodiodes that are made into cells. The photodiodes emit electrons when the photons from the sunlight hits them. By using arrays of the special cells and electrically connecting them together, enough power is produced by the transduction process to make it a worthwhile alternative energy.
As more and more people demand the use of free solar energy, governments as well as businesses are subsidizing researchers, and these combined efforts are meeting this demand by coming up with materials that can produce more and more energy from a given amount of sunlight. Solar electricity produced by arrays of solar panels is now almost as cost effective as using petroleum, coal, and nuclear generated power.
I hope I have explained this reasonably well to you the reader, and am only expressing what I know on a personal level. I make no claims to be an authority figure, nor anything other than an interested party.
Thanks for reading!
My hobbies are science, science fiction, particle physics, astronomy, and so much more. I have recently devoted more time to a couple of websites that I have had registered since last August including: [http://www.scifipie.com] and [http://www.forums.scifipie.com]
I would love visitors and contributors to my sites! Your ideas on helping us all to go green are also appreciated. Save the planet! I hope to contribute more articles soon!
I would love visitors and contributors to my sites! Your ideas on helping us all to go green are also appreciated. Save the planet! I hope to contribute more articles soon!
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