Future is Bright for Solar Energy As an Alternative Energy Source

What Is Solar Energy?

Solar energy is the light and the heat from the sun. Solar energy is free
and its supplies are unlimited. What’s so great about it: there is no air
and water pollution caused by using solar energy. But, there is still some
impacts on the environment although indirect.

Photovoltaic cells used to convert sunlight into electricity uses silicon
and also produce some waste materials by way of production by-products.
Also, there are large solar thermal farms; these farms can also be harmful
to the environment by harming ecosystems if not properly managed.

Some Good Uses of Solar Energy

We can use this energy to heat our homes, cook our food;
it can even be used to disinfect certain items.

Solar energy can be used in many different ways. It can be
used in agriculture. Greenhouses (no, nothing to do with greenhouse gas) convert
solar light to heat to be maximized in enhancing the growth of plants and
crops. Fact: greenhouses have been around since the Roman times and
modern greenhouses were built in Europe in 16th century. Greenhouses are
still an important part of horticulture today.

Daylight systems can be used to maximize the energy released by the sun.
It is used to provide interior illumination replacing the artificial
lighting. Daylight systems include sawtooth roofs, light shelf, skylights,
and light tubes. Properly implemented daylight systems can reduce
lighting-related energy consumption by 25 percent.

Solar energy can also be developed into solar thermal technologies which
can be used for water heating, space heating, space cooling and process
heat generation.  Further, this energy can also be used to distill water and
make saline or brackish water potable or drinkable.

SODIS (solar water disinfection) involves exposing water-filled plastic
polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles to sunlight. One obvious drawback
is that this process take extra time, since the exposure time varies on the
weather conditions. It requires a minimum of six hours, or up to two days
during days with overcast conditions. Currently, there are two million
people in developing countries that use SODIS for their daily drinking
water needs.

As we all know, sunlight can be converted into electricity using
photovoltaics or PV.  PV has been mainly used to power small and
medium-sized things like a calculator powered by a single solar cell. To
take things further, though, there are homes powered by photovoltaics.
Using solar energy for water and space heating is the most widely used
application of solar energy while ventilation and solar air heating is
also growing in popularity.

Yet another good use of solar energy, we can use solar furnaces employing
a huge array of mirrors to concentrate the sun’s energy into a small space
and produce very high temperatures. Solar furnaces are also called “solar
cookers”.  A solar cooker can also be used to cook food.

Any downside to solar energy?

With all the benefits of using solar energy, there is still a downside for
this alternative energy source. It does not work during night time. Don’t
worry, there are remedies for this shortcoming. How about solar energy
stations. The cost of setting up solar stations is expensive, but the
benefit of using solar energy when accumulated is an offsetting factor.

Possibly Related Posts:

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• Solar Power Innovation: Cheap Electric on the Horizon?

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