Alternative Energy Sources – Solar Energy
Solar Energy is one of the most popular alternative energy sources in use throughout the world. The technology works by taking the suns rays and converting them into electricity through the use of solar panels. The solar energy converts the rays from the sun and converting them into heat through the use of solar thermal collectors. Once converted into heat the solar energy can be used for heating water or air.
How Do Solar Panels Generate Energy?
When the sun’s rays impact solar panels, they are then absorbed by semi-conducting materials such as silicone. The process used to convert the light from the sun into electricity is referred to as the photovoltaic or PV effect. This occurs when the electrons are broken away from their respective atoms allowing them to flow through the solar panel to create energy. When solar panels are installed on a home or business, they consist of an array of panels that is used to convert the sun’s rays into direct current (or DC for short) electricity. The electricity is then routed through an inverter that turns it into 120 volt alternating current that can be used in your home. The AC electricity is then routed to the distribution panel in your home to be used in place of traditional power. If solar panels are crating more power than can be used, it can be stored in a battery as DC electricity to be used at a non-peak time.
How Do You Value Solar Energy?
It depends really on the conversion rate of the solar panel. Legacy panels convert at 20% or less, which makes one hour of sunlight on one square meter panel worth about $.06 USD. If you are using solar panels to collect and generate heat, then the value goes up a bit to around $0.14. There is much less latent loss in the heat transfer of a solar panel than in direct electricity conversion. The heat transfer efficiency of a solar panel is equivalent to that of an oil burner. If you were to cover a 20 ft x 50 ft roof with solar panels for a year, you would be able to generate approximately 1500 KWH, or the equivalent of approximately 3,200 gallons of heating oil which would save in excess of $6,000 USD per year.
Why Does it Cost So Much to Get Started in Solar Energy?
There are a number of reasons that solar energy is still cost prohibited for it to become a main-stream technology. There is still not a large amount of competition in the industry. Also, many areas in the United States will not allow you as a home owner to install your own solar panels on your home. Also, many architecture firms have found that its just not profitable for them to make and keep plans on file that incorporate solar energy into the initial design of homes (although this is changing for the better). And of course, the relatively low cost of oil within the United States is another barrier to wider spread adoption of solar power within society as a renewable energy source.
Facts About Solar Energy
Some interesting facts about solar energy if you are considering using this green technology in your home or at work:
-It takes about Eight minutes for the sun’s rays to reach Earth from more than 93,000,000 miles at 186,282 miles/second of travel.
-The greater the rate of pollution, the more the sun’s rays are prevented from reaching Earth.
-There are more than 2 billion people in the world (almost 1/3rd) who do not have reliable electricity every day.
-Americans consume more than ¼ of the world’s energy even though the U.S. Has less than 10% of the world population.