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When we speak about solar energy we most often mean the use of the sun’s energy for practical purposes – such as cooking food, heating water, generating electricity and other uses.
Solar panels are obviously better for the environment than traditional forms of energy widely used nowadays.
Solar energy can be used in a great variety of ways, much more than just producing electricity for our homes.
With solar energy becoming more and more popular the good news is – there is plenty of it for all of us, the challenge is to learn how to take advantage of it.
One company that is really going out of it’s way to make it available to everyone is Mitsubishi Solar.
The sun’s resources are truly endless – according to the estimations made by the scientists the sun will run out of its fuel in 5 billion years.
In fact, it was calculated that if just a small fraction of the Sahara desert was covered with photovoltaic cells generated energy could meet all the requirements for electricity in the world.
Solar energy is measured in kilowatt-hour, 1 kWh being the amount of electricity required to burn a 100 watt light bulb for 10 hours.
Anyone who feels like contributing to a cleaner environment and saving some money in the long term has the option of purchasing and installing one of the home solar systems available in the market – a great option if you live in a sunny place with predictable weather.
A traditional home solar system includes solar panels, an inverter, a battery, a charge controller, as well as wiring and support.
A 1-kilowatt home system consisting of 10-12 solar panels will require approximately 100 square feet of installation area and generate 1,600 kWh per year in a sunny climate and 750 kWh per year if the climate is cloudy.
It has been estimated that once installed such a system will prevent you from burning 170 lbs of coal, releasing 300 lbs of CO2 into the atmosphere and will help you to save 105 gallons of water every month.
One solar panel contains up to 40 solar cells and there are 10-12 of such panels typically facing north for maximum sun exposure. One great option is to build your own solar panels.
Once installed solar panels are likely to efficiently work for as long as 20 years. If a solar system has a battery back-up it can provide electricity round the clock even when it’s cloudy.
The most significant advantage of solar power is that it doesn’t require huge power stations with possible ecological disasters.
It’s suitable for just one house or the entire neighborhood and once installed it will continue working for a very long period of time without any maintenance costs on your side.
So, this is a renewable source of energy that is both safe and convenient, and sometimes can actually add a bit of glamor to your house when installed on the roof.
Solar energy can be captured by using photovoltaic cells (in solar panels), by boiling fluid to spin the turbine or heating a heat powered engine. Solar panels consist of many tiny solar cells covered with a layer of protective glass to prevent the cells from getting damaged and minimize light loss.
Solar cells convert sunlight into energy that can be later saved and used when needed. Fluid boiling resembles conventional power generation as in this method fluid heats up and the turbine is turned by the steam, the difference is that no raw materials are used to heat the liquid. Heat engine involves the use of mirrors or other reflective surfaces that concentrate light on the converter, consisting of a generator powered by a heat engine.
Current methods of converting sun light into energy are more efficient than they used to be many years ago – modern technologies and scientific discoveries have contributed to this matter. However, one of the most important goals of the scientists is to find out a way of increasing efficiency even more, this way moving closer to the goal of more than 50% of energy coming from renewable sources by the year 2040.
