How Is Solar Energy Harnessed Efficiently?
To understand how
to harness solar energy efficiently, you need
to understand what a solar energy collector
is. A solar energy collector is a basically
a device used to collect sunlight (as its
name implies.) The sunlight which has been
successfully absorbed into the solar energy
collector will then be processed into heat,
which is trapped within the device.
It has been observed that for the solar energy
collector to be efficient, there are certain
factors that you need to take into consideration
when designing one for a solar energy system.
One, it is better for your solar energy collector
to be of a darker color because in physics,
darker colors tend to absorb sunlight better
than lighter colors. (This is why you feel
cooler in pastel and white shirts on a hot
day than when you wear a black shirt.) The
other factors that come into play when making
the solar energy collector efficient at what
it does are: the weather conditions; the latitude
of your location; what time of the year you
are collecting solar energy in; and of course
the hour of day you are putting the solar
energy collector out to soak up the rays of
the sun.
US President Bill Clinton was instrumental
at helping form the Climate Change Action
Plan which was partially concerned with using
lighter colors in US cities (especially on
rooftops) so that cities would become cooler
(and more energy efficient when it came to
using internal cooling systems for buildings.)
This is why some wise homeowners or tenants
paint their roofs white – to cut down
on heat absorbed by metal roofs and help occupants
feel more comfortable within structures.
One problem with using solar energy collectors
like photovoltaic cells (PV panels) is that
the solar energy cells can only provide DC
(or direct current) of 12 volts at best. This
would be okay except that many appliances
operate on AC (or alternating current.) To
get around this problem, there are some solar
energy collectors which have a current conversion
function so that the DC can be converted into
AC and becomes usable by homeowners for their
appliances.
The relatively small output per solar energy
cell is the reason why home solar energy systems
may have to have quite a lot of these solar
energy cells (PV panels) laid side by side
over a very large surface area (that is under
direct sunlight, at that) to be able to power
even one home sufficiently. To make your solar
energy systems useful even at night, they
should be fitted with the right type of storage
batteries so that surplus solar energy collected
in the daytime can be stored properly then
tapped into for use at nighttime (or on dull
afternoons when the sun is hidden by clouds.)
You should also have your system fitted with
a regulator that protects the batteries from
overcharging. This makes your home solar energy
systems more effective yet efficient and solar
energy is put to its best use for your needs.
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