Solar Energy: Know What it Is
You may have heard
of the term renewable energy at some point.
The most renewable among the various forms
of renewable energy that is known to us nowadays
is solar energy. Solar energy is basically
energy sourced from the light of the Sun.
The Sun is believed to be the cause of many
earth cycles like the ebb and flow of the
ocean tides, wind patterns, and even the growth
of plants. Sunlight itself gives us light
and heat which are necessary for our survival.
Even though in certain parts of the world
it may seem like we have too much sunlight
(like in the desert areas), the abundance
of sunlight in such areas may prove to be
a boon for helping us tap into the powers
of solar energy as a fuel source for human
activities.
The solar energy technologies we know of today
may fall under three main categories, which
are namely: Passive Solar Technology, Active
Solar Heating Technology, and Solar PV (Photovoltaic)
Systems Technology. There is a wide range
of difference between these three categories
of solar energy technology.
Passive Solar Technology (also known as Passive
Solar Architecture) is basically a way of
designing buildings so that heat within the
building is not lost, and heat is even gained
through solar energy applications.
For those structures that require more aggressive
ways of heating the internal parts of the
structure (to keep occupants comfortable and
able to survive an extremely cold climate),
building designers might use Active Solar
Heating Technology instead. This means solar
collectors are employed to collect sunlight
to heat either water systems or internal spaces
in the affected structure.
Solar PV (Photovoltaic) Systems Technology
is basically the process of deriving electricity
from sunlight or radiation from solar energy.
A good rule of thumb with Solar PV Systems
(or solar energy systems) is that the more
intense sunlight gets, the more solar energy
the solar energy systems can collect and then
change into electricity. One of the most familiar
gadgets that use solar energy nowadays is
the common solar-powered digital calculator.
A less common but more useful application
is the use of solar energy systems to power
the electrical systems of roving mobile homes.
Of these three, it is Solar PV Technology
that is commonly associated with solar energy
applications or solar energy systems nowadays.
This is because it is this type of solar energy
technology that has the most flexible range
of applications that we can use for various
purposes. It is also Solar PV Technology that
can be moved around from system to system
or location to location since the first two
categories of solar energy systems are used
only for fixed structures.
Even in places were overcast skies are quite
common (such as Ireland where rain is more
prevalent than sunny skies), Solar PV Technology
can still be used because of the use of mirrors
to magnify the little sunlight that can be
gathered and focus it to produce intense heat.
The only perceived limitation of Solar PV
Technology is any lack of semiconductor materials
for building the solar energy systems.
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