The basics of Solar Energy
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To be able to harness the power of Solar Energy is not a new concept; Ancient civilizations began using solar panels in the early part of the 20th century. Due to the advancements in technology, efficiency and cost effectiveness of Solar Energy is now available to everyone. In the next 14 years the United States will be able to meet 100% of its solar needs using renewable energy products.
The two commonly know types of Solar Energy are Thermal and Electric. Each one of the systems used for each process takes up little space and will require minimal maintenance. Either system that is used will be emission-free and will have little to no impact on the environment.
Solar Energy ↔ Thermal Power
Everyone is aware of the suns power to produce heat if you have ever walked bare foot on hot asphalt. Solar thermal energy harnesses solar energy to produce useful heat for residential, commercial and industrial uses. The systems absorb the radiation from the sun in flat plate collectors. Once the heat is generated on the plates a heat transfer fluid is circulated through the collectors, heating it to temperatures as high as 200 Fahrenheit. Now the heated fluid can be used for residential hot water and industrial space heating.
Solar Energy ↔ Electric Power
The sun produces approximately 1,000 watts of energy per square meter of the earth's surface. With the instillation of solar panels, a collection of this energy will be taken and converted into electricity we can use. Photovoltaic is solar radiation converted into electricity, ("photo" = light, "voltaic"=power) cells, or PV for short. The devices rely on the same silicon materials and semiconducting physics as the computer chips. Cells are group into panels, and with the proper number of panels along with an inverter a solar installation converts the suns energy into alternating electricity used in residential or commercial facilities. The amount of panels needed for a facility is determined by the load and amount of electricity you want to offset with renewable solar energy.
For more in-depth information regarding Solar Energy, please go to:
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