One of the greatest challenges of modern civilizations is to overcome the copious amounts of fossil fuel that powers society. Low environmental, renewable energy sources offer a brighter alternative, especially when it comes to solar energy.
Solar Energy Advantages
There are many advantages to solar energy, especially at home-scale. JedaVillaSolar © by Jeda Villa Bali
The advantages of solar energy are many because the sun’s energy is free and available to all who choose to use it. It can be used to supply electricity to heat your water, to heat, and cool your house, your businesses or just about anything you can think of that you currently use standard electricity for. The sun is the most abundant source of renewable energy, it does not fail and it continues everyday . Other forms of traditional energy such as coal and gas are not sustainable and once they have been expended, there is no return. Here are some solar energy facts and advantages of solar energy.
The sun’s energy that comes in the form of light from the sun is about 90 million miles away from the earth. Light travels at approximately 186,000 miles per second, so it takes about 8 minutes for the sun to send out energy and for the earth to receive it. Even though only a tiny fraction of the energy emitted by the sun is received by the earth, with all the energy we receive from the sun in just one hour, the earth has more energy than the entire world could use for one year.
Solar energy refers more specifically to the use of solar energy into electricity and it’s the healthiest form of environmental energy. Thermal Solar energy can produce light for use indoors and outdoors, and can be used to heat practically anything in your home, from pools to your electric cars, and every appliance in between. Solar energy is measured in kilowatt-hours. 1 kilowatt = 1000 watts and even in cloudy weather, you can still receive enough sunshine to provide up to approximately 3/4 of all your annual hot water needs at home.
People have used solar energy for hundreds of years. Magnifying glasses were one of the first tools to harness the sun’s power and were used to do such common things as ignite wood. Today though, solar power has come much further than magnifying glasses and the latest technology makes use of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells which convert sunlight into electricity. These PV cells are used in thermal technologies to heat things from homes to the water that the homeowners use. In fact, solar water heating began in the 1920′s and was in full use before World War II, but today, what used to take solar panels the size of an entire house to heat your water, are now small panels that compactly fit on top of small sections on your roof.
Solar thermal technology
Solar thermal technology can also generate electricity by creating steam to power generators, which is very good for farming and outdoor applications where wired electricity is not an option. Such solar powered, stem generators are ideal for a green world because the use of solar energy does not cause greenhouse gas emissions, nor does the steam used to power such generators.
We can say that solar power is the wave of the future. Solar energy advantages are enormous and can save the world from a myriad of problems that currently plague our earth and environment. When comparing solar power to all other forms of fuels, the advantages of solar energy outweigh all others. -Amanda Jackson