Solar Power for Better Environment
March 1, 2008
Solar power keeps the environment clean
Solar power is the usable energy to derive from the light of the sun. Solar energy has been known and used by traditional technologies for centuries and is most used where other power supplies are not present like in space or in remote locations on the earth. Numerous methods of harnessing power, to reduce our dependency or non-renewable resources, are being tried in various parts of the country. Wind and sun are the two most dominant in that arena and the sun is proving to be hot spot for activity in generating solar electric power.
Solar power has been used in heating, generation of electricity as well as in desalination of seawater. An Application of solar power is becoming more widespread as the costs as well as supply of other power sources like fossil fuels make it an effective source for energy generation. There are a number of different uses for solar power and solar heating systems are one such use.
Solar Heating Systems
Solar hot water systems make use of sunlight to heat up water. These systems are found in domestic appliances that heat domestic water or for space heating and are basically composed of solar thermal collectors as well as a storage tank. There are three types of solar water heaters that make use of solar power and these are active systems that use pumps in order to circulate water or to heat transfer fluids and the passive systems that circulate water or heat transfer fluid through natural circulation and are known as thermo siphon systems and the third type is the batch system that use a tank that is heated by sunlight, directly.
Solar cooking and Lighting
Solar power can also be used for solar cooking. A solar box cooker traps the energy from the sun into an insulated box and these are useful in cooking, pasteurization as well as fruit canning.
They are in use in many developing countries to reduce the demand for firewood as well as to keep the environment clean. Solar lighting is another use of solar power where use of natural light to supply illumination is used to save energy and it offers physiological as well as psychological benefits.
Solar thermal electric power plants
There are also large-scale uses for solar power as are in the case of solar thermal electric power plants. Solar thermal energy may be used in heating a heat exchanger to high temperatures and the heat is then used in the production of electric power or for other industrial uses. Solar power technologies may also be classified as direct or indirect and normally direct solar power. It involves a single transformation of sunlight in order to get energy that can be used and in such cases sunlight may be used to hit photovoltaic cells to create electricity or it may warm a thermal mass or it may strike a solar sail such as those found on spacecraft’s and there are also many other means of deriving direct solar power. Indirect solar power involves multiple conversion of sunlight to obtain useable energy forms.
Summary:
Solar power is the usable energy to derive from the light of the sun. Solar power has been used in heating, generation of electricity as well as in desalination of seawater.
Solar hot water systems make use of sunlight to heat up water. These systems are found in domestic appliances that heat domestic water or for space heating and are basically composed of solar thermal collectors as well as a storage tank. Solar power can also be used for solar cooking. There are also large-scale uses for solar power as are in the case of solar thermal electric power plants
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