Solar Power Solar Energy Information

Solar energy radiation from the sun capable of producing heat causing chemical reactions or generating electricity.

Solar power solar energy information. Read on to learn about some solar energy facts that may surprise you. Aside from using photovoltaics to generate electricity solar energy is commonly used in thermal. In order to power the entire earth on renewable energy we would need to install solar panels on over 191 000 square miles. As of 2011 the technology produced less than one tenth of one percent of global energy demand.

Solar energy is the technology used to harness the sun s energy and make it useable. What you need to know. Solar energy and health facts. In the 1830s british astronomer john herschel used a solar oven to cook food during an expedition to africa.

Solar power is one of the cleanest most sustainable and most renewable resources in the world. The world s first solar collector was built in 1767 by a swiss scientist horace de saussure and it was used for cooking food and heating water. An example of an early solar energy collection device is the solar oven a box for collecting and absorbing sunlight. Collecting and using solar thermal heat energy.

Solar is now the cheapest and most abundant energy source in the world. Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the sun that is harnessed using a range of ever evolving technologies such as solar heating photovoltaics solar thermal energy solar architecture molten salt power plants and artificial photosynthesis. The total amount of solar energy incident on earth is vastly in excess of the world s energy requirements and could satisfy all future energy needs if suitably harnessed. In december 2016 the cost of building and installing new solar electricity generation dropped to 1 65 per watt narrowly beating out its renewable counterpart wind 1 66 watt and its fossil fuel.

Solar energy is captured in a variety of ways the most common of which is with photovoltaic solar panels that convert the sun s rays into usable electricity. It is an essential source of renewable energy and its technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending.