What is Solar Energy?

The sun has always been a vital part of our existence. It is the one constant source of light for our entire solar system and helps maintain the balance of planets by keeping them stuck within its gravitational pull. In addition, the light and heat from the sun make all kinds of life possible on our planet. With plants using that energy to grow, and in turn, pass it on to other forms of life through the food chain. Even the excess heat helps sustain the water table, as water constantly evaporates to reach the upper atmosphere and becomes clouds. This makes the sun one of the primary causes of life propagating in this world.

This is a huge concept to wrap your head around. So much so, that most religions across the world consider the sun to be some kind of God, which helps the world flourish. Even as we have moved past these notions on paper, it doesn’t negate the fact that we still use the sun to improve our everyday existence, in various forms, and through various mechanisms. So, let’s take a closer look at solar energy and how we can use it for our own collective benefit and know the objectives of solar enegy.

What is Solar Energy?

Solar energy is a form of energy released by the sun in the form of photons, which travel thousands of miles in space to reach our planet. This light also carries the heat of the sun with it, both of which play a vital role in making the earth inhabitable. This light and heat are released as a result of a self-sustaining nuclear reaction occurring in the core of the sun, and since the sun still has billions of years of fuel left, we can truly call it a renewable energy source.

But more than just giving us heat and light, solar energy is also one of the most abundant sources of renewable energy on the planet, which can easily be converted into electricity via photovoltaic cells. Some systems even use special heat-exchange systems to capture the heat, along with the light, for better results. Let’s take a closer look at each of these use cases, and how they can benefit humanity at large.

Observations on Solar Energy Production

Uses of Solar Energy

As we mentioned above, solar energy has a lot of use cases. These range from passive to active, and even indirect capture of energy. Which can be utilized in different forms for different purposes. Let us take a look at the most popular applications that promise the best results.

• Solar energy is used to see the world around us.
• Solar energy is regularly used to dry our clothes and bodies after washing.
• Solar energy is often used to heat water for domestic use, with the help of special solar-water heaters.
• Solar energy is often used to capture heat within greenhouses, to help plants grow faster.
• Solar energy is used to generate electricity, by capturing the photons using a photovoltaic cell.
• Solar energy is also used to boil water and create steam, which in turn can be used to generate electricity.

As you can see, there are many applications of solar energy that we already use in our day-to-day life, yet somehow it still remains one of the most under-utilized forms of energy on the planet. This is mostly because a lot of people aren’t aware of the advantages of solar energy, versus traditional sources of energy know the uses of Solar power system for home. So, why not take a look at all the advantages and see how they benefit us.

Advantages of Solar Energy

In addition to helping us see the world, grow our food, and brighten our homes, solar energy has a lot of advantages that aren’t as tangible, but play a big role in making the case for a shift to renewables. Let us take a look at a few of them to see how we can improve our lives by adopting this form of energy for utility-scale power generation.

1. Environmentally Friendly – This form of energy produces no harmful emissions at any stage of the production process. Thus, making it a very eco-friendly and clean form of energy.
2. Sustainable Energy – Since the sun is all set to be around for another 4.5 billion or more, we don’t need to worry about the sustainability of this energy source. As compared to oil and gas, which is bound to run out in another century or two.
3. Low-Maintenance – Even the largest-scale solar energy plants require very minimal care on a regular basis to keep them operational. Mostly, you have to keep the solar panels clean and ensure that the batteries are working within capacity. Other than that, it is a truly self-sustaining process.
4. Encourages Energy Independence – There are only a few places in the world that produce oil and gas. But every one receives sunlight. So, almost any country on the planet can have a near-unlimited supply of energy, if they start investing in solar energy production. This removes their energy dependence on other nations and makes them more independent on the world stage.
5. Lower Electricity Bills – Even on a personal level, if you invest in a residential solar setup, it can go a long way in reducing your electricity expenses, as you can decide to store and/or sell the energy produced to offset the amount you would have generally consumed.
6. Decongest the Grid – The sun delivers its peak energy output during noon time, which also happens to be the time of day when people often use the most electricity; to run lights, office equipment, air-conditioners, and more. So, by adding solar energy production capacity during this time, you can reduce the load on the existing power grid.

These are just some of the advantages that you get when dealing with solar energy. They present a big opportunity in making solar energy seem like a viable option for everyday citizens, as well as government utilities. But before you jump into planning your own solar setup, here are some fun facts that you should know about it.

Facts About Solar Energy

• The earth gets enough solar energy in a single hour, to cover all of humanity’s energy needs for an entire year.
• It takes around 8 minutes for light to travel the 90 million miles between the sun and the earth, and it happens every day, non-stop.
• Solar energy was first used around the 7th century B.C. to start fires using magnifying glasses.
• Alexandre Edmond Becquerel discovered “the photovoltaic effect” in 1839, just a year after the first coal-based power plant was built.
• Modern silicon photovoltaic cells were created by Bell Labs in 1954.
• The Earth receives about 174 PW of solar radiation every day. 30% of which is reflected back to space.
• The space industry has been using solar energy to power spacecraft since the 1950s.

As solar energy becomes more popular, affordable, and widespread, we are bound to discover more uses, advantages, and fun facts about this form of energy production. Until then, this has been a small but comprehensive look into what makes up the concept of solar energy, and how we can use it to better mankind.