How Solar Energy Works
The need for an alternative source of energy was never as important for mankind as it is today. Fossil fuels, which are being used since thousands of years, are about to get exhausted. More importantly, they are contributing to various hazards on the planet, prominent ones being global warming and pollution. In such a scenario, searching for an alternative source of energy, which is a clean, efficient and renewable energy, has become the utmost priority for mankind. One such source of energy is solar energy. Before we move on to how solar energy works, we need to know what is solar energy and whether it's the right alternative source of power.
Posted in 
Tags: 
Solar Thermal Collectors
Heating With the Sun's Energy
Solar thermal (heat) energy is often used for heating water used in homes and swimming pools and for heating the insides of buildings ("space heating"). Solar space heating systems can be classified as passive or active.
Passive space heating is what happens to your car on a hot summer day. The sun's rays heat up the inside of your car. In buildings, the air is circulated past a solar heat surface and through the building by convection (meaning that less dense warm air tends to rise while denser cool air moves downward). No mechanical equipment is needed for passive solar heating.
Active heating systems require a collector to absorb and collect solar radiation. Fans or pumps are used to circulate the heated air or heat absorbing fluid. Active systems often include some type of energy storage system.
Solar Energy Pros and Cons
Coal, petrol, diesel, kerosene, natural gas - all of them are nothing but finite sources of energy. The rate at which they are being used by people all over the world, they are surely on the verge of drying up sooner than later. So, is there a solution to this problem? Well, yes there is. Didn't we all learn way back in school about wind, water and sunlight being sources of renewable energy? And how wind energy, hydro energy and solar energy would in time prove to be the only solution to man's energy woes? Yes we did. In spite of both wind and hydro energy regularly being used all over the world in quite a few application areas, it is in fact solar energy that is being targeted as having the highest potential among all three. Therefore, on that note, let us have a look at a few solar energy pros and cons.
Where Solar is Found
Solar energy is by far the Earth's most available energy source. Solar power is capable of providing many times the total current energy demand. But it is an intermittent energy source, meaning that it is not available at all times. However, it can be supplemented by thermal energy storage or another energy source, such as natural gas or hydropower.
Solar Basics
Energy from the Sun
The sun has produced energy for billions of years. Solar energy is the sun
Solar Water Heater Cost
The Sun, just another star in the Milky Way, is an indispensable part of the solar system supporting all the life forms on Earth from a distance of about 150 million kilometers. Owing to the magnanimity of its light and heat, the Sun serves as a wonderful source of energy. Being able to harness its energy free of cost, is perhaps one of the greatest things we Earthlings are blessed with.
Super Solar Flares: Armageddon from the Sun?
Most people know what a solar flare is, but few know about a very rare and yet very powerful type of solar flare - a "super solar flare." A super solar flare is about as powerful as the nuclear electromagnetic pulse (NEMP) that occurs when a nuclear device that is detonated. A super solar flare or an NEMP could seriously set the world back many, many years as far as technology is concerned. Our earth's atmosphere protects us and our equipment from regular solar flares, but can be easily penetrated by a super solar flare. Which could damage everything from our modern electronics to the power grid.
sending...