What Is Solar Power

Solar power has been used by mankind for thousands of years. Indeed, many ancient civilizations have venerated the sun as the giver of all life and created gods around it. Simply put solar power provides energy. It can do this passively or actively. For most of the last few thousand years the sun has been used in passively. Only in the 20^th century has it been used actively through photovoltaic cells. This article will cover what is solar power by showing some of the ways it is used today.

How Does Solar Power Work

Heating water is a common system that uses solar power passively. Solar power water heating systems are referred to as batch collectors or flat plate collectors. The aim of each is to let the heat from the sun warm up the water or liquid that is stored in each collector. A batch collect is effectively a water tank that is painted black. It is placed in a position where the sun can heat up the water. This water is then used in the home or work environments. With flat plate collectors the liquid is stored or passes through a path of pipe that is placed into contact with sunlight. As the liquid passes through the tubing it is heated up. Flat plate collectors are more effective but harder to make than batch collectors.

Using solar power actively has more applications and is the focus of much of the research that goes into solar power. The principle behind using solar power actively is the photovoltaic (PV) cell. The photovoltaic cells is the smallest unit of a solar panel that you see often see on rooftops. A PV cell is made of of a compound of elements, principally silicon with other elements like phosphorous and boron. Each PV cell is lined up on a solar panel in series or parallel. When a PV cell comes into contact with sunlight an electron is displaced. This occurs for each cell and creates a direct current of electricity. This can be stored in a battery or used by appliances that use direct current or convert for applications that use alternating current.

Common applications that use direct current are a calculator, garden lights, solar powered generators, watches, radios, torches, fountains and birdbaths.

When solar power is converted to alternating current it can be used in homes and factories. It can power many of the everyday appliances that you find in the home, like TV's, lights, fridge and cooker. Solar power can replace the electricity that is normally supplied by utility companies to homes and businesses.

Solar power will become increasingly important as time passes because it will replace much of the electricity that is used in homes that is derived from fossil fuels. As the PV cells become more efficient and cheaper, fossils fuels will become more expensive because of their scarcity. This is part of the reason why people around the world are looking for renewable energy resources that can replace fossil fuels.

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