Essentials of Solar Energy

Besides being available abundantly anywhere and everywhere, solar energy is absolutely non-polluting and infinitely renewable. Many researchers and energy planners around the world are engaged in the task of harnessing this source of energy in a way that is cheapest and yet most efficient. Solar energy when used in the right way can prove to be a boon in many ways.

Solar energy has been used both directly and indirectly to produce power and energy. You could use solar energy directly to produce heat; this energy can be used to heat water and other things. This energy can be used indirectly to produce electricity by utilizing photo voltaic cells. Passive solar is the direct use of solar energy while the indirect use of solar energy is referred to as active solar. The only drawback of solar energy is that it is available in dilute forms and to tap its full potential it will have to be concentrated.

Passive solar systems have been used for a very long time now for several uses including lighting fire, drying wood and heating water. Solar water heaters have been very successful for heating water in places where there is sunlight throughout the year. Solar concentrators are used for commercial electricity generation in solar power plants. They have proven to be especially cost effective in places where supply of conventional power is scarce or unavailable. Researchers have even explored the options of tapping solar energy from outer space. Certain satellites and spacecrafts operate using solar power.

Another field that is generating a lot of interest is the use of solar energy in motor vehicles. There is still a lot of research in progress to realize this eventuality, as the developments are still at the experimental level. One of the biggest hurdles to using solar energy for everyday use is that large sized solar panels are required to power vehicles. These solar panels are rather fragile and their large size makes them very difficult to mount on vehicles that are in motion. In order to get satisfactory results in solar powered vehicles it is very important that some more research be done to achieve the same efficiency as the conventional vehicles. Since solar energy is dilute, it will have to be first concentrated and stored to run the vehicles in the absence of sunlight.

Though the demand for solar power is ever-increasing, extensive utilization is presently hindered by price factors. The technology that is used for tapping solar energy is easily available everywhere but the cost of converting this energy to usable form is still very high. With a constant rise in fuel prices, the time for utilizing solar power as an alternate and cheaper source of energy is fast approaching. This energy is clean and non polluting, with the growing demand for solar powered devices there will be benefits both economically as well as the environmentally. When solar powered devices are eventually produced on a large scale in keeping with the growing demand, then the prices of these products would definitely come down.