Table of Contents
Harnessing
the Power
of the Sun
SOLAR PANELS
SOLAR PANELS
BIOMASS
ENERGY
GEOTHERMAL
ENERGY
HYDROELECTRICITY
NUCLEAR POWER
PLANTS
SOLAR PANELS
WIND FARMS
Harnessing the Power
of Organic Matter
Harnessing the Power
of Earths Heat
Harnessing the Power
of Water
Harnessing the Power
of Nuclear Energy
Harnessing the Power
of the Sun
Harnessing the Power
of Wind
TITLES IN
THIS SERIES
A STEM Approach to Energy Sources
POWERED
UP!
jade zora scibilia
ROSEN / PowerKids Press
ISBN: 9781538328545
6-pack ISBN: 9781538328606
SOLAR PANELS
Jade Zora Scibilia
GRL: N
Harnessing
the Power
of the Sun
A STEM Approach to Energy Sources
POWERED
UP!
New York
Jade zora scibilia
SOLAR PANELS
SOLAR PANELS
Published in 2018 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.
29 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010
Copyright 2018 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without
permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer.
First Edition
Editor: Melissa Ra Shofner
Book Design: Tanya Dellaccio
Photo Credits: Cover VioNet/Shutterstock.com; p. 4 (Bangkok) charnsitr/
Shutterstock.com; p. 4 (New York City) blvdone/Shutterstock.com; pp. 5, 17 (left) ESA/
Handout/Getty Images Publicity/Getty Images; p. 7 (house) esbobeldijk/
Shutterstock.com; pp. 7 (middle left), 13 Praethip Docekalova/Shutterstock.com;
p. 7 (middle right) pedrosala/Shutterstock.com; p. 7 (smartphone with solar charger)
Dmitry Galaganov/Shutterstock.com; p. 9 (top) Cholpan/Shutterstock.com; p. 9 (bottom)
Varlamova Lydmila/Shutterstock.com; p. 10 (left) yoshi0511/Shutterstock.com; p. 10
(right) Thunayaporn Arunsmith/Shutterstock.com; p. 11 hans engbers/Shutterstock.com;
p. 15 Ernesto r. Ageitos/Moment/Getty Images; p. 16 Stocktrek Images/Getty Images;
p. 17 (right) NASA/Handout/Getty Images News/Getty Images; p. 19 (top) Frederic
Stevens/Getty Images News/Getty Images; p. 19 (bottom) CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP/
Getty Images; p. 20 (left) VALERIE GACHE/AFP/Getty Images; p. 20 (right) Handout/
Getty Images News/Getty Images; p. 21 P A Thompson/Corbis Documentary/
Getty Images; p. 22 Diyana Dimitrova/Shutterstock.com.
Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Scibilia, Jade Zora.
Title: Solar panels: harnessing the power of the sun / Jade Zora Scibilia.
Description: New York : PowerKids Press, 2018. | Series: Powered up! a STEM
approach to energy sources | Includes index.
Identiers: ISBN 9781538328545 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781508164258 (library bound) |
ISBN 9781538328606 (6 pack)
Subjects: LCSH: Solar energy--Juvenile literature. | Solar cells--Juvenile literature.
Classication: LCC TJ810.3 S35 2018 | DDC 621.47--dc23
Manufactured in the United States of America
CPSIA Compliance Information: Batch #BW18PK For Further Information contact Rosen Publishing, New York, New York at 1-800-237-9932
CONTENTS
More People, More Power ....... 4
What Are Solar Panels? ......... 6
How Solar Panels Work ......... 8
Why Go Solar? ................
Nothings Perfect ............. 12
Using the Power of the Sun .... 14
In Outer Space ............... 16
The Future of Solar Energy .....
What Can You Do? ............ 20
The Power of the Sun .......... 22
Glossary ..................... 23
Index ....................... 24
Websites .................... 24
More People,
More Power
Today, there are about 7.4 billion people
on Earth. It takes a lot of energy to meet
the populations power needs. We burn
fossil fuels to power our homes and cars,
but these fuels wont last forever. They also
create a lot of pollution, which is harmful for
the environment .
Luckily, we can get power from other
energy sources that are cleaner, safer, and
sustainable, which means theyll last a long
time. In fact, Earth spins
around one of the best
sources of renewable
energythe sun.
We use so much electricity that our streetlights can
be seen from outer space. This photograph of London,
england, was taken from the International Space
station (ISS) and clearly shows the city blocks.
SUPERCHARGED!
Your
ecological footprint is
a measurement of how much
energy you use and your impact,
or effect, on the environment.
If every person lived like the
average American, wed
need nearly four Earths
to meet the needs
of the current
population!
What Are
Solar Panels?
The sun produces a huge amount of
electromagnetic energy, which travels to Earth
in the form of sunlight. We can put this energy to
work using solar panels.
Solar panels are devices that absorb, or
take in, energy from the sun and change it into
electricity. They work like batteries, which are
objects that store energy. Electricity is the form
of energy youre probably most familiar with
you use it every day when you turn on a light,
ride in a car, or use a computer.
SUPERCHARGED!
Plants are solar powered,
too! They use their leaves to
absorb energy from the sun,
then convert, or change,
it into food using
photosynthesis .
Large solar panels can be placed on top of buildings or arranged
in fields called solar farms or solar parks. Very small solar
panels can be used with handheld devices such as cell phones.
How Solar
Panels Work
During the daytime, the sun shines on the
surface of a solar panel. The solar panel converts
the energy from the sun into electricity using an
inverter. Extra energy can be stored in a battery
or sent back to the power company for later use.
Extra energy can be used at other times, such as
when the sun isnt shining or when more power
is needed to run electronic devices.
Solar panels should be positioned to face
the sun so they can absorb as much sunlight
and make as much electricityas possible.
SUPERCHARGED!
The rst person to study
the possibility of using solar
panels was Antoine-Csar
Becquerel in 1839. An
engineer named Russell
Ohl invented modern
solar panels
in 1941.
solar panel
inverter on the back of a solar panel
Solar panels can provide power for a house by converting
sunlight into electricity. First, the panels absorb sunlight. Next,
an inverter converts the suns energy into a usable form of
electricity. A meter keeps track of how much electricity is being
