Travis Newman - Solar Power: The beginner’s guide on how to design and install a photovoltaic system for your home, cars, vans and boats

I n recent years, the growing energy needs and increasing environmental changes are under consideration. Alternatives of non-renewable and polluting fossil fuels have to be investigated.

Importance of Solar energy

No one can deny the importance of solar energy. Among all the other options for non-renewable energy, the most suitable one is solar energy. Solar energy is produced directly by the sun as the radiations of the sun are converted into electrical energy and collected elsewhere, usually the Earth. This process generates heat and electromagnetic radiation through a thermonuclear process. It converts about 650 000, 0001 tons of hydrogen to helium every second, which is quite a significant amount. The heat always remains in the sun and is influential in maintaining the thermonuclear reaction. The visible light, infra-red light, and ultra-violet radiation, which are the electromagnetic radiation which stream out into space in all directions. Of the total radiation produced only a minimal amount reaches the Earth. Solar energy and power can be used in multiple ways. Well discuss it in later chapters.

The indirect source of Energy

Another critical point is that the radiation that reaches the Earth is the indirect source of almost all types of energy that we use today. The exceptions, in this case, are geothermal energy, nuclear fission, and fusion. The fossil fuels that are also considered as renewable energy source owe their origins to the sun. In fact, they were once living plants and animals whose life was dependent upon the sun.

Nowadays, much of the world's required energy can be supplied directly by solar power. Moreover, it can also be provided indirectly. The practicality of doing it will be examined, as well as the benefits and drawbacks.

Two main components of a solar energy generator

There are two primary components of a solar energy generator. These are the two main components which are required to have a functional solar energy generator in the production of electricity through solar energy. The two parts are known as a collector and a storage unit. Lets discuss these parts briefly.

Collectors

The collector has to collect the radiation that falls on it and convert a fraction of it either into electricity and heat energy or heat alone. At certain times, only a minimal amount of radiation will be received in the storage unit. During heavy cloud cover or at night, for example, the amount of energy produced by the collector will be quite small.

Types of collectors

In general, solar energy systems have three types of collectors and many forms of storage units. The three types of collectors are focusing collectors, flat-plate collectors, and passive collectors.

1. Focusing Collectors

The focusing collector is one of the main types of collectors. Focusing collectors are specific for maximizing the radiation falling on the focus of the collector. They are necessarily flat-plane collectors with optical devices. These are not so popular and are currently used only in a few scattered areas. An example of this type of collector is a solar furnace.

The negative aspect of focusing collectors

A negative point of focus collectors is that they lose some of the radiation that the flat-plane panels do not. Radiation reflected off the ground will be ignored by focusing collectors, but flat-plane panels uses it. Another problem with focusing collectors, in general, is due to temperature. The focusing collectors, by their very nature, need safeguards to protect their silicon components, and also they can create much higher temperatures.

1. Flat-Plate collectors

Another significant type of collector is flat-plate collectors. Flat-plate collectors are arrays of solar panels that are arranged in a simple plane, and they are the collectors that are the more commonly used type of today.

The solar energy systems can be near to any size, and the output that is provided is directly related to a few variables, which include size, cleanliness, and facing. The collector panels in solar energy systems have automated machinery that keeps their angle towards the sun.

1. Passive collectors

The third collector, which is passive collectors are entirely different from the other two types of collectors. The function of passive collectors is to absorb radiation and convert it into heat naturally (without being explicitly designed for the purpose).

Although all the objects have this property to some extent, rarely are there some objects (like walls) that are able to produce enough heat to make it worthwhile. The passive conductor has a natural ability to convert radiation into heat, enhanced in some way or another, as it can, by being painted black; and transferring the heat in a system for a different location is generally added.

Storage Unit

The storage unit can hold a tremendous amount of energy produced during the periods of maximum productivity, and the power is released when the productivity drops. In practice, methods of collecting and storing solar energy vary on different aspects, depending on the uses planned for the solar generator. It depends on your need and requirement to choose any of these multiple options and aspects.

Tasks that consume power

As for most of the purposes, people use energy, but there are only a few general tasks that consume most of the power. These tasks include heating, transportation, cooling, and the generation of electricity. Solar energy supports all four of these tasks with different levels of success.

Heating Purposes in business

For heating purposes in the industry, solar power is best suited. Almost no energy transformation is required in solar heating, so it has very high efficiency. Heat energy can be stored in a packed bed or a liquid, such as water.

Packed bed

A packed bed is a container that is usually filled with small objects that can hold heat with air spaces between them. Heat energy can also be stored in heat-of-fusion units or a phase changer.