Home

SOLAR ENERGY

Solar thermal energy is a technology for harnessing solar power for practical applications from solar heating to electrical power generation.

"Because we are now running out of gas and oil, we must prepare quickly for a third change, to strict conservation and to the use of coal and permanent renewable energy sources, like solar power."

JIMMY CARTER, televised speech, Apr. 18, 1977

Why Solar?

Firstly: What is solar power?

Even though most of the energy of the earth would not be present without the sun, only a few forms of power are considered to be solar power. In the context of renewable energy, solar power is associated with the harnessing of the sun's present emissions of heat or light.

Solar power, besides providing heat and light, also causes the wind that we feel here on Earth. Winds are created when various layers of the atmosphere absorb different amounts of heat and therefore expand differently. This creates regions of lower and higher pressure, resulting in masses of air that circulate both at ground level and at higher altitudes.

Solar power is also responsible for fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal. These substances are the result of large masses of decayed plant matter, which during their lifetime, absorbed solar energy. Fossil fuels are merely concentrated stores of the solar energy that these plants had while alive.

Power from the sun comes to the Earth as heat and light.

Why is solar power renewable?

Solar power is renewable as long as the sun keeps burning the massive amount of hydrogen it has in its core. Even with the sun expending 700 billion tons of hydrogen every second, it is expected to keep burning for another 4.5 billion years.

Are there different types of technologies associated with solar power?

There are a variety of types of technologies associated with solar power. These technologies can be divided into two groups. The first group are those that use the sun to generate heat, called solar thermal technologies. Solar thermal technologies include solar concentrator power systems, flat plate solar collectors, and passive solar heating. The other group of solar power technologies directly convert solar radiation into electricity through the photoelectric effect by using photovoltaics (also known as PV).

The photoelectric effect occurs when a beam of UV light, composed of photons (quantized packets of energy), strike one part of a pair of negatively charged metal plates. This causes electrons to be "liberated" from the negatively charged plate. These free electrons are then attracted to the other plate by electrostatic forces. This flowing of electrons is an electrical current. This electron flow can be gathered in the form of direct current (DC). This DC can then be inverted into alternating current (AC), which is the electrical power that is most commonly used in buildings.

How do different solar technologies effect the environment?

During operation, PV and solar thermal technologies produce no air pollution, little or no noise, and require no transportable fuels. The environmental impact of solar technologies is relatively small, it is perhaps more beneficial to take a look at the enormous amount of pollution that is prevented due to the use of solar technologies.

For Further information on what systems we use, do not hesitate to contact us.

No portion of this document may be modified, copied, distributed, or reused in any way without the expressed written consent of Alan Macdonald through Homestead. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information displayed, however we are not responsible for typographical errors. Product images, descriptions, and specifications are provided as a courtesy and should not be relied upon to accurately describe an item.

En Español