Yash
On Sun, a huge amount of Solar Energy is released when hydrogen atoms fuse together at 15 million kelvin to form Helium.
H₂ + H₂ ———-> 2 He + Energy
And this energy flows in form of electromagnetic radiation producing a heating and light effect.
This energy takes 8 minutes and 20 seconds to reach the surface of the Earth. If properly harnessed, it can meet the energy needs of the whole world.
Solar Energy sustains all the life forms on the Earth
Sunlight is very important to sustain life on earth.
It is the sunlight that has made the ecosystem possible on earth.
Plants grow and make their food in the presence of sunlight.
This process is called Photosynthesis.
Plants are the primary food for many living forms on the earth. Hence an eco-system is created through plants which in turn are supported by Solar Energy.
Effects of Solar Energy
Solar Energy has a wide spectrum of frequency.
That is, it travels in the band of energy which is represented as:
E = hѵ
Where h is the plank’s constant and ѵ is the frequency of the electromagnetic radiation.
Solar energy creates a heating effect and a visible effect while traveling.
Infrared waves create a heating effect which is used in various applications to meet our energy needs.
Sunlight causes chemical reactions. These chemical reactions
Plants absorb sunlight and start chemical reactions.
They make food and hence sustain all the living forms on the earth.
Solar Energy is the Primary Source of Energy
Any type of energy that exists on the earth has its origin derived from solar energy.
Let me discuss a few important ones:
a) Petroleum
It is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons that are found in the earth in solid (bitumen), liquid, and gaseous (Natural gas) form.
It is a fossil fuel.
Let me discuss more its liquid form.
It is called crude oil (yellowish-black liquid) that is found under the seabed.
When the crude oil is refined, we get petrol, diesel, Kerosene, and other products.
We use these fuels in transportation, electricity generation, cooking, and many other ways to meet our energy needs.
Do you know? Petroleum is derived from Solar Energy
When aquatic plants and animals die.
Their dead remains get buried under the seabed.
The layers of sediments keep depositing on the dead remains.
The pressure starts building and the temperature starts rising.
Over a thousand years, this dual effect converts the dead remains into crude oil.
That we use as our energy source.
b) HydroPower
The dam is built across the river to hold water.
This water is then allowed to fall from a height to generate electricity.
This electricity runs our electrical appliances.
We can say that the energy source, in this case, is rainwater.
If we rewind the process, we’ll see that here also the primary source is solar energy.
Let us understand how?
The sunlight heats the water surface.
The water absorbs the heat and gains kinetic energy.
Because of this, the water molecules start moving away from each other.
And gets converted into vapors.
Thereafter, these vapors rise up in the air.
With height, the temperature reduces and these vapors condense into water droplets (liquid) and gain weight.
Thereafter, due to weight, these water droplets fall as rain.
Flowing from mountains in the form of river streams.
The dam is then constructed across these river streams to collect water and used to produce current.
Therefore, solar energy is the primary source in the case of hydropower.
c) Wind Power
The wind is a moving air which then passes through the blades of the windmill and generates electricity.
You can see that the energy source is the wind.
But how the wind is generated?
It is produced due to the temperature difference between the two places.
During the day, the air above the land is hotter than the air above the sea.
The warm air has more kinetic energy.
Hence it rises above in the air.
The cooler air above the land surface takes its place.
A kind of air movement starts which we call Wind.
Therefore, the wind is produced due to the temperature difference in the air.
And this temperature difference is created by solar energy.
We have seen that the primary energy source is Solar Energy.
Applications of Solar Energy
Solar energy can be harnessed in a variety of ways to meet our energy needs.
Let us see some of its applications:
i) Solar Electricity (Solar Photovoltaics)
The solar panels used in the system absorb the sunlight and convert it into electricity.
The basic solar power system consists of:
- Solar Panels
- Batteries
- Solar charge controller
- Inverter and connecting wires.
The solar charge controller connects the solar panels and the battery.
It not only regulates the charging of the battery.
But also prevents the backflow of current from the battery to the solar panels.
The inverter inverts the DC into AC and runs our electrical appliances. Also, the extra current produced by the solar power system can be fed to the grid through Net-Metering.
ii) Concentrated Solar Energy (Solar Cooking)
Another great application of Solar Energy is cooking through solar cookers.
The basic principle behind solar cooking is harnessing the heating effect of solar energy.
The concave-shaped reflectors focus the sunlight in a concentrated point (focus) where the food is placed.
The heating effect of solar energy raises the temperature and cooking starts.
Finally, you get delicious and hot food to enjoy.
iii) Passive Heating (Heating of Homes)
In this method, the houses are designed in a way to take advantage of solar energy’s heating and light effect.
For example, the windows facing the sun trap the sunlight and keep the structure warm from the inside during the winter.
Architects design the building in such a way that it receives sunlight throughout the day.
Hence distributes it uniformly in all parts of the building.
This science takes into account the coordinates (latitude and longitude) and the climate of the location.
Advantages of harnessing Solar Energy
It is a clean source of energy. It does not emit harmful gases during the conversion from one form to another. Hence it helps in mitigating climate change.
A 5-kw solar power system can mitigate over 7 tonnes of carbon emissions from the air in 1 year.
The energy source is free to all. Unlike other fossil fuels such as petrol and diesel, solar energy is available free of cost to all on the earth.
“The sun is going to provide energy for another 5 billion years”.
Although, solar devices and equipment are more costly than conventional devices when run on fossil fuels.
But they offer fast payback and require very little maintenance.
Hence solar energy can be harnessed effectively to meet our energy needs.
How do you want to harness solar energy?
It is through:
- Solar Photovoltaics
- Concentrated Solar Energy
- Passive Heating
Please let me know in the comment box.
Maybe I can help you out.
See you in the next interesting post.
Yash
About the Author
Yash has over a decade of experience in Solar PV technology and is the founder of Solar with Yash.
Check out his Youtube Channel Solar Design and Payback with Yash
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