Solar Energy

Introduction

Instead of using energy from the sun, the alternative exists to use wind power or energy from water – using the tides, wave energy or the energy of rivers. However, these requirements are not yet being met throughout the world. Energy from the sun is sufficient all over the world and even in the very north of Europe or in the south of America, the sun could deliver enough energy to meet human energy demands if we were to effectively use it.

Depending on the season and the sunset times, in Europe there are between 200 and 1000 W/m² of energy available from the sun. One way to save the energy is through the use of a collector: the energy from the sun’s rays are gathered in a collector and then travel to a heat transfer system, and from there to the end-user, or alternatively stored for future use. A simple analogy of this process is the garden hose. In summertime the sun can heat up the water in the garden hose to a temperature of 60° C, even in the north of Europe. This demonstrates how the sun’s energy could be used for heating water - for swimming baths or showers at home. These technologies need effective heat insulation so that energy is not lost during the night or on cooler days.

Another system is the solar cell - an electrical component which converts the sun’s rays into electrical energy. An example of this technology is a solar-powered calculator, as commonly used throughout the world.

There are further technical details regarding how these technologies work, however for the time being I would like to focus on my main topic: the benefits of using solar energy.

Globalisation = more energy

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Advantages and Disadvantages

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Progress today and tomorrow

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References

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