Solar Energy
On a hot summer’s day you can see and feel the energy from the sun beating down on the Earth’s surface, the light is so strong that you need sunglasses to protect your eyes and you can see the heat shimmering in the air.
A massive proportion of this energy just bounces off our atmosphere back into space. Even so enough of it reaches the Earth’s surface every hour to provide a whole year's worth of energy to everyone on the planet!
The great thing is, this massive power house of energy is also the easiest to convert from its source form into other forms of energy that we can more easily store or use immediately.
Conversion to Electricity
Photo-voltaic cells were first produced in 1883. It was a massive achievement back then even though the cells were only 1% efficient. Modern technology has allowed development of full production PV cells that are up to 30% efficient and the cells of the future can only get better.
PV cells generate electricity directly from any light shining on their surface and the electricity generated can either be used immediately or stored in batteries. You can use a power inverter to convert the low voltage DC output of the PV cells or batteries into mains voltage electricity and use it around the home or office.
Conversion to Hot Water
A quick look along the skyline of any southern European coastal town will tell you that solar water heating systems work well and are hugely popular... every roof has one!
The most simple system use a solar collection panel that concentrates heat energy from the sun into a thermal exchange that heats water. An electric pump circulates water through the system and stores the heated water in a tank ready for use in offices and homes alike.
Obviously these systems aren’t as efficient as they might be because they need power to run the pump to circulate the water. If the electricity used to power the pump is produced from a non-renewable source then the whole system is reduced in its efficiency.
Combined PV Cell and Water Heating System
A natural step is to manufacture a combined system that has both a solar collector to heat water and PV cells to generate the electricity to power the pump.
This system has a really minimal carbon footprint its only impact on the environment is during manufacture because from then on it only runs on completely sustainable energy.
The Future of Solar Energy
I believe that solar energy will become the most used of all our renewable energy sources in the future. It’s the easiest to collect and it’s more reliable than both wind and hydro power systems.
As the world moves on I’m sure we will see solar energy collection become a normal part of new building design for both homes and businesses, Google have already made a start with their 1.6MW solar installation in California. I’m sure that many large industrial and government buildings will begin to follow suit in the immediate future.
How long until every roof in every city is fitted with a solar energy array? Only time will tell...
