Every hour, the sun emits the right amount of energy onto the Earth to satisfy global energy demand for the whole year. To control the energy of the sun and make it usable, humanity uses solar energy technology. But, the current technology only generates below one-tenth of one percent of global energy needs.
The Techniques in Solar Technology
Most people know what solar panels are because they usually see them on handheld calculators, spacecraft and solar rooftops in Salt Lake City. These photovoltaic cells come from semiconductor materials that you can find in computer chips. Whenever the cells are exposed to sunlight, it releases electrons from their atoms. Once the electrons pass through the cells, they will produce electricity.
On a much bigger scale, solar thermal power plants use different tactics to focus the energy of the sun as a heat source, Utahsmartsolar.com explains. They will use the heat to boil water to power a steam turbine that creates electricity the same way as nuclear and coal power plants. Afterward, the power plants supply the electricity produced to thousands of people.
The Value of Solar Technology
Solar energy is a limitless fuel source that is free from noise and pollution, same as its flexible technology. For instance, solar energy creates energy for really far locations, such as those cabins deep in the mountains and satellites that orbit the Earth.
Yet, solar energy cannot operate at night without the use of a storage device like a battery and cloudy weather during the day makes this technology unreliable. This technology is also quite expensive and needs a massive land area to gather the energy from the sun that will be useful for many people.
Despite its imperfections, the use of solar energy continues to increase at about 20 percent in a year over the past 15 years. This is mainly due to the rapidly decreasing prices and improvements in efficiency. With tax incentives, solar electricity will be able to pay for itself in five to 10 years.