The Big Question: What is Solar Power?
Solar power is energy that is gathered from the sun, and although the sun is 150 million kilometers away, if we could harness it, there is enough solar power reaching the earth to provide all of our energy needs 10,000 times over, which is a truly impressive fact.
Solar power works well for most items and appliances, but it is important to realize that using solar power to produce electricity is not the same thing as using solar power to produce heat. Solar thermal principles are used to produce hot fluids or air, while photovoltaic principles are used in order to produce electricity.
Producing Solar Power
There are four basic components that are required in order for solar power to be produced: solar panel, charge controller, battery, and inverter. Solar panels are the equipment that are able to capture the radiation from the sun and charge the battery, and it is the charge regulator which is used to insure proper charging of the battery.
The solar panels are perhaps the most important pieces of equipment of all here, and the output of these panels is most typically stated in watts. Solar panels can be wired in many different ways, namely either in series or in parallel to increase voltage or amperage respectively.
The benefits of solar power are truly astounding, and already solar energy supplies electricity to several hundred thousand people around the world, and the future only looks even brighter. The benefits are compelling and include environmental protection, job creation, diversity of fuel supply and rapid deployment.
One of the biggest advantages to solar power is that it is free and abundant. As long as there is sunlight solar power will be able to be produced, and in fact the total amount of energy that is irradiated from the sun to the earth's surface is tremendous, so much so that it is enough to provide more than 10,000 times the annual global energy consumption.
It is important to learn as much about solar power as you can so that you can be aware of the plentiful benefits that it offers and how much your life will change if you switch to solar power from the other sources of energy. Solar power is advantageous for both home and business situations, and because it is environmentally friendly you do not have to worry about certain drastic issues, such as global warming, as you do with other sources of energy that omit pollutants and toxins.
