Energy provided by the sun is the basis of every living thing. Which means that many of the other energy sources can all be traced back to sunlight. For example, sunlight makes plants grow, when these plants get burned they turn into biomass. The compression of this biomass is what makes coal and oil. Different temperatures in different regions caused by the sun creates wind, for wind turbines. Solar energy on the other hand is different because it can be used directly as direct heat and also be converted into electricity. With price becoming a smaller issue due to federal tax incentives and the continuous improvements in photovoltaic panel design and technology, all that remains is a sustainable, environment friendly and ubiquitous source
Basic solar technology devices use crystals made from silicon, it produces electrical currents when the light hits it. In crystals, the bonds between the silicon atoms are made of electrons, which are shared between all of the atoms in that crystal. When the light is absorbed an electron that’s in one of the bonds get excited, this causes it to rise to a higher energy level and allows it to move around. The electron then starts to flow in one direction creating an electrical current. This electricity can then be put into use. There are other devices that turn light into electricity, but they generally all follow the same simple process.
Solar energy can be used as long as the sun is alive, which NASA estimated to be another 6.5 billion years. One of the main reasons why solar powered energy is so efficient is because the earth is invariably being showered by sunlight. Just one square meter of land can collect the same amount of energy that a barrel of oil has each year, the difference is it only takes a little over 24 hours. This means that you have unlimited access to it’s power, unlike coal, oil and nuclear energy. It’s potential is inconceivable, the earth's surface receives around 120,000 terawatts of sunlight a
Solar power systems don’t need to be closer to the equator. For example, Germany is notable for having the highest capacity of solar power energy. Space can be seen as an issue to many people, but they're newly developed ‘flexible thin-film solar cells’. Solar cells integrated into building material. One solar panel manufacturing company called ‘sharp’ has made transparent solar power windows. If houses are really unfit owners can join community solar gardens, which they can subscribe to their own device that generates electricity. Compared to many other energy sources like wind and nuclear using a solar power system is very low maintenance. It doesn’t have any moving parts and therefore doesn’t create any noise pollution. They require very little care, but should be checked a few times every year. Often solar power can just be seen as solar panels, but different building have designs based on where there is the most sunlight. With houses orienting towards the south. Windows utilize passive solar energy. These designs help bring and keep light and heat in our buildings. Properly designed houses can capture heat in the winter. Another aspect that people often look over is safety. For example a wind turbine or a nuclear power plant malfunction could be very hazardous, but a panel breaking would only need