Renewable energy sources are of great importance to the survival of the planet, to the continued use of our modern conveniences and luxuries and to the climate. The use of non-renewable energy is using up over supplies, while at the same time bringing about more rapid climate change as a result of carbon emissions.
Renewable power on the other hand means using the planet's abundant natural resources to power things indefinitely-such as the wind, the sun, and the sea. In the case of the sun, solar power energy is currently being used more and more widely as a replacement for fossil fuels and this is allowing many households and businesses to reduce their carbon footprints while at the same time reducing their energy bills and becoming more self dependent.
Solarpower energy uses solar panels and this can work in two ways. These two types of solar power energy panels are:
Solar Voltaic: Which uses the light in the sun in order to excite chemicals on the panels which become converted into electricity. This energy is then converted into alternating current with a transformer and stored until such time in capacitors as you need it. These solar panels can then power any household device just like your mains socket, but don't often collect enough power to power homes solely just yet.
Solar Thermal: Which uses the heat energy from the sun in order to heat up tiny tubes of water. These tubes then get used in order to heat various areas-such as pools, homes, sheds, greenhouses etc. The energy is not converted into an electric currenthowever I know it can't be used for other applications.
There are other differences too with solar power energy panels. For instance some are ' active ' while others are ' passive '. This denotes where the solar panels stay in one position and absorb more heat during certain times (passive) or whether they move around in order to follow the sun and to constantly absorb the maximum amount of heat (active). Of course active solar panels can collect more energy as a result of their moving mechanisms, but they also require energy in order to operate which taxes this energy collected, and at the same time they are more expensive to install and maintain.
Solar panels are then used in a range of situations, in gardens or on cars, but when solar voltaic panels are used around the home thiswill often mean huge foil panels arranged on the sloped roofs of the buildings in order to create the most surface area-by connecting multiple panels it is possible to increase the voltage and to collect more energy.
In a way, all energy is solar power energy-wind for instance is caused by pressure changes created by the heat of the sun and even fossil fuels are a result of biofuels, or energy left over in plants and animals thanks to photosynthesis. So why not go directly to the source with solar power energy?
