Tag Archives: solar energy news
Why Use Solar Energy?
There are lots of reasons why it is a good idea to use solar energy. They fall into two broad categories: because it is good for the environment and because it is good for the individual. Both are important, the former because this is what makes solar energy valuable, and the latter because this is what makes it viable. It is not, of course, as productive in terms of generating electricity as fossil fuels – if it was, then it would probably be in very wide use already. It’s greatest advantage is that it does not damage the atmosphere in any way. as regular forms of energy do, however it is also good financially for people as well, especially with the government’s feed-in tariff.
Why use solar energy? So there is less of this.
The regular way of creating energy is through burning fossil fuels. They are very rich in energy and a lot of electricity can be created that way, however there are also harmful by-products. There is of course the pollution, which affects the local environment. Then there is also the carbon dioxide which is released, which contributes to global warming. The major advantage of solar energy is that it does not create any of these problems after the solar panels have been constructed of course, which expends some energy. After the initial energy expenditure, the use of solar energy actually starts to lessen pollution; for all the electricity created by way of solar energy, a corresponding amount does not have to be created by fossil fuels.
Therefore the use of solar energy reduces the demand for energy produced by fossil fuels, which means that less pollution is created, and less carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. Most people do care about the environment, and like to be able to help if they can, so when the question is asked, “why use solar energy?” many people would reply, “because it is good for the environment.” This is not the only reason to do so however, another reason is for the financial benefit.
In the short term, of course, there are no financial benefits. The cost of having solar panels installed are far more than a monthly energy bill. Again, if this were not the case, then everybody would already have them. So you have to either have some savings or capital, or else be able to take out a loan to have them installed in the first place. Once you do that however, over the longer term, the solar cells will actually save you money. In fact, with the feed-in tariff, eventually they will start making you money. The feed-in tariff pays you for all the electricity created which is subsequently fed into the national grid, so once you have paid off the initial installation costs this will be making you a profit.
So why use solar energy? In summary, because it is good for the environment and because it is good for you wallet… that is, in the long run, in both instances.
Solar Panels For Your Home
One of the best things about solar energy is that anyone can use it to power their home. It’s not like other sorts of renewable energy, such as wind or tidal, which requires large scale projects, you can have solar panels installed on your roof relatively easily.
There are many reasons to get solar panels for your home.
There are many advantages to solar energy, and these are some of the more prominent ones.
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Save money on your electrical bill. As soon as you install solar panels for your home you will start saving money on your electricity bill. This means that the initial expense of having them installed will immediately start to be repaid.
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Make money with the feed-in tariff. The UK government is currently offering money for all renewable energy which is fed into the national grid, in the for of the feed-in tariff. This means that whenever you are not using the electricity yourself, anything left over will be actively making you money without your having to do anything. Therefore the costs of installation will be paid back sooner, and once they are you will begin to make a profit from your solar energy. The feed-in tariff is guaranteed at the rate you first get it at for at least 25 years, more than enough time to start seeing profits. The rate is probably going to be reduced in the government’s next spending review however, and possibly even before, so now is the best time to take advantage of it.
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It’s good for the environment. All of the solar energy which is produced by way of solar panels is energy that does not have to be produced through fossil fuels. This means that the rate at which they are used will decrease, and less pollution will be released into the atmosphere. Of course one set of solar panels will not make much of a difference, but the more people who make use of them, the more the benefits will be seen.
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Helps against Global Warming. The burning of fossil fuels will, as well as polluting the atmosphere, also release greenhouse gases. Notably carbon dioxide, which is one of the prime drivers of global warming. So if you really want to get involved and help in the fight against global warming, getting solar panels for you home is one of the best proactive steps that you can take.
Those are some of the reasons that having solar panels for your home is a good idea.
Sometimes people are put off having solar cells installed for aesthetic reasons though. Indeed, they are not allowed in some areas where there are conservation rules, as it is thought that they can ruin the look of a place. If that is a concern, then you can look into the solar panels which are made to look like tiles. Their use have made it possible for people living in areas where solar panels are not normally allowed to have them installed because they look almost indistinguishable from normal roof tiles.
So if you are in a position to get solar panels for your home, they are an excellent long term investment, both financially and for the environment.
Solar Energy Advantages And Disadvantages
In a sense, solar energy is the only sort of energy we ever use as it all originates from the Sun. Fossil fuels are a form of stored solar energy, as it was all formed millions of years ago by decomposed plant matter. Even the energy that we have to move our bodies comes from the Sun originally: the Sun’s energy being used either to grow the plants which we have eaten, or the plants that the animal has eaten that we have just eaten. What we are talking about here however is more specifically photovoltaic energy, that is, electrical energy created by light – the Sun.
There are more advantages to solar energy than disadvantages.
Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of this kind of solar energy.
Advantages
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Renewable. Solar energy is one of the primary renewable energy sources available. This means that once the solar panels have been constructed they doesn’t use up any more of the Earth’s resources. It is a sustainable energy source.
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Cost-Effective. Due to the fact that it is renewable and long lasting, it is a cost-effective form of energy. After the initial costs, savings can be made on energy bills and also, through the UK government’s feed-in tariff, money can be made on electricity that it produces. It is therefore a very good long term investment.
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Long Lasting. Another consequence of solar energy being renewable is that it is long lasting. Not only in terms of the individual, but in planetary terms it has the potential to be around for a long time. Fossil fuels, on the other hand, will all be gone eventually.
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Environmentally Friendly. Perhaps the most important factor when it comes to solar energy is that it is environmentally friendly. It does not produce any toxic fumes itself of course, and what’s more, for every kilowatt hour of energy it generates, there is a corresponding amount of energy that does not have to be produced by fossil fuels. This means that it actively reduces the amount of pollution which is created and the amount of carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere.
Disadvantages
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Relatively Inefficient. At the moment, solar cells lose a lot of the energy that they catch from the Sun. Photovoltaic cells are very complicated devices and it is difficult to make them in such a way that they convert the majority of the energy into electrical Power. In fact at the moment the very best ones can only get to about 40% efficiency. The good news is however that there is research ongoing all around the world to make them more efficient.
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Cost of Installation. Although undoubtedly a good long term investment, the initial cost of installation is quite high which is what puts a lot of people off.
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Not Enough Produced. In terms of whether solar energy will ever be able to do its part in taking over from fossil fuels, at the moment there is nowhere near enough being produced. As people continue to have solar panels installed on their roofs and new solar power plants are built, this condition is gradually being improved however.
These are the main advantages and disadvantages of solar energy. If you want to do your part for the environment and make a good long term investment then consider having solar cells installed on your roof as well.
What Is The Future Of Solar Energy?
History is filled with the discovery of new kinds of energy. Perhaps fire was the first, providing warmth at night and in cold climates. Later there was steam, coal, and finally those that we have at the moment such as oil, natural gas and nuclear power. The potential difficulty with most of these energy sources is that they are non-renewable, meaning that they are going to run out at some stage. Of course we also have a range of renewable energy sources as well now such as wind, tidal and solar. The question is really whether renewable energy is going to be able to take over from fossil fuels.
Will solar energy be able to take over when fossil fuels run out?
If renewable energy is going to be able to take over when fossil fuels run out or become too expensive and difficult to utilize, then solar energy is going to be a large part of that. At least, so it seems at the moment. Solar energy is one of the most popular and effective forms of renewable energy. It can be utilised on a small scale, such as in pocket calculators and on a large scale for solar power plants which can stretch miles across. And perhaps most importantly, on a medium scale, powering individual buildings.
The problem at the moment is that in many cases using solar power does not make economic sense. In the UK of course there is the feed-in tariff whereby the government pays for all renewable energy generated which is subsequently fed back into the national grid. This has led to a large increase in its uptake, but it is still nowhere near enough to not require electricity from conventional sources. Other countries have similar schemes, and at the moment Germany is leading in solar energy production. But will solar energy become more viable in the future, such that it does not require government tariffs?
As Virginia Woolf once commented, the future is dark, meaning that we do not know what is going to happen in the future. There are many reasons why the future could be bright for solar energy however. For one, there are a multitude of research projects ongoing seeking to improve the efficiency of solar panels. If they are able to make more energy then of course they will enable people to save more from having them installed on their roofs, and will also encourage businesses to build more solar power plants. Also, as any new technology develops, costs naturally come down, meaning that more people will be able to make use of them.
Hopefully we won’t be running out of fossil fuels any time soon of course, as renewable energy is nowhere near ready to take over completely. In the distant future, however, assuming that the efficiency of solar cells is able to be improved dramatically, will there ever be enough solar energy to allow us to continue with our current way of life? The answer there is a pretty definite yes, as the sun supplies us with enough energy every minute to take call of all of our energy needs for an entire year.
So what is the future of solar energy? Nobody really knows, but what is almost certain is that it will have a significant role to play in satisfying our energy needs.
How Solar Panels Work
Solar panels generate electricity from the sun’s rays through a series of interconnected photovoltaic (PV) cells also known as solar cells. These cells have an atomic structure of a kind such that when photons (little packets of light) hit them, they knock free electrons creating an electrical current. In combination with the cell’s electron field, a voltage is also produced creating Power. In this way, electricity is generated by solar panels. But how does all this really work?
The electron flow is created by photons hitting the solar cell.
Of course it is not necessary to know how it works in order to use it. Once you have solar panels installed on your roof, it all works automatically and you don’t have to really think about it at all. It is an interesting process however, and it can be useful to understand how it works so as to be on the look out for important advancements that make them work even better.
Most solar cells are made out of silicon. This is a semiconductor, meaning that it does not conduct electricity as well as other metals, such as copper for example, but does make it useful as a photovoltaic device. (In the spirit of deepening understanding, “photo” means light and “voltaic” means electricity.) Silicon has a crystalline structure, meaning that its atoms join together in a certain pattern that holds them all together but also leaves some electrons free. It is these free electrons which are let free and flow when sunlight hits them. However pure silicon is not very good at this because it is still a pretty tight structure. By adding some impurities however, such as phosphorous, the atomic structure is primed to work as a photovoltaic cell.
It is still a bit more complicated than that however. There is N-type silicon and P-type silicon, standing for negative and positive respectively. They are created by using different sorts of impurities in the silicon to produce different electrical charges. The N-type has free electrons in the atomic structure, and the P-type has free spaces (or holes) for electrons. Therefore, when they are put together, an electrical field is produced by the free electrons in the N-type silicon going to fill the gaps in the P-type. Not all the gaps are filled however, but an equilibrium is reached at the junction. At the point when photons hit the solar cell, if it has the right amount of energy, it pops free an electron. Then, because of the electrical field, an electron will flow between the N-type and the P-type, creating voltage and current and hence electrical power.
This, simply, is how solar cells create solar energy on the atomic level. Other points of interest include the fact that solar cells are coated in a substance to make them not as shiny so that photons are not reflected away. Also, they are protected from the weather by glass which goes on top of the cell.
How solar energy is produced with PV cells is a fascinating business, and research is ongoing around the world as to how they can be made more efficient. If you’ve ever wondered how it all works at the atomic level though, this works as a somewhat simplified explanation.
10 Interesting Facts About Solar Energy
Solar energy is one of the most popular forms of renewable energy, and essential in the fight against global warming. But how much do you really know about it? Here are ten interesting facts about solar energy.
The largest solar power array.
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It is measured in Kilowatt-hours (kWh). To put that in perspective, you can burn a 100W light bulb for ten hours with 1 kWh of energy.
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In 1767, Horace de Saussere, a Swiss scientist, invented the first “hot box,” which is used to collect solar energy.
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In 1921, the Nobel Prize went to Albert Einstein for his work on solar energy. He came up with the idea that light is made up of tiny particles, photons, to explain the effect of electrons being released when light shines upon a surface such as a metal. This is the theory which is used in photovoltaic solar cells.
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The amount of sunlight which the Earth receives every minute is enough, if properly harnessed, to be able to take care of all of our energy needs for a whole year.
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Solar energy powers all of the satellites for communications and TV with the use of photovoltaic cells.
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Every month, a 1 kWh solar system can save 170 pounds of coal, 105 gallons of water and prevent 300 lbs of carbon dioxide from contaminating the atmosphere.
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Every solar panel is made up of approximately 40 solar cells.
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Fossil fuels are a form of stored solar energy. They were made by decomposed plant matter hundred of millions of years ago. The plants got their energy from the sun of course.
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The largest solar energy array is located in the Mojave Desert. It spans 4 square kilometres (one thousand acres) and produces approximately 90% of all solar energy produced on the planet.
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If even a small portion of the Sahara Desert was set up with solar panels, it could produce enough energy for the entire world.
Solar Energy – Get Involved
Those might be some interesting facts about solar energy, but the best thing about it is that you can use it yourself. You may have already done so with a solar powered calculator or watch, for example, however you also have the option of having solar panels installed on your roof.
Now is the best time to get involved with solar energy, as the government is currently offering a feed-in tariff making it an even more attractive financial proposition. Solar panels will naturally help to reduce your electricity bill, but with the feed-in tariff you actually make money as well. For every unit of electricity which you produce and which is fed into the national grid, you get paid a certain rate. At the moment, that rate is as high as it is likely to be for years to come, as it will probably be reduced in the government’s next spending review.
Now is the perfect time, therefore, to make the most interesting thing about solar energy…
11. You just used it to make a cup of tea!
Top 5 Signs It’s Not Too Cold For Solar Energy In The UK
Some people have the mistaken impression that it is too cold in the UK for solar energy production on a large scale. They assume that it only really works in hot places that get a lot of Sun, like Spain or Asia. In fact, however, solar energy production can be very effective in the UK as well, and here are the top five ways that you can tell.
If Russia can do it, why can't we? (No, we're not talking about hosting the World Cup).
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Solar Panels Operate in Majority of Weather Conditions – Although, naturally, the hotter the sun the more electricity solar cells will be able to generate, they operate perfectly well in the majority of weather conditions. There can be all over cloud cover and it will still work. If you don’t believe it, get a solar powered pocket calculator and take it outside when it’s cloudy. It will still work, and that is with very small solar cells collecting the energy. In fact just about the only conditions they will not work in is darkness, and the UK gets as much sunlight in the year as anywhere else. Less in the winter of course, but that is made up for in the summer with more hours of sunlight.
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Increased Solar Energy Uptake – Another sign that the UK can make ample use of solar energy is that it is. In recent months, more and more people are having solar panels installed on their roofs. Granted, much of this is due to the feed-in tariff. However, that provides money for electricity which is produced by the solar cells, so it would not be profitable if not much was being created.
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Global Warming – At this stage, there is little that can be done about the warming which we are going to experience in the coming years. This means that we are likely going to have a warmer climate in any case. Summers will be hotter, making your solar panels really buzz, and winters may well be cooler as well. Of course if enough people start making use of solar energy, then the worst consequences of global warming should be avoided.
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Cornwall – Not all of the UK receives as little sunlight as everywhere else, in fact Cornwall gets quite a bit. This has therefore been a very popular location for solar energy production, with a solar power station in the process of being built.
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If Russia Can Do It, Why Can’t We? – Everyone would agree that Russia has worse weather conditions for solar energy than the UK, and yet they too are getting behind it. In fact a solar energy plant is due to be opened in 2011, with solar panels which collect energy from both sides. So if it’s going to work in Russia, then certainly it can in the UK as well.
These are the top 5 signs that it is not too cold for solar energy production in the UK. If there were one more reason however, then it would be innovation. There is plenty of research being done into solar cells making them more efficient, making solar energy all the more viable for climates such as ours.
“Qatar 2022” Stadiums To Be Cooled By The Sun
Football fans in England were disappointed by the decision last week not to hold the World Cup here in 2018. But football fans around the world were surprised by the decision to hold it in Qatar in 2022. This will be the first time that the World Cup has been hosted by a Middle Eastern country. One of the major concerns is that it will simply be too hot for the players and fans. However Qatar has sought to ease these worries by ensuring that their stadiums will all be air conditioned, even the open air ones. What’s more, the air conditioning will be powered with solar energy – meaning, ironically, that it will be the sun itself which will be keeping everyone cool.
Stadiums hosting 2022 World Cup to be cooled with solar energy.
Air conditioning is notorious for being a big energy guzzler. In the UK this is not much of a problem, mostly because it is rarely hot enough for air conditioning to be necessary. Even when it is however, we don’t get the scorching heats that other countries do so the energy consumption isn’t so bad. The greater the difference between the heat outside and the desired cooling inside, the more energy is needed to achieve it. This is why it will be so beneficial to be able to cool an area as large as a stadium, in a place as hot as Qatar, without needing to burn fossil fuels.
The way they will set it up will be with canopies that cover service areas and parking lots. These canopies will have solar cells on top of them, providing a large area for them, and therefore allowing a lot of solar energy to be produced. Also, the solar energy will not go to waste when there are no matches being played. When the stadium itself does not need all the solar energy which will be generated, it will be fed back into the national grid. The Qatar 2022 stadiums will therefore work as a little grid of solar power stations, providing electricity for the whole country.
Of course this is much the same as the feed-in tariff works in the UK. The solar cells you install on your roof save you money on energy bills, and then any of the solar energy which you do not use is fed back into the national system, and you are paid for this energy generation. This is what makes owning solar cells at the moment such a profitable exercise, as well as being very good for the environment of course.
This form of energy production for Qatar 2022 stadiums is also a good sign for the solar energy market as a whole. It goes to show that it is becoming a more and more viable option, even for large energy requirements. Of course we will have to wait to see how well it is going to work, but assuming everything goes to plan, it would show that there are very few places that would not be able to be powered with solar energy. Meaning that the grip fossil fuels have on us could well be over in the future, with solar energy taking up a large portion of the slack.
Are More Efficient Solar Cells On The Horizon?
A research project taking place in Welsh universities could see the development of PV (photovoltaic) cells which are more efficient and cheaper. This will enable them to work better in less sunny climates such as Wales and the rest of the UK. The result will be that it will be an even more viable prospect to have solar panels installed on your roof.
Research could lead to more efficient solar cells.
There has been a large increase in the uptake of solar cells over the last year, mostly down to the government’s feed-in tariff being introduced. This provides a powerful financial incentive for people to have solar panels installed, and it is still available for everyone to take advantage of today. The scheme works by the government paying for all of the energy which you produce with your solar panels and subsequently feed back in to the national electricity grid. This all happens automatically of course, once the system has been set up. After the initial installation therefore, solar cells are an instant money generator. Not only through the feed-in tariff of course, also through the savings which you will be making on your electricity bill.
Anything which can be done to create more efficient solar cells will of course be of even greater advantage to the user, and will encourage more and more people to get involved with solar energy. At the time of writing, much of the UK is covered in snow, a stark reminder that this is not the warmest of climates. That is why it is also important to develop solar cells which work well in cloudy conditions as well as in the full heat of summer. Which is exactly what the researchers from the universities at Bangor, Swansea and Wrexham will also be trying to do with their £4.4 million project.
If successful, and every indications says that they will be, then it will obviously be a massive boon for the whole of the UK. However it is a three year project, so if you are in a position to purchase solar panels at the present time, or will be in the near future, it is still best to get involved straight away. By the time cheaper solar cells come out, it is likely that the feed-in tariff will have at least had its rates reduced. It’s due to come up for review again in 2012, and indications at the moment are that the rate will be lowered due to the popularity of the scheme.
So the answer to the question is yes, more efficient solar cells are on the horizon. They will likely produce more electricity in worse conditions, however well functioning solar cells are already here. So there’s no need to be running towards the horizon, you can get what you need right now. And what’s more, having solar energy is likely never to be so profitable financially as it is right now. And if you like, you could always use that extra money to put in a kitty to buy new, more efficient solar cells in the future.
Why Is Solar Energy Important?
When talking about solar energy, there are two different things that we might mean. In a general sense, solar energy is energy that comes from the sun, which is ultimately responsible for all of the life on the planet. The other sort of solar energy is the electricity which is produced when the suns rays hit photovoltaic cells, or the heat produced when solar thermal panels are involved. It is this second kind that we are interested in here.
In the future, solar energy might be able to create most of the electricity that we need.
Combating Global Warming
Global warming is caused by the greenhouse effect. Actually, at the right level this is a good thing. Without it, the heat coming from the sun would just bounce off the planet and there wouldn’t be enough heat for life to survive. However, with too much the planet’s temperature rises beyond a tolerable level leading to a wide range of adverse effects. The theory goes that the reason that the greenhouse effect has increased in recent times is that humans have been pumping greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide) into the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels. Therefore, the more energy we can produce through clean, renewable energy sources the less fossil fuels we will have to use, and so the less will be added to the natural global warming effect.
This is one of the main reasons that solar energy is so important in generating power. It does not release any unfavourable gases into the atmosphere, and so helps to maintain the planet in its ideal state for future generations. Governments around the world have recognised this fact, which is why they have been encouraging the growth of renewable energy. In the UK, a feed-in tariff is available for anyone who has solar cells installed on their roof and feeds electricity into the national grid. This provides a strong financial incentive to take up solar energy, and has led to many more people getting solar panels for their roofs, as well as encouraging energy firms to build large solar arrays to act as power stations.
Why Solar Energy?
Of all the renewable energy sources available, from wind to geothermal, what makes solar energy special? Or is it special?
Well, it is the most popular type of renewable energy. There are many reasons for this. One is that it is versatile. It is available on a very small scale and very large. Solar energy can power calculators and watches, can power single homes or, in the form of solar farms, hundreds or even thousands of homes. No other source of renewable energy is scalable to that degree.
Also, solar energy is silent and doesn’t cause blots on the landscape. In fact the only reason that it is not in wider use today are the initial costs of setting it up in the first place. But with long term financial gain now available, many people are seeing past this.
Get Involved
Perhaps the best thing about solar energy is it allows individuals to be proactive in protecting their environment. This makes it very important for everyone who can do so to invest in solar energy.
