5 Excellent Reasons to Use Solar Power

simply explained Solar energy is energy that comes from the sun. Our sun is a plentiful source of energy, providing both heat and light. The sun has been worshipped by many cultures throughout history, including some that still exist now. The sun was even venerated as a god by the ancient Egyptians. All in all, it was not misplaced reverence. The sun is an abundant and inexhaustible source of power for at least several generations. The benefits of harnessing its solar energy are vast.

It is free

Every morning as the sun rises. Solar energy is passed through our atmosphere creating light and helping to radiate heat. This has been going on for millions of years, but we have only recently begun to capitalise on this abundant supply of nearly endless power. 

Extremely dependable

extremely dependable The sun has been blazing for approximately four and a half billion years and will almost certainly continue to burn for another four to five billion years, which is unquestionably greater than our lifetimes and unquestionably more than a few generations in the future. Every morning it appears and then vanishes for the evening, lighting up another part of the world. 

Limitless

According to reports, the amount of energy that the sun emits every few minutes, if adequately harnessed, can power the entire United States of America for a year. If we could just harness the vast energy of the sun, we could solve all of the world's energy concerns.

Why

Have you ever wondered why no one thought of this before? How is it that if there is so much energy available, we can't manage to utilise it efficiently? How is it that so much of the sun's energy goes unseen and is eventually wasted? One of the reasons that this magnificent power reserve is frequently wasted is that the sunlight that we really receive is dissipated so thinly across the earth that it cannot contribute significantly enough if we try to harness it.

To properly harness the power of the sun, we must be able to manipulate focus and store the sun's energy. While this may appear to be an easy task, it is not, and thus far we have only developed three marginally successful methods of gathering solar energy.

Mirrors / Parabola Method of Reflection

The reflection method is based on concentrating the sun's rays through a single or several mirrors onto a single spot and then utilising the concentrated heat energy that is produced for our needs. A parabolic mirror similar to a dish antenna can be used to capture and focus the sun's beams.

The radiation method

This is the underlying idea of solar water heaters: painted black pipes sandwiched between two layers of glass contain water that is heated by the sun's rays.

Solar panels

A more recent invention The solar cell is made up of treated silicon crystals that, when hit by the sun's rays, knock electrons out of their orbits, creating a void that must be filled by electrons from other silicon crystals, resulting in an imbalance of electrons and thus a flow of current that can be used immediately or stored in a rechargeable battery. 

What's holding us back?  

What's holding us back, despite the obvious benefits of solar energy? It is sad that there are so few solar power plants around the world. Unfortunately, even with today's technology, cost and reliability remain key barriers to the widespread use of solar energy.

Due to technological restrictions, even the most efficient solar cells developed today cannot provide enough power to be commercially viable without occupying vast surface areas. Furthermore, relying solely on solar cells is not yet feasible because a cloudy day could lower the quantity of electricity generated, which would be devastating for those who are fully dependent on that energy.

On the plus side, ongoing solar energy innovation and research are yielding significantly more efficient solar cells that are a fraction of the size of present cells and provide far more power. They are still expensive for the time being, but the day will come when they will be affordable and accessible to the general public.