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Solar Power
Solar power is the conversion of solar energy into electricity or thermal energy, either by indirectly using concentrated solar power or directly using photovoltaics – the use of solar panels which consist of various cells made of photovoltaic material.
3,946 Questions
How much energy can be used with solar energy?
The amount of energy that can be generated with solar energy depends on factors such as location, amount of sunlight, size of solar panel system, and efficiency of the panels. On average, a residential solar panel system can generate around 10-12 kilowatt-hours per square foot per year. Commercial and utility-scale solar installations can generate much more energy.
What happens to a plant that has no sunlight?
well it depends on what type of plant it is
some plants like little water and lots of sunlight
some like lots of water and little sunlight
and others like lots of water and lots of sunlight.
How do various technologies or practices influence the use of solar energy?
Technologies like solar panels, inverters, and battery storage systems make it easier to harness and utilize solar energy efficiently. Additionally, smart energy management systems and practices like net metering and time-of-use pricing can help optimize the use of solar energy and maximize cost savings. Continual advancements in technology, such as improved efficiency of solar panels and energy storage systems, are also expanding the possibilities for solar energy utilization.
How is solar power used to make electricity?
The sunlight is collected through photovoltaic cells that acts as a conductor. When the rays hit the surface of cell they cause a release of electrons that roam freely. The panel then channels electrons into an electric field that flows in a specific direction. Then metal contacts on the top and bottom of the cells allow electricity to be used.
How does energy become stored in the sun?
One way is the sun powers the photochemical reaction in plants called photosynthesis, where plants use sunlight to produce organic material. When we eat the plant, or when we eat an animal that has eaten the plant, our bodies use the nutrients to produce energy.
What is the definition of passive solar heating?
Glass windows provide passive solar heating for buildings. Sunlight passes through the glass and is absorbed by surfaces in the building. It is transferred into heat energy, which is emitted as infrared radiation. This is reflected back into the building by the glass.
How do solar power plants work?
The sun-that power plant in the sky-bathes Earth in ample energy to fulfill all the world's power needs many times over. It doesn't give off carbon dioxide emissions. It won't run out. And it's free.
So how on Earth can people turn this bounty of sunbeams into useful electricity?
The sun's light (and all light) contains energy. Usually, when light hits an object the energy turns into heat, like the warmth you feel while sitting in the sun. But when light hits certain materials the energy turns into an electrical current instead, which we can then harness for power.
Old-school solar technology uses large crystals made out of silicon, which produces an electrical current when struck by light. Silicon can do this because the electrons in the crystal get up and move when exposed to light instead of just jiggling in place to make heat. The silicon turns a good portion of light energy into electricity, but it is expensive because big crystals are hard to grow.
Newer materials use smaller, cheaper crystals, such as copper-indium-gallium-selenide, that can be shaped into flexible films. This "thin-film" solar technology, however, is not as good as silicon at turning light into electricity.
Right now, solar energy only accounts for a tiny portion of the U.S.'s total electricity generation, because it is more expensive than alternatives like cheap but highly polluting coal. Solar power is about five times as expensive as what people pay for the current that comes out of the outlets.
In order to have a hope of replacing fossil fuels, scientists need to develop materials that can be easily mass-produced and convert enough sunlight to electricity to be worth the investment.
We asked Paul Alivisatos, deputy laboratory director at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California and a leader of their Helios solar energy research project, to explain how people capture energy from sunlight and how we can do it better.
[An edited transcript of the interview follows.]
What is a solar cell?
A solar cell is a device people can make that takes the energy of sunlight and converts it into electricity.
How does a solar cell turn sunlight into electricity?
In a crystal, the bonds [between silicon atoms] are made of electrons that are shared between all of the atoms of the crystal. The light gets absorbed, and one of the electrons that's in one of the bonds gets excited up to a higher energy level and can move around more freely than when it was bound. That electron can then move around the crystal freely, and we can get a current.
Imagine that you have a ledge, like a shelf on the wall, and you take a ball and you throw it up on that ledge. That's like promoting an electron to a higher energy level, and it can't fall down. A photon [packet of light energy] comes in, and it bumps up the electron onto the ledge [representing the higher energy level] and it stays there until we can come and collect the energy [by using the electricity].
What's the biggest difference between how a plant captures light energy and how we do it with solar cells?
We wish we could do what plants do because plants absorb the light, and [they use] that electron to change a chemical bond inside the plant to actually make fuel.
Could you do artificial photosynthesis and emulate a plant?
We would love to be able to make a solar cell that instead of making electricity makes fuel. That would be a very big advance. It's a very active topic right now among researchers, but it's hard to predict when we will be able to use it.
Which process is most commonly associated with the energy produced by your sun?
fusion of hydrogen it's nuclear fusion, when gravity tries to crush a star it has to produce outward pressure and it does that by converting hydrogen into helium and other heavy elements. But it has to be really hot like in the millions for nuclear fusion to work.
Which color is the best absorber of heat?
Black is the best absorber of heat because it absorbs all colors in the visible light spectrum and converts them into heat.
How does a photocell convert light into electrical energy?
A photocell contains semiconductor materials that generate charge carriers when exposed to light. The photons in the light provide energy to these charge carriers, creating an electrical current as they flow through the semiconductor material. This current can then be used as electrical energy.
How effective are solar panels?
It all depends on the amount of solar panels you have and their photovoltaic conversion rate. Many people live straight off there solar panels and there's many others who produce more electricity then they use in a month and get paid for it from the electric company.
What energy transformations occur in a solar panel?
In a silicon solar cell, light energy (a photon of energy >~ 1.1eV) is absorbed in silicon and the energy absorbed excites an electron-hole pair so charge particles are formed. If there is an electric field, the charge particles will separate and an electric current occurs.
If solar power absorbed by solar panel's is not used does it dissipate?
two kinds of solar panel exist. if a solar thermal panel, for hot water or hot air, is not being used then any solar energy landing on it is not drawn away by the water or air. The panel temperature rises depending on the characteristics of the panel and the amount of sunshine. as the temperature rises the panel loses more and more heat back to the atmosphere so that the losses always equal the gains. energy absorbed = energy used (or stored) + energy lost.
Can you charge your phone with solar power?
Yes, you can charge your phone using solar power by using a solar charger or solar power bank. Simply expose the solar panels to sunlight to convert the energy into electricity and charge your phone via the USB port. It's a convenient and eco-friendly way to keep your phone powered up on the go.
Wind energy is an indirect form of what energy?
Wind energy is an indirect form of solar energy, as it is generated by the sun's uneven heating of the earth's surface, resulting in changes in air temperature and pressure that create wind movements.
The sun's heat, like ALL heat, is infrared electromagnetic radiation. Long wave radiation. In the sun's case this radiation is ultimately the result of energy liberated via nuclear fusion--hydrogen atoms being heated and squeezed into helium atoms within the sun's extremely hot, dense core.
How are solar and wind energy alike?
Solar and wind energy are both renewable sources of energy that rely on natural processes to generate electricity. They are both environmentally friendly and produce no greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, they are becoming increasingly cost-competitive with traditional forms of energy.
Why is the energy stored in petroleum more useful than solar energy?
Petroleum is more energy-dense and can be easily stored and transported compared to solar energy, which requires expensive storage solutions like batteries. Additionally, petroleum can be quickly converted into various forms of energy such as heat, electricity, and fuel, making it more versatile for different applications compared to solar energy.
The photosynthetic unit where solar energy is absorbed and high-energy electrons are generated is called a "photosystem." Photosystems are protein complexes found in the thylakoid membrane of chloroplasts, and they play a crucial role in the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis.
Solar wind is a stream of charged particles, mainly electrons and protons, blown from the outer atmosphere of the Sun into space. It carries the Sun's magnetic field and can impact Earth's magnetosphere, potentially causing geomagnetic storms and auroras.
Does the color red take in solar energy?
Red-coloured objects appear red because they reflect mostly red light. Thus, they must absorb most of the other colours of light. Since light carries energy, they are absorbing solar energy, which is, of course, why objects that are left in the sun get hot.
Objects that are coloured black absorb all visible frequencies (colours) of light, which makes them appear dark, and also means they will absorb the most solar energy and heat up fastest in the sun.
What energy conversion takes place in a solar cell?
A solar cell converts sunlight directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect.
Sunlight is composed of photons, or "packets" of energy. These photons contain various amounts of energy corresponding to the different wavelengths of light. When photons strike a solar cell, they may be reflected or absorbed, or they may pass right through. When a photon is absorbed, the energy of the photon is transferred to an electron in an atom of the cell (which is actually a semiconductor). With its newfound energy, the electron is able to escape from its normal position associated with that atom to become part of the current in an electrical circuit.
Hope that helps.
What is a utility panel in a building?
In electrical terminology it is the same as a distribution panel. It gets called a utility panel because it is the first device that is connected to the utility company's service connection when it enters a building. The utility panel is not owned by the utility company, it belongs to the home owner and it his responsibility to ensure that it is installed correctly and safely. In most cases an electrical inspector has to give his recommendation that it be connected.
Is it possible to find out how much voltage is stored in a solar cell?
Solar cells produce electricity rather than store voltage. The voltage produced by a solar cell depends on factors like sunlight intensity and cell characteristics. You can measure the voltage generated by a solar cell using a multimeter or similar device.
What is the amount of sunlight on Neptune?
Neptune, the planet that is the farthest known of the solar system, if you discount Pluto, is located 30.047 times farther away from the Sun than Earth is, at 2,793,100,000 miles, while earth is 93,000,000 miles from the Sun. Only about one thousandth of the Sunlight received by Earth reaches Neptune. Yet, with that small amount of sunlight the atmosphere of Neptune is significantly affected. To sum this up, Neptune only gets about 1/900 the sunlight of earth.
