Solar PowerBy: Patrick D, Elyse L, and John A

What is Solar Power?Solar power is…Sunlight converted into usable energy.How solar energy is converted into useful energyActive Solar EnergyPassive Solar Energy

There are many types of solar energy, which are…Solar Thermal EnergyPhotovoltaic Solar EnergyConcentrating Solar Energy

Basics of Collecting Solar Power.

Solar panels collect the suns rays.Solar panels are large flat panels made up of many little solar cells.A solar cell is a small disk of a semiconductor like silicon.

Ways of Collecting Solar Power.

There are three ways to collect solar power which are…Flat-Plate CollectorsFocusing CollectorsPassive Collectors

Active Solar EnergyUses Mechanical devices in collecting, storing, and distributing.Focusing mirrors and metal plates.Is used to heat water in homes and other water devices.Space heating.

Passive Solar EnergyNo collectors, grids, or cells.South side of buildings.Floors and walls absorb the sunlight to store.Trombe wall, made of black material.

Solar Thermal Electric Energy

Concentrates sunlight to create heat.Heat runs heat engine.Turns a generate to generate electricity.The working fluid that is heated by sunlight can be liquid or gas.

Different working fluids are: water, oil, salts, air, nitrogen, helium, etc.Spain and Australia are currently the leading countries in solar thermal energy production.

Photovoltaic Solar EnergyThe direct conversion of light into electricity at an atomic level.Can use photovoltaic solar cells Some materials show a property known as the photoelectric effect.

Photoelectric EffectFirst noted by a French physicist Edmund Bequerel in 1839.Certain materials produce small amounts of electric current when exposed to light.Elbert Einstein found the nature of light and the photoelectric effect that photovoltaic technology is based on.

Concentrating Solar Energy

Concentrating Solar Power(CSP) technologies use mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto receivers that convert the energy to heat.The thermal energy can be used to produce electricity using a steam turbine or a heat engine.

Advantages to the Use of Solar Energy.

Doesn’t produce pollution.It is a renewable resource.It is a free resource.It is an easy way to heat homes.Easy resource to collectLess dependent on the worlds fossil fuels.

Disadvantages to the Use of Solar Power

Some climates are very cloudy, so the solar power can’t collect the sun.Solar cells and solar collectors are very expensive.Can be 1/3 of the total cost of the house.Can only produce electricity during the day.Pollution can damage solar cells.To some the solar panels are not appealing to look at.

Waste by-Products of Solar Power

The actual energy does not produce waste.The production of solar cells uses fossil fuels to make them.It also has a problem disposing mercury, and chromium which are waste metals.Making solar panels uses potentially toxic materials. (Examples: cadmium, selenium, silicon tetrachloride, powerful GHG sulfur hexafluoride)

Storing Solar PowerOne way of storing solar power is to use a battery bank.Battery banks are batteries wired together to endure huge charges and discharges of energy.Another way to store solar energy is to use a grid-tied PV system.In a grid-tied PV system, the energy is stored within the solar panels.

Solar Energy Fun FactsYou can cook food with solar energy!Solar panels can come in many different colors including: red, yellow, blue etc.About 30% of solar energy is used to heat water.Da Vinci predicted the use of solar energy as far back as 1447.

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Holt Science & Technology Enviromental Science. Holt Science & Technology, 2005. Print.