Life on earth is fueled by the light and heat from the sun. Approximately, 3850 Zettajoules (ZJ) per year is the total amount of solar energy available to the earth. The suns energy travels to the earth by way of electromagnetic radiation like radio waves but the frequency range is different. Some of this energy is absorbed as it comes thru the atmosphere. Heat and light are the primary forms of solar energy.
Solar energy has many advantages over conventional energy. The energy from the sun is free the only expense is from recovering the energy. The cost of recovering the suns energy is recovered faster than with conventional energy. The recovering units don’t have to be connected to natural gas or power grids, they stand alone. The supply of solar energy is limitless. It has no emission gases to harm the earth’s atmosphere.
Fun facts about solar power are popular at any age. People want serious information about solar power, but sometimes, even the serious can be expressed in fun facts.
Fun facts on solar power include things such as the fact that, in a single hour, enough sunlight reaches the earth’s surface to meet the entire world’s energy needs for a full year. Imagine! That information comes from the American Solar Energy Society.
Here are some more fun facts on solar power.
12 Fun Facts on Solar Power
* As early as 1921, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded for experiments with solar power and photovoltaics. It was awarded to Albert Einstein.
* When silicon is taken from just one ton of sand, and used in photovoltaic solar power panels, that silicon can produce as much electricity as 500,000 tons of burning coal.
* In the U.S., there are more than 10,000 homes that get their energy entirely from solar power.
* Nearly 200 years ago, a British astronomer by the name of John Herschel cooked food with solar power during an journey to Africa.
* California opened its first large solar power plant in 1982.
* Solar power can cut water bills by more than 50 percent each year in a home where a solar model replaces the electric water heater.
* The price of photovoltaic (PV) solar power panels has dropped 200 percent over the last 30 years, according to the Department of Energy. Owners now pay between 10 and 40 cents per kilowatt-hour.
* A study by the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) showed that solar power conditions were close to perfect (99 percent) in San Francisco on June 14th, 2000. On that day, 100,000 customers in that area lost power. Solar power could have provided all they needed.
* Another USDOE study showed that the roofs of California’s city and county buildings, if covered with solar PV panels, could generate 200 megawatts of clean electricity! Cover California’s school roofs with solar power panels, and you add 1,500 megawatts more to the state’s peak power supply.
* In California, covering every available commercial and industrial roof with solar power panels could generate all of the electricity needed in that state during the daytime.
* Germany is making the best use of solar power, even though its climate includes many cloudy days.
* It takes only about 8 minutes for solar energy to travel from the sun to the earth.
Suggestion for school teachers: Have a contest to see which group of students can unearth the most fun facts on solar power.
The most exact definition of Solar Energy is plainly – “the energy from the sun”. It is a term used to classify the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the sun and intercepted by the Earth. It is the world’s most permanent and reliable source of energy and the most copious.
The uses of solar energy on earth include solar heating for buildings, solar heat for manufacturing or industry and electricity production. So what is solar energy? How does it affect us?
Solar energy is responsible for weather systems and ocean currents. It provides light, heat, and energy to all living things on Earth. It has many uses. It supplies electricity; it can be used to power cars.
Solar energy is also used as a power for satellites in space and in space shuttles. It could also power boats, generators during emergencies, toys, and even security systems.
The amount of solar energy that the earth receives is about 770 trillion kilowatts (kW), an amount 5,000 times bigger than the sum of all other energy, may it be terrestrial nuclear energy, geothermal energy or gravitational energy.
There are two types of solar energy.
1. Thermal Energy
2. Electric Energy
What is the difference between the two types energy?
Thermal energy is kinetic energy. It is everywhere. It makes the earth hot and even heats up our homes. It helps us to dry our clothes. It is used as well to heat up water for household use or even pools. That is why thermal energy is called the heat energy because it is stored in the center of the earth as well.
Electric energy is widely known to us as the electricity. It is an essential part of nature and it is one of our most widely used forms of energy. This uses sunlight to power ordinary electrical equipment, such as household appliances, computers, and lighting.
Most applications of solar energy depend on systems including collectors, storage and controls. Storage is needed for a reason that solar energy is only available at daylight hours, but the demand for energy is needed both day and night. Controls are used to guarantee that the storage system works safely and efficiently.
The accessibility of solar energy is determined by three factors:
• The location is usually measured by latitude, longitude and altitude.
• The time.
• The weather.
Aside from knowing that solar energy is a free energy still, you have to realize that it also has advantages and disadvantages.
The advantages are:
• Solar energy is almost limitless; it will be available for as long as there are still humans in the earth.
• It is abundant. You will not worry of running out of it.
• It could provide more power than all known fossil fuel reserves.
• Solar energy is available during the day when electricity usage is really important.
• It is the most inexhaustible, renewable source of energy known to man.
• Solar energy can be absorbed, reflected, transmitted, and insulated.
• It can be collected and stored in batteries.
The disadvantages are:
• It is not suitable in cloudy areas.
• It is not available at night time.
• And it may require large land areas.
As a reminder, solar energy levels are lesser the farther north the site. Considering geography, season is an important determinant of solar energy levels because the Sun’s position and the weather vary greatly from summer to winter.
Life on earth is fueled by the light and heat from the sun. Approximately, 3850 Zettajoules (ZJ) per year is the total amount of solar energy available to the earth. The suns energy travels to the earth by way of electromagnetic radiation like radio waves but the frequency range is different. Some of this energy is absorbed as it comes thru the atmosphere. Heat and light are the primary forms of solar energy.
Fun facts about solar power are popular at any age. People want serious information about solar power, but sometimes, even the serious can be expressed in fun facts.
The most exact definition of Solar Energy is plainly – “the energy from the sun”. It is a term used to classify the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the sun and intercepted by the Earth. It is the world’s most permanent and reliable source of energy and the most copious.