what is solar energy and how do we get it?

Question

What is solar energy, where does it come from and how do we get it for energy, whats an interesting fact about it

Answer 1

What is solar energy? Solar power is the technology of obtaining usable energy from the light of the Sun.

Where does it come from? From where the solar panel installed

How do we get it for energy? Install it for your house! http://www.solarcity.com/

Interesting fact: You CAN generate more power than you use and sell it back to the electric grid. The system will sell your electricity for you during the day time when the price for electricity is high; and buy it IF you need more power at night time when the price of electricity is low.

Answer 2

The interesting fact about solar energy is that is is free. Solar energy is the energy potential of the suns rays. Preparing to harvest the suns rays can be very expensive, since large solar panels have to be installed to convert the sun's rays into electricity.

Answer 3

Everyone has already pretty much highlighted solar energy in the preceding answers, but imagine this; solar power for heating your bath water, your radiant heat in your floors (no forced air blowing through your living room scattering dust everywhere), your swimming pool and spa, de-icing your driveway and side walks, and heating the soil under your garden. Solar elecricity is cool, but solar water is awesome!! And it requires a lot less equipment to make it work. Ideally though, we'd all be using the sun for everything we could.

Answer 4

In short the energy obtained from the sun is called solar energy every kind of energy on this earth is directly or indirectly obtained from solar energy.we can use it by using such equipments which changes solar energy into different farm of energy for example solar cooker which use solar heat energy in cooking food.the most interesting fact about solar energy is that it is free of cost.

Answer 5

The solar energy is the sun light . It is the only energy we get ,and we get less than 1% of the suns energy output .

Answer 6

Different rays termed and supported by various Units of Physics produced as a result of process of fusionof various chemicals in the star called Sun is Solar Energy. Intresting fact is your own skin is responsible for its usefull and adverse, direct effect on your body

Answer 7

solar energy is energy from the sun. we get most of it in the form of light and heat. if you think about it, nearly every form of energy on earth comes from solar energy originally. nuclear energy is the exception. we get energy from the sun in lots of ways. plants convert light into energy directly. animals then eat the plants, so in a way, even people are solar-powered. petroleum was once the living plants and animals that walked the earth long ago, so it also has the sun as it's original source of energy. hydroelectric dams produce electricity by capturing the energy of falling water. the water was moved to where it is by the sun. wind is used to power lots of things and it is caused by the heating of air by the sun. so you see, almost everything on earth gets its energy from the sun. excluding nuclear power, i doubt you can think of a single source of energy that does not originate from the sun.

Answer 8

Solar power is the technology of obtaining usable energy from the light of the Sun. Solar energy has been used in many traditional technologies for centuries and has come into widespread use where other power supplies are absent, such as in remote locations and in space.

Solar energy is currently used in a number of applications:
- Heat (hot water, building heat, cooking)
- Electricity generation (photovoltaics, heat engines)
- Desalination of seawater.

Its application is spreading as the environmental costs and limited supply of other power sources such as fossil fuels are realized.

Energy from the Sun
Solar radiation reaches the Earth's upper atmosphere at a rate of 1,366 watts per square meter (W/m2).[1] The first map shows how the solar energy varies in different latitudes.

While traveling through the atmosphere, the solar radiation is further reduced. Six percent of the incoming solar radiation (insolation) is reflected and 16% is absorbed resulting in a peak irradiance at the equator of 1,020 W/m².[2] Average atmospheric conditions (clouds, dust, pollution) further reduce insolation by 20% through reflection and 3% through absorption.[3] Atmospheric conditions not only reduce the quantity of insolation reaching the earth's surface but also affect the quality of insolation by diffusing incoming light and altering its spectrum.

The second map shows the average global irradiance calculated from satellite data collected from 1991 to 1993. For example, in North America the average insolation lies between 125 and 375 W/m² (3 to 9 kWh/m²/day). [4] This is the available power, and not the delivered power. Photovoltaic panels currently convert about 15% of incident sunlight into electricity; therefore, a solar panel in the contiguous United States on average delivers 19 to 56 W/m² or 0.45-1.35 kWh/m²/day. [5]

The dark disks in the third map on the right are an example of the land areas that, if covered with 8% efficient solar panels, would produce slightly more energy in the form of electricity than the total world primary energy supply in 2003. [6] While average insolation and power values offer insight into solar power's potential on a regional scale, locally relevant conditions need to be assessed to determine the solar potential of a specific site.The colors in the map show the actual local solar energy, averaged through the years of 1991-1993. The scale is in watts per square meter. The land area required to supply the current global primary energy demand by solar energy using available technology is represented by the dark disks.

After passing through the Earth's atmosphere, most of the sun's energy is in the form of visible and Infrared radiations. Plants use solar energy to create chemical energy through photosynthesis. Humans regularly use this energy burning wood or fossil fuels, or when simply eating the plants.

A recent concern is global dimming, an effect of pollution that is allowing less sunlight to reach the Earth's surface. It is intricately linked with pollution particles and global warming, and it is mostly of concern for issues of global climate change, but is also of concern to proponents of solar power because of the existing and potential future decreases in available solar energy. The order of magnitude is about 4% less solar energy available at sea level over the timeframe 1961–90, mostly from increased reflection from clouds back into outer space. [7]

You could get more information from the link below...

Answer 9

solar energy comes from the sun. you use solar panels to absorbe the (infared?) waves which are converted into electricty

Answer 10

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