Week 12

THE SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM 

Solar energy is one of the important renewable energy that often used nowadays in line with current technology that rapidly increase within the time. Solar power systems are often used as alternative to the gas that widely used for electrical energy, is replaced with a solar energy system which is capable of converting light energy to electrical energy. 

Solar energy is one of the renewable energy source that can be found on the earth. Another type of renewable energy in the earth is: 

1. Solar energy
2. Geothermal energy
3. Bio energy
4. Hybrid 
5. Wind energy 
6. Ocean energy 

As we know, this renewable energy have many advantages than the non-renewable energy resources. 

1.  Clean 
2.  Unlimited resources
3. Environmentally safe
4. More cheap as the time and technologies progress. 

Solar Collectors

Solar collector is a device that collects and/or concentrates solar radiation from the sun. Solar collector transform solar radiation into heat and transfer that heat to a medium (water, solar fluid or air). The use of these solar collectors provides an alternative for traditional domestic water heating using a water heater, potentially reducing energy costs over time. These collectors are generally mounted on the roof and must be very sturdy as they are exposed to a variety of different weather conditions.

Solar Panel

Solar panel is a device that used to absorb the sun's rays and convert them to electricity or heat. A solar panel is a collection of solar or photovoltaic cells, which can be used to generate electricity through photovoltaic effect. An individual solar cell only generates a low voltage, a number of cells that wired together to form a solar panel or module that can generate anything between 80-165kWp. Modules are then connected together to form a PV array that will be typically fitted onto a facing roof in order to receive maximum sunlight.

House Appliances Using Solar Energy

1. Solar Oven

There are 3 basic types, which all utilize the sun's energy in different ways, either by concentrating sunlight, converting light to heat or trapping heat. They include box cookers, curved concentrator cookers, and panel cookers.

Cooking in solar oven will takes longer time than in a conventional oven but the advantage is that they are lightweight, easily transportable and free to use.

credit: here

WHAT IS SOLAR ENERGY?

Solar energy is a radiant energy that produced by the sun . This energy can be convert into another type of energy so that energy can be use to the daily life . There are 2 ways to use the solar energy 

1. Pasive solar energy 
2. Active solar energy 

1 PASSIVE SOLAR ENERGY

-Its a direct use for heating for example heating, lighting, ventilation and drying purpose. It has 3 type of passive solar energy.

• 1 Direct gain
• 2 Indirect gain
• 3 Attached greenhouse . 

DIRECT GAIN 

INDIRECT GAIN 

ATTACHED GREENHOUSE 

This type of passive solar energy use the combination of both direct and indirect gain system. 

2 ACTIVE SOLAR ENERGY 

 This active solar energy is the conversion of the solar energy to another type of energy by using a special instrument. 

There are 2 ways to use the active solar energy 

1. Solar thermal energy/concentrated solar power
2. Photovoltaic

SOLAR THERMAL ENERGY/CONCENTRATED SOLAR POWER

- Have a mirror surface that reflect sunlight to heat up liquid to make steam to generate electricity . The systems generate solar power by using mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight, or solar thermal energy, onto a small area. the electric is generate when the turbine is drive when the concentrated light is convert to the heat energy.There are some technique of the concentrated that have been use in the technology of solar energy.

1. Parabolic trough 
2. Compact linear Fresnel reflector
3. Stirling dish 
4. Solar power tower 

1 PARABOLIC TROUGH 

2 COMPACT LINEAR FRESNEL REFLECTOR

3 STIRLING DISH 

4 SOLAR POWER TOWER

PHOTOVOLTAIC

We use photovoltaic cell to absorb direct sunlight. There are conventional photovoltaic power system to use the active solar power. 

Solar cell absorb direct sunlight and convert light energy to produced an electrical energy. sunlight contain photons and radiant energy. When the photons directly strike the PV cell, the photons may be absorbed or reflected. Only the absorbed photons generate electric, when the photons is absorb to the PV cell. the energy are transfer to electrons in the atoms of solar cell.

ADVANTAGES OF SOLAR ENERGY POWER

1. It is a renewable energy. it have unlimited of resources
2. A very clean energy. did not  produced any green house effect. 
3.  Technology development 
4. Can be installed anywhere 
5. More cheaper as the technology grow
6. Do not produce any noise 

DISADVANTAGES OF SOLAR ENERGY POWER

1. Cost 
2. Depending on the current weather
3. Use a lot of space to installed the instrument of solar energy system. 
4. Not available at night