More and more people are asking "What is solar power?" and with good reason.
Alternative energy sources are getting a lot of attention.
Solar power is worthy of our attention because it's really free energy once the initial investment is made. Of course there are maintenance costs - but that's true with any type of system.
So exactly what is solar power?
There are a couple types we'll talk about here.
The first is the production of electricity from the sun's rays.
This may be the most common type of solar power. When we think "solar power" electricity is what we think about.
To create electricity individual solar cells or photovoltaic cells are connected in an array and positioned so that sunlight will strike the surface.
How many cells are connected depends on total wattage required to operate the given load. Typical solar panels will give 10-13 watts per square foot. So if you require 100W of power you would need 10 square feet of solar panels.
Two other factors that affect the efficiency of a solar panel are: The angle the light strikes the surface and the amount of available sunlight. There are formulas and various tools on the market to help determine the best placement of your solar panels.
The other way to use solar power is for heating. You can heat your home, your water, or perhaps a pool or hot tub.
Solar water heaters have been around since the 1930's. The use of solar water heaters faded as electricity became more readily available.
Now we're taking a second look - and no wonder - it requires a lot of energy to heat our homes and the water we use every day.
Consider how quickly the outdoor temperature rises on a clear day. The sun does an amazing job of heating air.
If you've ever left a water bottle on the dash of your car on a sunny day - you know the sun also does a great job of heating water!
What if we could harness this to heat the air and water inside our homes? Well we can!
There are commercially available solar collectors designed to heat air or water or both. And of course with a little research you can build your own and create your own solar experiment.
Most involve some sort of water filled tubes inside an insulated housing with a transparent covering facing the sun. This allows the sunlight to warm the tubes and the water inside them while keeping outside air from cooling them down.
Recently I found a collector designed to heat air. It basically the same insulated box with transparent surface only without the water filled tubes. The air is warmed as it passes through the unit.
So there's some basics for those who're asking "What is Solar Power?"
For even more information on solar power and a cool video explanation go here: What IS Solar Power
Discover more about solar power and what it can do for you here! http://www.squidoo.com/what-is-solar-power
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