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What Is Solar Energy and How Do We Capture It

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Syed Muhammad Arslan

Solar energy is the capture and conversion of radiation from the sun into usable forms of energy. It has been harnessed since ancient times and can be used to generate electricity via solar thermal plants or photovoltaic cells, or to heat structures or water. Variations in total solar irradiance are small, approximately 0.1% over 11-year sunspot cycles, but impact the amount of solar radiation received on Earth. The two main disadvantages of solar energy are its intermittency due to nighttime and cloudy conditions, and the large areas required to collect sufficient sunlight.

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What Is Solar Energy and How Do We Capture It

Uploaded by

Syed Muhammad Arslan
36 views3 pages
Solar energy is the capture and conversion of radiation from the sun into usable forms of energy. It has been harnessed since ancient times and can be used to generate electricity via solar thermal plants or photovoltaic cells, or to heat structures or water. Variations in total solar irradiance are small, approximately 0.1% over 11-year sunspot cycles, but impact the amount of solar radiation received on Earth. The two main disadvantages of solar energy are its intermittency due to nighttime and cloudy conditions, and the large areas required to collect sufficient sunlight.

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Solar energy is the capture and conversion of radiation from the sun into usable forms of energy. It has been harnessed since ancient times and can be used to generate electricity via solar thermal plants or photovoltaic cells, or to heat structures or water. Variations in total solar irradiance are small, approximately 0.1% over 11-year sunspot cycles, but impact the amount of solar radiation received on Earth. The two main disadvantages of solar energy are its intermittency due to nighttime and cloudy conditions, and the large areas required to collect sufficient sunlight.

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Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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36 views3 pages

What Is Solar Energy and How Do We Capture It

Uploaded by

Syed Muhammad Arslan
Solar energy is the capture and conversion of radiation from the sun into usable forms of energy. It has been harnessed since ancient times and can be used to generate electricity via solar thermal plants or photovoltaic cells, or to heat structures or water. Variations in total solar irradiance are small, approximately 0.1% over 11-year sunspot cycles, but impact the amount of solar radiation received on Earth. The two main disadvantages of solar energy are its intermittency due to nighttime and cloudy conditions, and the large areas required to collect sufficient sunlight.

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What Is Solar Energy and How Do We Capture It?

Solar Energy

The Sun is that giant, round, yellowish-orange ball in the sky that makes life on this Earth possible,
along with a few other conditions. The Sun provides light and heat for our planet. Solar energy is
known as the capture of radiant heat and light from the Sun. Believe it or not, solar energy has been
put to use since ancient times. A wide range of different methodologies has been involved in
capturing, or harnessing, the sun’s powerful rays (solar radiation) and turning them into usable
energy. 

Like all the other renewable energy alternatives available, solar energy is just taking advantage of a
resource, always available but we weren’t utilizing to its fullest potential. Renewable energy is a
source of power derived from a natural resource, and it is, therefore, naturally replenished –
meaning, the Earth should never run out of this resource as it is always re-generating. Solar energy
and solar power are sometimes used synonymously. 

Solar Energy Uses 


Solar energy is used to heat water and heat large areas of space. It is converted into electricity
through one of two ways: a solar power plant or a photovoltaic method (solar cells). A solar power
plant generates electricity when “solar thermal collectors” provide heat to produce steam from a
fluid, and the steam is used to power a generator. 

The Photovoltaic Method 


The photovoltaic method (PV), via solar collector cells, utilizes the power of the Sun to directly
create energy. This technique is most commonly used in remote areas or in locations that are not
connected to an electrical power grid. They are used as power in calculators, watches, and
illuminated road signs. 

The Solar Heat Method 


The heating of water and heating of space is referred to as either active or passive. Active heat
systems use a “collector” to amass an amount of solar radiation. Solar cells, or panels, are added to
your home or business to absorb solar energy. Fans circulate the heated air through the structure,
or pumps can send fluid that has absorbed the heat throughout the structure. Passive heating is an
example of what happens to the air inside your vehicle if it sits out in the Sun all day. When you
enter your vehicle at the end of the day, you are met with a blast of hot air that has accumulated
within your vehicle. A similar scenario in a structure works like this: air moves by convection through
the building. Convection is the process by which thin, warmer air rises and thicker, cooler air moves
downward. No extra equipment is used or needed for solar heating with a passive method. 
Solar variation

One composite of the last 30 years of solar variability

Solar variation is the change in the amount of radiation emitted by the Sun and in its spectral
distribution over years to millennia. Scientists studying climate change are interested in
understanding the effects of variations in the total and spectral solar irradiance on Earth and
its climate.

Variations in total solar irradiance were too small to detect with technology available before the
satellite era, although the small fraction in ultra-violet light varies by a few percent. Total solar output
is now measured to vary (over the last three 11-year sunspot cycles) by approximately 0.1% or
about 1.3 Watts per square meter (W/m²) peak-to-trough during the 11-year sunspot cycle. The
amount of solar radiation received at the outer surface of Earth's atmosphere averages 1366
W/m². There are no direct measurements of the longer-term variation, and interpretations of proxy
measures of variations differ. The intensity of solar radiation reaching Earth has been relatively
constant through the last 2000 years, with variations of around 0.1-0.2% . Solar variation, together
with probably contributed to climate change. However, changes in solar brightness are too weak to
explain recent climate change.
Solar Disadvantages 
The two main disadvantages to solar energy are: 1) the fact that sunlight is not constant and that it
only shines so many hours a day and then it is dark and/or cloudy skies prevent the Sun from
reaching the Earth’s surface; and 2) a large area is required to collect enough solar radiation to
provide a certain amount of energy for a needed purpose. However, researchers are exploring
methods of storing solar energy for later use. 
Most renewable energy experts believe that a combination of renewable energy alternatives are the
ideal solution and the most practical methods in each particular case should be utilized. 

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