Solar energy is a much safer and energy efficient way of creating electricity, the use of solar energy has now become an important component to consider when designing a building. This is what thermal mass is used for; because it preserves the heat that the sunshine delivers to the building and can then transfer that heat into electricity. There are also solar water heaters which are a much more efficient way of heating swimming pools, and are a great idea for large hotels and sports pools, which use up a lot of the earths non-renewable fuels.

We also use solar power in agriculture, in particular greenhouses, in case you’ve always wondered what they are for, now you know, because they grow specialty crops, which are difficult to grow out side in the normal atmosphere, instead, the greenhouse uses the photovoltaics, which cause the plants to photosynthesize, which causes them to grow faster and stronger. There are also photovoltaic-powered water pumps for grazing cattle. There are also evaporation ponds which can work in the city and in the country; they are used to harvest salt and clean streams of contaminants.

In the poorer areas of the world, solar distillation and disinfection techniques produce potable water for millions of people. Also for families, and large buildings, family-scale cookers and larger solar kitchens concentrate sunlight for cooking, and in the more industrial work places, more sophisticated concentrating technologies magnify the rays of the sun for high-temperature material testing, metal smelting and industrial chemical production. A range of prototype solar vehicles provide ground, air and sea transportation.

How do the solar power technologies work? Here is an example:

The simplest form of solar energy collection is the FLAT PLATE COLLECTOR, this is a long flat rectangle which ideally would be fixed on to a roof or building in a sunny area.

Dark metal plates absorb and preserve the heat. Coils of tubing are looped throughout the collector, next to the metal plates with air, water or an anti-freeze solution circulating within them. The heat is transferred into the coils and thus the fluid/air as it circulates through the tubing. The air or fluid is either used immediately (as hot water or to heat a room, pool, etc.) or it is transferred to a well insulated holding tank for later use.

These are capable of reaching temperatures of 82 degrees Celsius which is great for heating water or a room.

The most sustainable way to generate electricity is to harness the wind energy. The power that is produced by wind energy is clean as it doesn’t contribute to emission of heat trapping particles that are responsible for global warming. Apart from this its availability in abundance adds to its cost-competitive nature. It is a feasible alternative to the fossil fuels that not only add to global warming but a polluted environment.

There are many wind resources but the factors like how fast and how often it blows play a significant role in its power generation. Basically the power output as a cube of the wind speed. This means that if the wind speed doubles, the power output becomes eight times the original speed. Therefore areas where the wind speed is high are perfect for wind turbine installation. Now in case the wind speed is 7 m/s at a 10 meter height, it will be 8.5 m/s at 50 meters height. The wind speed increases at greater heights, so if you turbine tower higher, it will be able to capture more wind.

Wind energy is one of the fastest growing resources for producing electricity across the world. Despite this expansion, wind power is relatively a smaller source of electricity supply and is just about 1% to the total electricity generation in the world. This is because many people think that it is a costly project but on the contrary now-a-days generating electricity from wind power can be done by investing less than $200. This is possible because there is lots of information on making wind turbine on the Internet. However with so many manuals out there, it becomes difficult to choose the one that is appropriate and gives clear instructions. Homemade energy is good manual that gives elaborate instructions in a clear fashion. The reader doesn’t get muddled up and it is available at the cheap price of $47 only.

Yes you may say but how does solar energy works. Keep reading about how does solar energy works in the following paragraph.

Solar energy can reduce your electric and heating bill by and incredible amount leaving you with the savings to enjoy life a little and save for the future. Solar energy is about a technology that converts the sun energy into electric current with the help of solar panels. The mechanics behind solar energy is the work of the all mighty God; the sun’s incredible energy is produced thanks to the help of hydrogen through nuclear fusion that travels directly to the earth. The receiving solar panels convert the rays into electric current that are stored in batteries.

Heating by solar power is a free way of heating. When you heat using solar power you use a source that will direct the heat from the sunlight during the daytime to your solar source. A solar source is a device that you use to attract and trap the heat from the sun. Just like a car out in the parking lot gets hot when it faces the midday sun and the windows are rolled up. The seats can become very hot, too hot to sit on. These seats are a solar source because they trapped the heat inside and didn’t want to let them go. When this happens the seats will still be warm long after the sun quits shining directly on that car.

Once you understand how solar power works and how solar energy works, we must realize that cleaning up the environment will enable us to take advantage of the sun for solar energy, the thick layer of pollution around our planet puts limitation in the concentration and penetration of sun rays to the earth. How does solar energy works is no mystery to the scientist, solar energy is used around the world and even the space shuttle uses solar energy.

One thing is certain, the benefit of knowing how does solar energy works and how it is used to help people live better around the world, is a positive step in the right direction in the cleaning up of our planet.