Sun, apart from being at distance of more than 150 kilometers away, is incredibly powerful. It has been used for cooking food and for drying clothes for many years, but just recently have we succeeded in employing it to produce electricity. Sun radiates a lot of energy in the surrounding universe, only a minor part of it is received on the Earth. Even then, this portion of it is sufficient to efficiently meet all the power needs of ours. As a matter of fact, energy coming to the Earth is so large in quantity, which if only a minute's radiations are captured properly, can fulfill our energy demands.
Mainly, there are three means to harness the solar radiations. Firstly, using photovoltaic panels, which if installed in sunny climate can ably lighten up a 100W bulb with only one square meter of solar cell. Originally, it was developed to generate electricity for satellites but now it is in our daily usage as in solar powered electronic devices like calculators. Secondly it is used in water heating with the energy absorbed from the Sun. Here heat energy coming from the Sun is benefited from to heat up water kept in glass panels on the roof tops. In the areas like California and Australia where the Sun shines in major part of the year, it is valuable and becoming likely important in the United Kingdom also. Consequently, mush of energy required to heat water is saved which was previously accomplished using gas or electricity.
Water is circulated in pipes which are painted in black. As soon as the Sun shines on them, the get heated up. The water from below is pushed in and using the principle of convection, hot water rises up and obtained from the top. It is favorable in internal heating replacing central heating central heating system and reducing fuel bills.
Thirdly, it is used to produce high temperature in a small region, employing mirrors and lenses which concentrate the radiations coming from the Sun. One such device is being installed and used specifically for scientific purposes at Odeillo in France. Using it a temperature of 3,000 degree Celsius can be attained.
Mainly, there are three means to harness the solar radiations. Firstly, using photovoltaic panels, which if installed in sunny climate can ably lighten up a 100W bulb with only one square meter of solar cell. Originally, it was developed to generate electricity for satellites but now it is in our daily usage as in solar powered electronic devices like calculators. Secondly it is used in water heating with the energy absorbed from the Sun. Here heat energy coming from the Sun is benefited from to heat up water kept in glass panels on the roof tops. In the areas like California and Australia where the Sun shines in major part of the year, it is valuable and becoming likely important in the United Kingdom also. Consequently, mush of energy required to heat water is saved which was previously accomplished using gas or electricity.
Water is circulated in pipes which are painted in black. As soon as the Sun shines on them, the get heated up. The water from below is pushed in and using the principle of convection, hot water rises up and obtained from the top. It is favorable in internal heating replacing central heating central heating system and reducing fuel bills.
Thirdly, it is used to produce high temperature in a small region, employing mirrors and lenses which concentrate the radiations coming from the Sun. One such device is being installed and used specifically for scientific purposes at Odeillo in France. Using it a temperature of 3,000 degree Celsius can be attained.
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