Analysis Of Building A Functioning Solar Panel That Could Produce Energy On Cloudy, Sunny, And Overcast Days

Since when it was determined that electricity could be generated from the sun, the power industry has taken slack for not considering it as a viable addition to their generation fleet. However, there are two facts that need to be remembered with respect to the power industry. The first thing to remember is that power has to be supplied to their customers regardless of the weather or the time of day. Secondly, power companies are just like any other company; they are in the business of making money. Because of those two facts, solar energy at its current technological state has no place in the power industry’s current generation fleet.

In 1767, a Swiss scientist discovered a practical way to harness the energy of the sun. Horace de Saussure invented the “solar hot box,” the first devise to attract and capture the energy capabilities of the sun. The main uses of this primitive solar box consisted of cooking food, distilling water and pumping water for irrigation. It was not until the

The greatest energy that can be produced by the sun is electricity. Photovoltaics, or solar cells, capture the sun and convert it into electricity. Solar cells were discovered by the Europeans back in the 1870’s when they used selenium to develop the telegraph. They found that when light hits selenium it would produce and electrical current. Soon enough there were many scientists and engineers working on photovoltaic systems. Silicon and Selenium proved to be the two best elements to conduct electricity when light hits them. Photovoltaic systems (PV cell) work by converting the suns light into electricity. A semi conducting material absorbs the sunlight, that energy knocks electrons loose from their atoms, this allows the electrons to flow through the material to produce electricity. The further development of solar cells can be attributed to the satellite industry. Solar cells were expensive and there was no use for them until satellites came. Because it is impractical to tether satellites it became important to develop solar energy at any cost that would power these satellites. This created a sustainable market for solar power, the first of its kind.

Solar energy is rising throughout the United States. This source is mainly used in remote locations, but is becoming popular in urban areas. In 18 days of sunlight the earth receives an equal amount of energy stored in all of the earths reserves of oil, coal, and natural gas. Solar energy is produced by collecting sunlight with large, flat panels, made up of individual solar cells, and converting the sunlight into electricity. Solar energy is an alternative to fossil fuel and it is important to know the advantages, disadvantages, and the overall price.

Solar energy has its ups and downs with advantages and disadvantages. A few advantages of using solar energy are that it is a renewable energy source, the development of technological advances, different applications for its uses, and a reduction on the electric bill. The idea of using solar power began around the 1960s and hasn’t stopped growing since. It is such a good idea that the president of the United States of America had solar panels installed at the White House. “On June 20, 1979, the Carter administration installed 32 panels designed to harvest the sun’s rays and use them to heat water” (Biello, David). Although the panels did not get a chance to stay in the White House for very long, they served their purpose very well. “By 1986, the Reagan administration had gutted the research and development budget for renewable energy at the then-fledgling U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) and eliminated tax breaks for the deployment of wind turbines and solar technologies—recommitting the nation on reliance on cheap but polluting fossil fuels, often from foreign suppliers” (Biello, David).

Alternative or clean energy is the way of the future. Every day we wait to implementing changes in the way we generate energy, is a lost opportunity to prevent further damage to the environment. As Kevin Begos (2016) points out in his article “The Solar Energy Controversies” by implementing solar technologies we can help the environment by reduce our dependency on fossil fuels (p. 387).

This project is to identify the feasibility of residential solar power applications for the end-user, and any pros/cons and cost analysis of any such undertaking. We will compile existing data to identify how much grid electricity the average US household uses, how much they pay per kilowatthour (kWh), and compare it to the cost of installing solar power system. Taking into consideration environmental effects, government incentives, and pure electricity cost savings over time, we will demonstrate that every American would benefit by moving from grid electricity to solar power, even if opting for a partial-grid or grid tie-in solar system.

In the past hundred years we have been relying on fossil fuel as the major sources of energy, until now people are starting to see what harms fossil fuel does to our environment, and people are staring to see that we are running out of this sources, but likely with the advancement of technology scientist have been able to find something that will replace fossil fuel, and help clean our environment. This replacement are Alternative energy sources. These sources can be described as energy that will be less harmful to the environment as well as humans, cheap, and comes from sources that we won't run out of. One of the most popular source of alternative energy is solar energy. Solar power is the energy

Previously, we didn’t have to rely to much on energy, however times change causing a large consumption of energy. Solar panels may seem like a good idea due to its constant release of energy. On the contrary, in Source A, Michael Dhar states,” when a photon of sunlight knocks an electron free, the electric field will push that electron out of the silicon junction. A couple of other components of the cell turn these electrons into usable power” showing that at an optimal state, the sun will produce energy. These result often vary due to the amount of inconstant

In addition, solar energy operational costs are manageable. It is free from monthly charges compared to conventional sources of energy. Solar energy does not require raw materials such as oil and coal, and once the panels are built, there will be no monthly charges. In addition, the prices of fossil fuels are increasing day by day, and this means conventional energy will be very expensive. Solar energy will remain the most capable world’s future power supply because, it is cost effective once the plants are built, and there will be no transport costs like for conventional energy sources. Therefore, solar energy is cost-effective, and will help in future energy supply, as the maintenance cost is affordable, as long as they are installed properly, and are working efficiently ( Hans, 2012). Furthermore, with the improvement and advancement of technology, it will increase its efficiency, and cost of production thus, making it more cost effective and the world’s best

Solar energy is an eco-friendly alternative to fossil fuels. Our planet has been experiencing an average increase in global temperatures. Slowly but surely our planet is deteriorating, unless we change our form of energy into a greener alternative. Deterioration of our planet may occur at a faster rate. The depletion of fossil fuels is detrimental to our environment. By substituting fossil fuels with the solar energy, our planet will benefit. These benefits include: reduced climate change, beneficial economic opportunities on both a large scale benefitting our government and on a smaller scale helping individuals decrease their energy bills, and solar energy is renewable and sustainable.

In the last decades energy consumption has come to a time where people started noticing the climate changes and the effect of fossil fuel energy for not only being environmentally destructive but also causing Global warming (the warming that occurs as a result of increase emissions of greenhouse gases) has become a very big issue worldwide. The fossil fuels (Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas) which is the main sources of the world’s energy sources have negative natural emissions coupled with the human activities that change the atmosphere’s composition (e.g. through burning fossil fuels) have contributed immensely to the global warming which has also effected the climate conditions in the world. The effect of these changes has prompted some people to propose alternative energy like solar panels... And other effect. According to Abby Gruen, after realizing the issues, the engineers at Bell Laboratories come up with the first useful photovoltaic cell, an alternative to fossil fuel energy but less harmful for the environment and the pocket. Solar panel which uses renewable energy like the sun to light homes heat and produces electricity. Unlike fossil fuel, solar panels is less harmful for the environment. Since it creation few decades ego, just recently solar panel started getting popular in homes in the United States and around the world. When it was invented people were not interested about it, because of the high installation price, however the price has

The Sun is one of the most significant sources of renewable energy. In one hour the Earth receives enough energy from the Sun to meet its needs for nearly a year. A Photovoltaic (PV)

Our sun produces 386,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 watts of energy every second. This enormous amount of free energy needs to be harvested because natural resources are running out. Peak oil production in the United States was reached in 1970 and the global peak could be coming soon. When oil begins to run out, how will humans continue to live the way we are now? The answer to this is the sun. The sun is the most reliable and abundant source of energy that humans can use to create electricity. Solar thermal energy can be easily confused with solar panel energy production, so it is important to distinguish between the two. This form of energy production has many advantages to its use, but also some disadvantages that might drive away potential new users.

Solar power is one of the most environmentally benign energy sources available. Just 20 days of sunshine produces the same amount of energy as everything stored in Earth’s reserves of oil, coal, and natural gas—yet does not come close to producing the same amount of environmental damage as even one of those options (Greentips, 2005). Solar farms are a clean renewable source that can meet high energy demands and can creates thousands of jobs in the future. It is also used during peak demand for electricity. During the hottest days, the panels are absorbing more energy while homeowners have the a.c. on full blast. They can be installed anywhere