Renewable Energy And The Benefits Of Solar Energy

Energy is an important part of life producing the power of movement, heat, and production of electricity in many different ways. Therefore, choosing the correct source of energy is important for the environment and humans. Renewable energy that produces electricity never runs out, causing a lower environmental impact. Solar, Biomass, Wind, Geothermal, and Hydropower energy should be used globally to produce electricity. On the other hand, producing electricity from nonrenewable energy sources can be very harmful to humans and the environment. Humans can easily be dependent on it, which may not be the best option when it comes to finance, efficiency, sustainability and more. Approximately 52% of the US electricity comes from polluting sources like natural gas, oil, nuclear, and hydropower that have a lot of disadvantages effecting the environment in a negative way.

Solar energy is the conversion of power from the sun to usable electricity (Alternative Energy, 2014). The most common source of solar energy utilizes photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight into electricity (Alternative Energy, 2014). Photovoltaics use a semi-conductor to absorb the radiation from the sun, creating and emitting electrons, which are then harnessed and used as electricity (Alternative Energy, 2014).

Among soaring prices and shortages in petroleum, the President encouraged citizens to take advantage of solar opportunities. He had solar panels installed in the White House, and offered numerous incentives to the American People who used solar heating. His encouragement was so successful that by the early 1980’s, over one-hundred national solar-heating manufacturers and suppliers were in business.

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.

The sun is the source of all life on Earth. In just one hour the sunlight hitting the earth’s surface provides enough energy to power the global economy for a full year (Brown, 2015). The sun will continue to burn for billions of years, making it an unquestionably reliable source for renewable energy. Modern-day photovoltaic (PV) solar cells rely on the photoelectric effect, a phenomenon where light is used to free electrons from a solid surface - usually silicon - to create electricity. PV panels are typically installed on homes and buildings, or in ground arrangements, sometimes called solar farms.

Increasing the use of Nuclear Power in the U.S is a necessary step for this country. The use of Nuclear power would substantially lower environmental pollution by diminishing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from popular and harmful fossil fuel energy sources such as coal, crude oil and natural gas. Some argue that the use of Nuclear power is too dangerous, but evidence shows that it is a safe way and efficient way to extract energy without disrupting our earth. Another argument against the use of Nuclear Power is the handling of the nuclear waste. In reality, ninety-six percent of the nuclear waste can be recycled and the amount of nuclear waste is a minuscule amount compared to the impact of fossil fuels. Nuclear power is a safe, environmentally friendly and effective way to obtain energy.

The major problem with solar energy is that it is very costly to buy the equipment although the price has plummeted since 1970 (Corcoran, 2003). At that time solar energy cells cost about $200 per watt, today, it is about $5.00 per watt (Corcoran, 2003). There are a number of innovations intended to change this disadvantage. For instance, SunPower of Sunnyvale in California has devised a way to make the solar energy cells cheaper (Business Wire. 2004). The new cells have a 20 percent efficiency which means they will generate about 33 percent more energy (Hogan, 2003). Part of the savings is in a new way to extract silicon. The company SunPower estimates that average American families need 2000 to 3000 watts and the new solar cells can be met by using about 15 square meters of solar panels (Hogan, 2003). This is far less space than the regular

In order for the solar panel to work photons or light particles release electrons from the atoms in the solar panel which creates electricity. A solar panel has smaller units called Photovoltaic cells. Photovoltaic means “changing sunlight into electricity” which is what a solar panel does. The Photovoltaic cells link together to create the whole solar panel. The Photovoltaic cells need an “Electric Field” in order to work. An electric field is when two poles that are opposite to each other with a negative charge on one and a positive charge on the other. Photovoltaic cells do not need direct sunlight to work, but it is best to face them towards the sun.

One of the greenest forms of energy developed by technology is solar energy. Generally speaking, it is the energy taken by the sun and converted into a power source that is usable in everyday life. The United States Department of Energy defines solar energy as: “Electromagnetic energy transmitted from the sun (solar radiation). The amount that reaches the earth is equal to one billionth of total solar energy generated, or the equivalent of about 420 trillion kilowatt-hours” (Department of Energy S). This energy is gained by solar panels that collect energy from the sun. Panels can be used for power in almost any structure, from a handheld calculator to solar-powered homes and cars. Solar energy is very useful, albeit that it does have negative effects. For example, you cannot use solar energy all the time. It is only available when the sun is visible from the sky, and cannot be seen at times such as in bad weather, or at night.

Will it be possible to provide the world with enough energy from renewable power sources?

Renewable energy is not only viable, but an extremely beneficial alternative to fossil fuels. Sources such as solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, hydro, and ocean energy are found in abundance and are naturally replaced, and therefore are more feasible to use than fossil fuels. The use of sustainable energy will not harm the planet or our atmosphere. In addition to this, the growth of the renewable energy industry is sure to create jobs, especially when taking into consideration the lack of mechanization involved in clean energy technology. It is for these reasons that renewable energy should replace fossil fuels.

One of the main advantages of solar energy is the fact that it is a renewable energy source but it also bares other advantages that make it suitable for residential and maintenance reasons. Of these include the conversation of thermal energy which can be used for any heating components required for the tiny house, furthermore the electricity can be used to advance the supply of clean water by employing an efficient water distillation system. Although the maintenance costs tend to be low, it is important to consider the high costs of initially purchasing a set of solar panels. Depending on further research the consideration of integrating solar panels on to the front facade of the building is also another option to optimize the use of solar energy. The energy needs of the tiny house have not yet been computed. As the overall design is still in progress, it is unknown how many panels will fit onto the roof, or be needed to produce the electrical power needed for building operation.

Solar and wind energy have different processes to produce electricity. Solar energy creates electricity by making large amounts of heat, which is conducted through electrical conductors and changed into electrical power. In most solar systems, solar panels mounted on the roof. These panels contain photovoltaic cells made from silicon that convert incoming sunlight into electricity instead of heat. “(“Photovoltaic” means electricity from light — photo = light, voltaic = electricity.)” The photons of the sunlight knock the electrons from the silicon, as a result, the negatively electrons accumulate in one side of the silicon cell to create electrical voltage. This current form photovoltaic array and flows through PV array cables, which are terminated in one fused array combiner box. It is designed to protect the PV cell cables, and to deliver DC (Direct Current)

Secondly, solar energy is renewable and a clean source of energy that will be around even when the world runs out of nonrenewable energy. Reality is that fossil fuels are a nonrenewable source of energy and the world’s supply of fossil fuels before long will run out and become too expensive to drill for. Geophysicist M. King Hubbert originally predicted that 90% of all gas and oil will be gone by 2035 and roughly 90% of all coal will have been used by 2300 (“Energy Crisis”). As one can see while the world still has large quantities of coal available for a few more centuries, gas and oil will be practically gone over the course of just a few more decades. Much of this has come from the world becoming globalized and a continual expansion of industrialized nations. As time has progressed the world has become far more reliant on energy sources. Luckily, solar energy is a solution to the world’s growing energy crisis. For instance, the sun is an almost infinite source of energy and is accessible on the planet without any drilling or mining (unlike fossil fuels). The energy comes directly from the electromagnetic waves from the sun through space. All that is needed is photovoltaic cells (solar panels) to harness the sun’s energy. The argument, however, arises that solar energy can only be created when the weather is sunny and there are not clouds covering solar panels. Despite that argument, solar panels can store power. Melford Ita explains this feature in solar

The last two decades have played a major role in developing the technological factors related to solar energy. With each passing day, the systems are getting more and more efficient, economical, and reliable. The solar systems are much more help in many other ways to provide the energy needs of the humans of this age. Solar energy is simply the energy of the sun that is stored and then used in a number of ways. The sun creates a massive amount of energy that is transferred to our planet each day. There are different types of technologies that are used by the human to store this energy and use is different ways. The solar energy has a number of other impacts on the life on earth including the fossil fuels development and their origin. Most of the energy that is demanded to run the function of world originates from the sun. There are two main components of the solar power panel systems that help to store and generate this energy in a number of ways. It not only