What Solar Power Can Do

The SUN as we all know is the center of the universe. We have been getting a lot of energy from the sun. It has many uses. We get vitamin D from the sun when we expose our body from the sunlight. Yet of course, we also tend to get skin cancer with too much exposure from it (too much is a poison as they say).

In our everyday living, we use sun for drying clothes and our crops get nutrients from it too so we can have a good healthy food on our dining table.

And the recent one, we get energy source from the sun. The sun is 150 million kilometers away and amazingly powerful. Imagine getting a small fraction of the sun's energy that hits the Earth (around a hundredth of a millionth of a percent) is enough to meet all our power needs many times over. In fact, every minute, enough energy arrives at the Earth to meet our demands for a whole year - if only we could harness it properly.

That is why, all over the world, the government is funding all the research to get solar power and consider it as an alternative for our energy source. Simplest yet most effective and efficient. And this also helps lessen harmful factors that deplete our ozone layer and help save our environment too.

In Australia, the government is offering grants available to help the community, schools, government agencies and business establishments install solar power. EnSight is one of the solar companies that promote solar energy including consultations from different firms on how to go green or help you find alternative ways for energy source.

The main three factors that we use sun as energy:

1. Solar Cells - Also known as "photovoltaic", "PV" or "photoelectric" cells can convert light directly into electricity.

2. Solar water heating – Wherein a direct heat from the sun is used to heat water in glass panels on your roof. In this way, there is no need for you to use so much gas or electricity to heat your water at home. This will help you cut your fuel bills as it will help your central heating system.

3. Solar Furnaces – This uses a huge array of mirrors to concentrate the sun's energy into a small space and produce very high temperatures. Solar cells provide the energy to run satellites that orbit the Earth. These give us satellite TV, telephones, navigation, weather forecasting, the internet and all manner of other facilities.

Cells are described as photovoltaic cells when the light source is not necessarily sunlight. These are used for detecting light or other electromagnetic radiation near the visible range, for example infrared detectors or measurement of light intensity. The idea is very simple - you build a big greenhouse, which is warmed by the Sun. In the middle of the greenhouse you put a very tall tower (source: Wikipedia).

The hot air from the greenhouse will rise up this tower, fast - and can drive turbines along the way. This could generate significant amounts of power, especially in countries where there is a lot of sunshine and a lot of room, such as Australia.

But just as we thought that solar energy is just mere generating power, not at all cases though. Photoluminescent products or glow in the dark products store light energy and release it later. They are sometimes called self-luminous and are useful source of emergency lighting in the event of a power failure.

With these, I see solar energy as free, needs no fuel and produces no pollution. Solar power can be used where there is no easy way to get electricity to a remote place. And most importantly, it will reduce your electricity and fuel bills dramatically. The only disadvantage I see here is that it does not work at night – of course. But as long as the sun always shines, keeps on shining, the future is bright of going green and getting what we deserve.