10 facts about Solar Energy

10 facts about Solar Energy you always wanted to know but did not know whom to ask

1. The amount of solar energy that hits the earth in one hour could take care of all the earth’s energy needs for an entire year! However, due to mountains, oceans, and other geographical constraints, most of this energy is impossible to collect through solar panels.
2. The entire world uses solar energy every day. Trees need sunlight for photosynthesis. Humans need sunlight for Vitamin D. Rain is created through evaporation brought on by the sun’s rays. Photovoltaic solar (solar panels) is simply a new way to utilize this energy.
3. Solar energy produces 80% less carbon emissions than fossil fuels.
4. There are two main ways to capture solar energy: passive and active. Passive solar doesn’t use any mechanical devices includes greenhouses, sun rooms, thermal solar panels. Passive solar frequently depends on building design and orientation to capture the sun’s heat and dissipate it slowly through the designated area. Active solar is usually more complicated, such as turning the sun’s light into electricity as photovoltaic solar panels do.
5. Solar thermal is a method of passive solar that uses the sun’s heat to warm liquids. It can be small panels on a home’s roof that preheats water before it goes to the water heater or even large power plants where steam is produced which then powers a generator to produce electricity.
6. Solar cells transfer the sun’s energy into electricity. A typical residential solar panel is made up of 60 solar cells, each producing about 5 watts of power.
7. Solar panels for residential applications can be one of two types: monocrystalline silicon or polycrystalline silicon. Historically, monocrystalline panels were more popular due to their higher efficiency, but they were also more expensive. Today, polycrystalline is much more prevalent in the US, due to both its lower price point and that, due to technological advances in the last few years, its efficiency is now on par with monocrystalline panels.
8. Homeowners in India have a wide range of financing options for their solar system, including cash purchase, loan, or power purchase agreement through the recently introduced net metering policy.
9. A solar systems’ production is measured in kilowatt-hours, which is the number of watts produced in a single hour (1 kilowatt=1000 watts). How many kilowatt-hours a solar system produces depends on the size of the solar system as well as how much sunlight the solar panels capture.
10. Solar systems can be installed on most roof types, including shingles, tiles, and metal roofs. Specialized attachment hardware exists for each roof type, including special hooks that reach under clay roof tiles to connect the solar system to the underlayment of the roof.