The world demands new solar power technology in order to slow the effects of deadly global warming. Not only are activists, the common people and scientists calling for it, so are investors and technology companies. New solar power technology is coming into our lives all of the time in bits and pieces, which all add up to help put us on the path to renewable energy sources.

A Brief Look At The Past

The human race grows, matures and changes priorities. When the priorities change, that’s where the money, resources and idea makers go. Perhaps first these were fire makers. Then they were boat-builders and sailors, farmers and herders. In the Industrial Revolution, the priorities went to bringing mass manufacturing to the masses. In the last twenty years, the home computer industry has been the primary focus of the world’s financial and scientific attention. In fact, with the help of computers, we might never have known about global warming until it was way too late.

PC Parallels

There are many things about the solar power industry that are paralleling the personal computer industry. The first computers filled entire office buildings and did little more than crunch numbers. But now you can get a tiny cell phone with a screen just a tad bigger than a gnat’s behind which can pretty much run every aspect of your entire life. What made computers smaller yet more powerful? Silicon chips.

The new solar power technology is also using silicon for solar power panels. The cells in the panels are usually crystalline silicon cells. They are gradually getting smaller and rapidly becoming cheaper. There are also new ways to store these solar power panels. Tiny rows of solar power cells can run a retail store’s calculator for an entire work day. Solar power cells can be laid onto a rollable mat and rolled out only when you need it, then rolled up and stored away for when you don’t.

Both of these devices are not science fiction. They are commonly in use today. New solar power technology is being integrated into our lives and homes to keep us from total future shock. With each use of the new solar power technology, we are that much closer to keeping this planet from going belly up. As more and more consumers demand renewable energy, there should be dizzying advances in the new solar power technology as there has been for personal computers.

If you ignore the initial cost of parts and installation, the cost of solar power will be zero to keep a home functioning. While the current prices of many components used in a solar power system remain high, new technology and additional competition between makers of the components, should begin to drive the prices down. However, when looking at the cost of solar power, one thing to keep in mind is the cost on the other side of the equation.

Those thinking of installing a solar power system have to look at the long-term picture and compare it to the long-term cost vs. investment. Consider the warranted parts of most systems is about five years, the total cost of solar power installation can be divided by 60 to determine a month cost. If that price is higher than the current electric bill, it will pay for itself over the warranted lifetime. If the parts last longer than their five year expectation, then the monthly cost will continue to provide a savings.

Another consideration in calculating the cost of solar power systems, is any interest rates that may be charged if a loan is needed as well as any tax saving that may be granted by the federal and state governments for the use of alternative, renewable energy. In some areas, there may also be grants available to help offset the cost of solar power installation.

Consider All Factors Before Making Decision

Converting to an all solar home will be a big step for any homeowner and they will want to get all the facts. In addition to the cost of solar power systems, consider the reliability of such as system in the geographic area in which the house is located. There needs to be between four and six hours of daylight, preferably with full sun, and if the location is not conducive to this exposure, the cost of solar power may be a moot point, if the house is left in the dark too often.

In some areas, full sunlight may be possible for the majority of the year, and for part of the year a hybrid system may be needed. Maintaining a connection to the power grid during days of little sunlight may increase the long-term cost of solar power, but during the days when the power company’s offering isn’t used, it can still greatly decrease the electric bill. It can also provide power following storms or natural disasters during which the power company has problems with their lines.

It is estimated that within the next 50 years, fossil fuels may be depleted and that spells big trouble in the transportation and oil and gas industry. The race is literally on to discover alternative energy sources for both homes as well as vehicles. One of the most viable methods that is gaining great strides in the energy sector is solar power generation.

Solar power generation is a clean, virtually pollution-free approach to energy, which produces electricity from the sun’s rays. Solar power can be used in a variety of places like factories, residential houses, skyscrapers and other large scale buildings. Both the private and commercial sectors of the population around the world are recognizing that solar power generation may be “the” power source of the future.

Reasons Why We Need Solar Energy

For over one hundred years, there has been little regard to what fossil fuels has been doing to the environment and as a result, we are now dealing with global warming as well as air and environmental pollution. Because society has been depleting fossil fuel resources, the attention for renewable energy that can be obtained cheaply and easily is the primary focus. Solar power generation is one of the best upcoming energy sources that will have little to no adverse impact on the environment at large.

To understand just how viable a resource that solar power generation is, the energy produced by the sun in one hour is enough to power the world’s electricity needs for an entire year. While we are likely going to deal with cloudy days and such, that is still a remarkable figure and shows that depletion of solar energy is not going to happen. Renewable power resources such as solar power are essential for the future of the entire world.

Residential Uses Can Win Big with Solar Energy

Residential homes can definitely benefit from solar power generation because the systems can make use of existing surfaces such as barn and home roofs to install solar panels to capture the sun’s energy. This means that extra land would not have to be used to install these solar panels and the best part of it all is that the excess energy that is captured and not used during daylight hours could be sold back to the electric company. This move is ingenious, meaning your electric bill will be cut down for those times when electricity is used rather than solar energy.

Solar power generation is being used in a variety of applications right now such as city street lights, crosswalk and school crossing lights and even some intersection stop lights. Gates and large doors can be powered by solar energy and the open and close mechanisms are powered by remote controls. Small villages in third world countries can thrive with solar power generation just as much as major hospitals in metropolitan cities. The rush is on for making solar power generation more viable to the society at large and the result will be cheaper, cleaner viable options of power.

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The simple answer to what is solar power is that it is a form of energy derived from the sun and then converted into electricity or heat. For a broader answer to what is solar power, it is a versatile and renewable source of energy that can work with a number of applications from cars to boats and houses to spacecraft. In addition, the answer to what is solar power is also that it is a clean and pollution free form of power.

Solar power has been used in traditional buildings for years and recently it has become a good alternative to the limited supply and high cost of fossil fuels. As a result there are many businesses and institutions that are looking for new ways to use solar power and make its use more practical and effective. Although many remote locations with limited access to a power source already use solar power. After answering what is solar power you will likely want to learn how solar power works.

How Does Solar Power Work

Using solar collectors energy from the sun is converted into solar power. These solar collectors, typically referred to as solar panels, consist of solar cells which are designed to capture energy that is released from the sun. There are different solar panels depending on what you are going to use them for, either heating air and liquid or to provide electricity. Solar panels need to be pointed towards the most direct source of sunlight in order to absorb the highest possible amount of solar energy.

There are two ways that the suns energy can be converted into solar power. The first is to use solar thermal applications which use the energy from the sun to provide direct heat for air or liquid use. You can use solar thermal panels for both residential and larger scale applications or needs.

The second method is to use solar power through photoelectric applications. These applications use photovoltaic cells to convert the suns energy into electricity. These cells are considered low maintenance and work well for remote applications. To convert the suns energy into electricity these applications use semiconductors similar to silicon.

However, after consider what is solar power and how it works you still need to consider some disadvantages before deciding if solar power is right for your home or business. First, depending on your needs there may be a large number of panels required to produce the necessary amount of heat or electricity which could cause a large financial investment. The second thing to consider is that there are parts of the world where there isn’t a lot of sunlight which wouldn’t work well for this type of power. Finally you cannot use solar power at night or during significant cloud cover.

Check out this video about how photovoltaic cells work.

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This video is about solar hot water past, present and future. It’s a bit long (34 mins) so get yourself a container of your favorite beverage, get comfortable and watch. It’s worth it.

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