Solar Energy Facts You Might Not Know - Over the years, humans have developed a number of ways to produce electricity but they have relied on one simple idea. That idea is turning water into steam to power a turbine. Photovoltaic cells do it in a whole different way. Read on to learn more about that and about other interesting solar energy facts.
The first recorded use of sunlight collected as energy came in the late nineteenth century when John Herschel was traveling through Africa. He used a special box to collect and focus the heat on his food, creating a solar cooker. His discovery became a science, which has been divided into two main disciplines: heating and electricity.
Our sun has been used to heat interior spaces since humans began building them. Today, we have specialized buildings like greenhouses that help trap sunlight and keep tropical plants warm in snowy climes. We also use solar power to heat water for bathing or washing.
Changing sunshine into electricity to power a home can be done in one of two ways. Individual photovoltaic cells are molded into panels that are then set up on a grid in a highly insulated location. The cells are able to transform sunbeams directly into electricity. The electricity be used immediately or stored in a battery.
Solar generating power plants still use the traditional method of heating a liquid to a boil and then running the steam through a turbine. Giant mirrors are used to focus the heat. The heat source is different, but the principle is the same one that functions in every other power plant on the planet.
Wherever there is sunshine, there is solar power. California, though, can claim to make the most of its sunshine. There are 11 solar power plants in America and 9 of them are in California. Located in the Mojave Desert, numbers 8 and 9 each produce 80 megawatts of power (a megawatt will power 1000 homes for one hour) and are considered the largest sun powered power plants.
Photovoltaic power stations can also grow to very large sizes and have become popular in Europe. Each semiconductor on a solar panel only produces a very small amount of electricity, but when you add them together and you can get a plant that produces megawatts of power. Two such plants opened in 2008, one in Germany and the other in Portugal.
Because it is available everywhere, solar power can be used for a large variety of tasks. Solar collectors can even heat your home! I will leave you with something to think about.
Among the many solar energy facts, consider this: if we covered 4% of world desert lands with photovoltaic cells, we could produce enough power to completely meet current demand.