How Solar Energy Works

Solar for Beginners

For those of you out there who actually read instruction manuals, and need to know how a technology operates before you invest, or maybe you're just curious, here are the basic ins and outs of how solar power works.

Every day energy from the sun travels to Earth in the form of electromagnetic radiation, kind of like radio waves but on a different frequency.

"After it passes through the Earth's atmosphere, where some of that radiation is absorbed, on a clear day there is typically 1000 W/m2 available on our surface."

That may sound confusing because it seems like an immeasurable thing, but usually the amount of available solar power is expressed in units of energy per time per area unit, so how much solar energy is available to be converted into electricity on a meter of surface every minute, hour, etc. This amount obviously will differ depending on where on Earth you are. For example, you're definitely not going to get as much power at the South Pole as you would near the equator, and not all of the solar energy that hits our surface can be converted to rong>.

Where does it Come From?

It's the same heat you feel on your feet when you walk on the beach in the summer that can be harnessed to heat the floors of your bathroom, or your bathwater, or to power your appliances. Solar power is the conversion of energy from the sun into usable heat or electricity for daily human consumption. This power can be used most effectively for heating/cooling buildings, electricity production, and chemical processes. Currently, solar power is most commonly used for water and space heating. The idea seems simple enough, but how is solar energy converted? There is more than one way to capture solar power, and they may seem complicated, but they are generally no more complicated than current technologies. Right now, the most popular conversion methods take place with the application of solar panels (photovoltaic cells) and thermal-electric collector technologies, although other uses for solar energy are emerging and may become more popular as they become more viable.