Solar Energy

The sun is the biggest source of energy that we have, it’s radiating very high energy constantly for a very long time and will continue to do so. The energy we obtain from the sun is called solar energy.  

Solar energy can be harnessed using several devices like solar cookers and solar panels.

Solar Cooker

We all know that a black surface absorbs most of the energy that falls on it and reflects back a very less amount of it. This principle is used by solar cookers and solar water heaters. In addition to it, some solar cookers use heaters to focus the sun’s rays at a particular point for more heating. Also, the cookers are covered with a glass plate, can you guess why? It’s because of the greenhouse effect as the glass plates trap the sun’s heat inside the cooker.

The disadvantage of solar cooker: The solar cooker can only function when there is sun’s heat, it cannot store the solar energy for reuse.

Solar Panel

The disadvantage of solar cookers is overcome by the use of solar panels. A solar panel is a collection of solar cells. A single cell can produce a voltage of about 0.5-0.9 V and can produce an energy of 1.5 W.  

Advantages

1. They need no maintenance and last for about  25 years.
2. They can store solar energy in the form of electricity and can be reused in several ways.
3. They are a very important source of energy for space missions as all the orbiters, and satellites use solar energy.

Disadvantages

The solar cells are made up of silicon. Though, it is available in abundant quantity but high-grade silicon is very expensive, therefore the cost of setting up becomes very expensive.

Solar energy is also crucial for our survival. This is because without solar energy plants cannot do photosynthesis and thus there would be no food left.

Advantages of solar energy

1. Solar energy is available to us in infinite amounts. Since the sun will be there and will continuously emit energy for the next few hundred million years.
2. Solar energy can protect nature and reduce global warming. Solar energy is a green form of energy that can be converted to electricity and used in different energy and this process of creating electricity is much cleaner than burning coal which emits harmful gases into our atmosphere.
3. Solar devices (like solar panels and solar cookers) though expensive now are a one-time investment and save a good amount of money in the long term.
4. The proper harnessing of solar energy is also a very crucial aspect of our space exploration as the artificial satellites and other orbiters that we sent to outer space and different planets operate using solar energy.

Can you picture driving a car that is powered by water? Or one that is powered by the Sun? The fact is that you may have to become used to such outlandish thoughts. Conventional fuels are increasingly running out, while non-conventional energy sources are becoming our future. And, in order to run them, let us study more about non-conventional energy sources. 

Energy is a critical component of the economic infrastructure, as it is the primary input required to support economic growth. Economic development and energy usage have a close relationship. The greater a country’s per capita energy usage, the more developed it is, and vice versa. Human civilization is reliant on a variety of energy sources. In this article, we will discuss the non-conventional sources of energy and their usage, advantages, and disadvantages. Before, that let’s first understand what is energy.