Solar Power Essay -- Alternative Energy Clean Photovoltaic Cells Panel

Solar Power: An Alternative Energy Source Since first discovered in the 1860s, the concept of storing energy from the sun to use as a source of power has been studied and pursued by many programs. Either using solar collectors or photovoltaic cells, the methods of using solar power are becoming more efficient and cost-effective. Solar technology is currently being used by homes and businesses, but is still too expensive and risky for many residents. Researchers are still making advances to solar technology for it to be a feasible energy source in the future. Solar energy was first started in the 1860s when Auguste Mouchout and William Adams found a way for storing solar radiation into tanks of water. Since then, there have been improvements to the processing of solar energy, which has been split into two categories: agricultural based and electricity based. The agricultural method, otherwise known as thermal solar energy, uses the sunlight to heat liquid and power steam engines. Solar collectors can be used on houses or business buildings to store the energy. Different types of solar collectors are flat-plate collectors, evacuated tube collectors and integral collector storage systems (US Department of Energy, 2007, para. 2). The electrochemical process is more complicated and requires photovoltaic (PV) cells to capture the solar energy and convert it into electricity. PV cells have many uses, including powering batteries or mechanical devices by absorbing the photons and creating a voltage. (Simon, 2007, p. 88) Silicon in the PV conductors absorbs photons, but sometimes impurities are added to create a charge. Phosphorous is added to create negatively charged silicon and boron is added to create positively charged silicon in... ...om the Sun. Retrieved July 31, 2007 from http://www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg/solar.htm National Renewable Energy Laboratory. (2007). Solar Research. Retrieved July 28, 2007 from http://www.nrel.gov/solar/ Nersesian, Roy L. (2007). Energy for the 21st Century. New York: M.E. Sharp. Simon, Christopher A. (2007). Alternative Energy. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. United Nations Development Programme. (2002). Energy for Sustainable Development. New York: UNDP. U.S. Department of Energy. (2007). Solar Energy Technologies Program. Retrieved July 28, 2007 from http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/ Van Wyk, Anita. (2005). Solar Energy Advantages Disadvantages. Retrieved August 1, 2007 from http://ezinearticles.com/?Solar-Energy-Advantages-Disadvantages&id=50178 Wikipedia. (2007). Solar Power. Retrieved July 31, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power Solar Power Essay -- Alternative Energy Clean Photovoltaic Cells Panel Solar Power: An Alternative Energy Source Since first discovered in the 1860s, the concept of storing energy from the sun to use as a source of power has been studied and pursued by many programs. Either using solar collectors or photovoltaic cells, the methods of using solar power are becoming more efficient and cost-effective. Solar technology is currently being used by homes and businesses, but is still too expensive and risky for many residents. Researchers are still making advances to solar technology for it to be a feasible energy source in the future. Solar energy was first started in the 1860s when Auguste Mouchout and William Adams found a way for storing solar radiation into tanks of water. Since then, there have been improvements to the processing of solar energy, which has been split into two categories: agricultural based and electricity based. The agricultural method, otherwise known as thermal solar energy, uses the sunlight to heat liquid and power steam engines. Solar collectors can be used on houses or business buildings to store the energy. Different types of solar collectors are flat-plate collectors, evacuated tube collectors and integral collector storage systems (US Department of Energy, 2007, para. 2). The electrochemical process is more complicated and requires photovoltaic (PV) cells to capture the solar energy and convert it into electricity. PV cells have many uses, including powering batteries or mechanical devices by absorbing the photons and creating a voltage. (Simon, 2007, p. 88) Silicon in the PV conductors absorbs photons, but sometimes impurities are added to create a charge. Phosphorous is added to create negatively charged silicon and boron is added to create positively charged silicon in... ...om the Sun. Retrieved July 31, 2007 from http://www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg/solar.htm National Renewable Energy Laboratory. (2007). Solar Research. Retrieved July 28, 2007 from http://www.nrel.gov/solar/ Nersesian, Roy L. (2007). Energy for the 21st Century. New York: M.E. Sharp. Simon, Christopher A. (2007). Alternative Energy. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. United Nations Development Programme. (2002). Energy for Sustainable Development. New York: UNDP. U.S. Department of Energy. (2007). Solar Energy Technologies Program. Retrieved July 28, 2007 from http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/ Van Wyk, Anita. (2005). Solar Energy Advantages Disadvantages. Retrieved August 1, 2007 from http://ezinearticles.com/?Solar-Energy-Advantages-Disadvantages&id=50178 Wikipedia. (2007). Solar Power. Retrieved July 31, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power