Is Your Home a Good Fit for Solar Panels?

1. Did you know that the amount of sunlight that strikes the Earth's surface in an hour and a half is enough to handle the entire world's energy consumption for a full year? Solar energy has amazing potential to power our daily lives thanks to constantly-improving technologies. Solar energy systems come in all shapes and sizes. Solar systems are found on homeowner’s rooftops across many areas of economically developed areas, and businesses are also opting to install solar panels to offset their energy costs. Energy providers, too, are building large solar power plants to provide cleaner energy to all customers connected to the grid.
2. There are two main types of solar energy technologies for creating solar power - photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP). You're likely most familiar with PV, which is utilized in panels. When the sun shines onto a solar panel, photons from the sunlight are absorbed by the cells in the panel, which creates an electric field across the layers and causes electricity to flow. The second technology is concentrating solar power, or CSP. It is used primarily in very large power plants and is not appropriate for residential use. This technology uses mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto receivers that collect solar energy and convert it to heat, which can then be used to produce electricity.
3. Every location on Earth receives sunlight at least part of the year (some areas more than others!). The amount of solar radiation that reaches any one spot on the Earth's surface varies according to a range of factors. Because the Earth is round, the sun strikes the surface at different angles, ranging from 0° (just above the horizon) to 90° (directly overhead). When the sun's rays are vertical, the Earth's surface gets all the energy possible. The more slanted the sun's rays are, the longer they travel through the atmosphere, becoming more scattered and diffuse. Because the Earth is round, the frigid Polar Regions never get a high sun, and because of the tilted axis of rotation, these areas receive no sun at all during part of the year.
4. The Earth revolves around the sun in an elliptical orbit and is closer to the sun during part of the year. When the sun is nearer the Earth, the Earth's surface receives a little more solar energy. The Earth is nearer the sun when it is summer in the southern hemisphere and winter in the northern hemisphere. However, the presence of vast oceans moderates the hotter summers and colder winters one would expect to see in the southern hemisphere as a result of this difference.
5. The 23.5° tilt in the Earth's axis of rotation is a more significant factor in determining the amount of sunlight striking the Earth at a particular location. Tilting results in longer days in the northern hemisphere from the spring (vernal) equinox to the fall (autumnal) equinox and longer days in the southern hemisphere during the other 6 months. Days and nights are both exactly 12 hours long on the equinoxes, which occur each year on or around March 23 and September 22.
6. Countries such as the United Kingdom, which lays in the middle latitudes, receive more solar energy in the summer not only because days are longer, but also because the sun is nearly overhead. The sun's rays are far more slanted during the shorter days of the winter months. Cities such as London and Manchester, (near 40° latitude) receive nearly three times more solar energy in June than they do in December. The rotation of the Earth is also responsible for hourly variations in sunlight. In the early morning and late afternoon, the sun is low in the sky. Its rays travel further through the atmosphere than at noon, when the sun is at its highest point. On a clear day, the greatest amount of solar energy reaches a solar collector around solar noon.
7. Clearly, the potential for solar energy as a clean source of renewable energy is high. With global warming and pollution reaching unprecedented levels across the world, governments are looking for more responsible means for energy production and consumption. As world populations continue to rise, the need for a renewable and easily accessed source of fuel is a high priority for many people. It may just be that in solar energy, a ready-made and powerful alternative is available.