| We've used the
Sun for drying clothes and food for thousands of years, but only
recently have we been able to use it for generating power.
The Sun is 150
million kilometres away, and amazingly powerful.
Just the tiny
fraction of the Sun's energy that hits the Earth (around a hundredth
of a millionth of a percent) is enough to meet all our power needs
many times over.
In fact, every
minute, enough energy arrives at the Earth to meet our demands for a
whole year - if only we could harness it properly.
How it works
There are three main ways that we use the Sun's energy:-
1. Solar Cells (really called "photovoltaic" or "photoelectric"
cells) that convert light directly into electricity.
In a sunny climate, you can get enough power to run a 100W light
bulb from just one square metre of solar panel.
2. Solar water heating, where heat from the Sun is used to heat
water in glass panels on your roof.
This means you don't need to use so much gas or electricity to heat
your water at home using the Sun to heat water solar water heating
Water is pumped through pipes in the panel. The pipes are painted
black, so they get hot when the Sun shines on them.
This helps out your central heating system, and cuts your fuel
bills. However, in the UK you must remember to drain the water out
to stop the panels freezing in the winter.
Solar heating is worthwhile in places like California and Australia,
where you get lots of sunshine.
3. Solar Furnaces use a huge array of mirrors to concentrate the
Sun's energy into a small space and produce very high temperatures.
There's one at Odeillo, in France, used for scientific experiments.
It can achieve temperatures up to 3,300 degrees Celsius. Or 3,800
degrees Celsius. It all depends on which web site you read. Top of Page | ecoPoint Home |
