- Solar Electricity: Generating electrical power using photovoltaic panels
- Solar Heating: Pairing solar energy with a hot air system reduces electricity bills
- Solar Water Heating: Water heating for showers or swimming pools
- Solar Lighting: High durable light powered by solar radiation
- Solar Ventilation Fans: Attic fans operated by sunlight
- Solar Charging: Solar panel kits for charging appliances
- Solar Motion detectors: Device alarming for any motions from humans and animals
- Solar Transportation: Solar-powered buses, trains, and cars
Harnessing the sun’s energy to power our homes is no longer a futuristic concept. With big technological leaps in the field of solar energy, there have been incredible developments in efficiency. Residential homes, corporations, and universities are switching to solar energy, making green energy a practical solution.
Solar energy has evolved from portable hand-crank flashlights and now can power entire residences. An increasing number of appliances have opted to create a solar version due to its growing popularity. As such, solar energy (to convert sunlight into another energy source) has now become highly versatile.
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Uses of Solar Energy
As the solar industry expands, it is quickly touching various sectors. Green energy is in, and numerous solar energy developments are underway. This creates many avenues for this renewable energy to venture into. We have detailed the top uses of solar energy as follows:
1. Solar Electricity
One of the leading facets of solar energy has been solar electricity. The costs for these solar panel installations have dropped by over 60% in the last decade. This has allowed for more developments and experiments with solar panels and increased overall efficiency. It has also made solar energy more widely accessible.
While the overall electricity generated via solar has remained at 2% of the total output, there is a rapid increase in the installation of solar electricity across households in the USA. It allows for efficient and hassle-free energy with next to no operational costs.
A solar photovoltaic (PV panels) system (Normal or concentrated solar setup) is installed onto your rooftops, to produce electricity, which is then utilized to power your house. Due to net metering, any excess production is sent back into the electric grid. You can benefit financially and receive additional energy via the grid.
2. Solar Heating
Another solar usage that is growing in popularity is a solar-powered heating system. These generally work by pairing solar energy with a forced hot air system. This generally has to do with active solar energy.
The mechanics are simple. These air collectors heat the hot air trapped inside using solar heat. This hot air is then dispersed indoors. This can be a very efficient application of solar energy for space heating without paying high heating bills.
Similarly, most houses are constructed with a passive solar heating structure. This means using materials with a high thermal mass, such as ceramic tiles, stones, bricks, and concrete, during construction. During the day, these will then retain the heat collected throughout the day, keeping your house warm during the night.
3. Solar Water Heating
The use of solar energy has been extensive in water heating. This can cover two main areas: water heating inside the house for showers or water heating for your swimming pools.
Fun facts: Do you know you can use portable solar showers for travel? Find out the list of best solar showers here.
Both these options will come with solar panels that are either fitted to your roof or can be wall-mounted. This can be an excellent way to reduce your electricity costs as electric water heaters’ price and operational costs can be high.
4. Solar Lighting
Solar lighting has taken the market by storm. Once started with portable flashbacks, these lightings have now taken over floodlights, string lights, pond lights, street lights, and much more.
Pairing efficient solar panels with a sturdy battery, many of these lightings offer a battery life of at least 10 hours, if not more. They also sport multi-colored and multi-patterned outlooks. Most of them are built to be waterproof and offer high durability.
These lights are so helpful that you can pretty much find customized lighting for any location you have in mind. Solar lighting has covered you, whether path lights or lamp post-style lights, patio lights, or deck lights.
5. Solar Ventilation Fans
Another area where solar energy has been used is ventilation. Ventilation fans follow a reasonably simple mechanism and can function effectively despite low sunlight. These make solar energy perfect for running attic fans.
Attics gather a lot of heat and moisture due to the lack of proper cooling, which can cause the growth of mold as well as cause damage to any electric appliances. Solar attic fans can provide an excellent and affordable solution to this problem and reduce the load on your air-conditioning system. The ventilation does not have to be limited to attics and can be used in other areas of the house.
6. Solar Charging
Charging via solar power is a highly effective solution for nearly all batteries. You can purchase one of the many inexpensive solar panel kits available on the market. These will be equipped with a photo-electric panel.
Most kits also include connections that allow you to charge your devices directly. Similarly, you can purchase an inverter so that the DC generated by these solar panels can be converted to AC to charge your other batteries.
7. Solar Motion Detectors
Solar energy has also touched the motion-detecting market of workforce development. You can now find highly efficient solar-powered detectors with incredible range. These usually come in multiple packs and offer a variety of functions.
Different modes of security lights, extensive coverage, or high-sensitivity sensors have quickly overtaken traditional motion detectors. They are also weather-resistant and come with lasting warranties.
8. Solar Transportation
The transportation industry is yet another viable market for solar energy. One of the most effective ways this has been incorporated is by using photovoltaic energy to power railroads. This energy can also be used to power electric vehicles like buses, subways, and cars.
This is one sector that is still in the development phase but is filled with potential. There are numerous developments underway for solar-powered cars. The Solar Impulse 2, a fully solar-powered aircraft, completed its around-the-world journey in 2016. With a lot of advances in the application of solar power, we can surely hope to see a lot of growth in the coming years.
The benefits of solar energy are being realized across the world. We are collectively moving towards greener energy, and the versatility of solar energy is only helping to propel the movement. Every day there are new technological breakthroughs that help to prove that the future of solar energy is full of potential.
Solar energy has been covered in every possible aspect, from solar play kits and backpacks to solar animal repellers. A few examples include Solar Gate Opener, Pool Heaters, etc. With consistent improvements and developments, this list of uses of solar energy will only get longer.
