Man has used sun power, which comes from the heat of the sun, since the olden times. Solar energy is free energy source for the people. It does not require fuel and does not cause pollution.
The heat from sun that reaches our planet is twice as much as the amount of power that will be harnessed for a very long time from natural gas, coal and oil. Due to this advantage, modern solar technologies are presently being used to harness power. Some solar applications used nowadays are water heating, heating and cooling architectures, electricity production, cells powered satellites and for industrial purposes.
Passive sun heating is now commonly designed for a lot of buildings. Buildings are structured with large windows that are composed of materials that can absorb heat. The collected heat is then stored to the building's wall and floors. When it is cold, the walls and floors give off heat. With this free source of power, building owners are able to save their money from paying electric bills.
Passive sun systems are also used by different power plants. Some have transferred from using fossil fuels into using sun heat. Sun power systems which include the parabolic-through, power tower and dish are used.
With the use of tilted curved mirrors, parabolic-through collect energy from the sun. Pipes with oil are being focused on with light and heat. The oil heats the water used in generators. The generators in turn produce electricity. Mirrors are also used to collect light for the dish system and power tower system in order to generate electricity.
Aside from heating, this is also used as a cooling power source. Like an air conditioner, cooling devices generate power from the heat. Aside from this, evaporative coolers also use this for its power source.
Water heating has also been a famous use of sun power. Glass panels in roofs are used to heat water. Through this, gas or electricity will be saved. Pipes in the panel contain water. Water is propelled from the bottom which helps hot water to be pumped from the top.
As a free source of power, the cells are utilized by our satellites as it orbits the earth. With these satellites, we are able to use TV, telephones, internet and different navigation system. We are able to enjoy these different applications everyday with the help of solar cell powered satellites.
Solar energy is a free energy source of power. In the olden times and until now, we have used the sun to dry our clothes and even dry our food. However, only a small amount of this unlimited natural resource is used. But with mankind's development of new technologies, we are able to fully make use of this resource. And we are all enjoying this for free.
