Friday, October 12, 2012

Solar energy

Electricity is more important in today's life where everything is controlled by electronic gadgets.. from mobile  to traffic signal lights.
It is not easy for the government to provide electiricity where the usage keeps on increasing as the population increases. Because of which electricity charge also increases. The common people and the people living under poverty line are the ones who suffer much due to this hick. In-order to ease or reduce the problem the profitable solution is using the solar energy which can be used after conversion as electricity. Sun is also one of the non-renewable source of energy.

Some of the basic details regarding solar energy.



  • Solar Energy is measured in kilowatt-hour. 1 kilowatt = 1000 watts.
  • 1 kilowatt-hour (kWh) = the amount of electricity required to burn a 100 watt light bulb for 10 hours.
  • A home solar system is typically made up of solar panels, an inverter, a battery, a charge controller, wiring and support structure.  

    Interesting Facts about Solar Energy: 

    • Da Vinci predicted a solar industrialization as far back as 1447.
    • A world record was set in 1990 when a solar powered aircraft flew 4060 km across the USA, using no fuel.
    • Americans who are only 5 percent accounting to world's population, consumes 26 percent of world's energy.
  • How solar energy can be used ?
    To dry our clothes direct sunlight is enough. But to power satellites, a storage mechanism along with sunlight is required. And to power cars, their hybrid batteries need to be charged by sun-rays. 


    How Solar energy is converted into electricity ?
    The most common method of using solar energy is to store them in photovoltaic cells. This method was first used in U.S. space satellites in 1950s. The cells are made from silicon.When sunlight enters the cells, it causes the electrons to move about. The electrons then move towards the front side of the solar panels. This causes an imbalance of the electrons between the front and back side of the panels. On joining the two surfaces, a conductor is formed, just like a wire, and current begins to flow. The individual solar cells are arranged together in a PV module and the modules are grouped together to form an array. This current is used to charge cells and this energy is used to light lamps, tube lights and also to drive cars now. The current can also be used to run appliances.

    Another method of using solar energy is to direct the solar rays to a convergence point using a curved reflector and then make a current flowing system like a photo cell and store energy. This method is now used in India and U.S.

    Some of the major projects taken by Indian government were:

    Started 2011-finished 2012 :


    While starting this project Gujarat CM Mr. Narendra Modi said “We now plan to install solar panels on the Narmada canal to generate solar energy. We plan to start by covering 25 km stretch of the canal, which will have the potential to generate 25 MW of power”


    “The experiment to cover the canals with solar panels (for power generation) is proving to be a success. Initial estimate shows that by covering one km of canals by solar panels, one megawatt of energy can be generated,” he said.
    This will reduce the water evaporation from the channel and no land will be wasted for installing thes solar  units as they are installed over the canal.

    In Tamilnadu :

    1. All houses should have water harvesting plans while getting sanction for building the house - this is to improve the ground level water.
    Like this if there is a rule that a minimum percentage of roofing should be used for getting solar energy for their house use purpose. This reduces the burden on the government and also some of rural areas can depend on these form of energy.
    What government can do for common people?
     Installing and generating for common use (street light e.t.c) by government will be good. But rather than that if there is a subsidy given to generate solar energy for houses, it will encourage people to install them and generate the power for their use. This in turn results in no wastage of land by installing huge units by government.

    Credits:
    http://www.idealsolarhome.com/working-principle-of-solar-energy/
    http://www.esdalcollege.nl/eos/vakken/na/zonnecel.htm
    http://allaboutsolarenergy.net/