Solar Energy: The energy source of the future?

An alternative to traditional energy sources that is starting to get attention is solar energy. Solar energy is becoming of great interest because it a clean and relatively inexpensive for of energy when compared to traditional energy sources.

Solar energy is harnessed through the use of solar panels. Solar panels are basically a device that gathers and coverts the solar energy from the sun. Solar panels have been greatly improved in the past few years as more research and studies have went into finding out more about solar energy.

Besides having solar panels, to use solar energy you need a storage unit. While solar panels gather up the sun's energy they are not capable of storing large amounts for long periods of time. The sun is not going to be available all the time, so it is very important to be able to store the energy for use when it can not be gathered directly from sun.

This brings up the limitations of solar energy. While solar energy is a very promising alternative energy, it does have some issues that need to be addressed before it can be used as a sole energy source.

The major limitation is the ability to collect and store enough solar energy to be able to supply constant power. Due to the unpredictability of the sun this has been hard to solve. The only solution so far is to have another energy source to act as a back up when the solar energy is depleted.

Solar energy is best used for heating because heating involves little energy loss and makes the most out of the available solar energy. It can also be used for cooling. Cooling, however, involves a lot of energy use and therefore depletes the solar energy quickly.

Converting solar energy to electricity can also be done, but like cooling I uses up solar energy quickly and requires a lot of stored energy.

As mentioned, though, research into solar energy is helping to expand its use. Improvements in technology are on the horizon and they will allow for greater use of solar energy.

It is obvious why people are so interested in solar energy. The sun is a very available resource. It is renewable and it does not harm the environment. Solar energy is very clean and very assessable to the masses.

The use of large solar grids is something that may, one day, allow solar energy to provide energy to large populations of people, just as electricity and other energy sources are provided now.

Solar energy is large enough to be able to satisfy the energy demands. This makes it an ideal replacement for traditional energy sources, unlike many other alternative energy resources that have been introduced.

It is something that has to be considered. The world's current energy resources are not going to last. Soon there will be no choice, but to find an alternative and solar energy is looking to be the front runner.

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- Xin Yun