Solar energy: What is it?
Solar energy is a renewable source of energy that is composed of the sun's electromagnetic radiation. It is often referred to as solar power and collected in sunlight. This energy is then converted into heat, electricity, or used in fuels and other materials. You can use solar energy in your home.
Solar energy is free, limitless, and doesn’t produce any pollution, while it supplies the needs of the earth and every living creature. The sun's energy can be divided into two forms: direct and indirect solar radiation. Direct solar radiation comes from the sun's light and it provides you with the power that you require to heat your house. Indirect solar energy is absorbed from sunlight, and it is the energy that sustains life on our planet.
In other words, solar energy is a natural source of energy that is produced by the sun. This energy is available in limitless quantities, and it can be used for cooking, heating water, generating electricity, and powering equipment and cars.
Solar heating systems are used for commercial and domestic heating in buildings. Solar power plants are used to generate electricity. Solar hot water systems are used to provide hot water in homes and buildings.
The advantages of using solar energy
When it comes to exploring renewable energy sources, solar panels have become one of the best in the last few years. The advantages of using the solar energy to light your home or cook your food have been brought to the public. Here are the advanced plus benefits of solar energy technology.
Maximize Solar Retention
When you go for solar energy, you harness the power of the sun to power up your home. Solar panels that are installed on the roof of your home have the ability to harness a vast amount of solar energy. The high-quality solar panels do not fall short of capturing energy from solar radiation and can even keep up with changing weather conditions.
Clean Bio-Fuels
Solar energy is clean and renewable which means that it does not produce any form of pollution. By installing solar panels on the roof, your home can utilize the clean solar energy to power up your appliances and run other devices. When you choose to go for solar energy, you are preventing global warming and making your home eco-friendly. This has been identified as one of the major reason for using solar energy.
High Efficiency
The disadvantages of using solar energy
Before moving forward, it must be stressed that solar power is a great tech, which helps people to get rid of the usage of electricity on a daily basis, by implementing the usage of solar panels.
Despite having many benefits, there are a few things that you need to take into consideration. This solar energy information guide will help you to understand more about this topic.
There are a few things that you will need to take care of, before you start using them.
First of all, solar panels are not very efficient during the day, for obvious reasons, and so you will need to connect the panels to the grid. The output energy from the panels is not stored, instead it is directly synchronized with the grids.
And if you have panels installed on your car and you will want to drive on the highway for a longer period, you should consider taking the panels off, as it might cause damage to the panel.
Nevertheless, solar energy is still a great option for you, if you want to go green.
Hydropower energy: What is it?
Hydropower is a renewable energy source where energy is produced by damming a river and using the gravitational force of the falling water to spin the turbines that generate electricity.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, hydropower accounted for 6% of the total electricity production in the US and was the second largest renewable energy source after biomass. Power plants using this process of energy conversion are rated in power, e.g. 1 mega-watt. The largest power plant using hydropower is the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington.
The advantages of using hydropower energy
Hydropower has been a contributing source of clean, renewable energy for decades. Its proven capabilities hold advantages over other sources, such as solar and wind.
Alternate energy, meaning an electric source other than fossil fuels, is an important component of a sustainable energy future. In fact, hydropower accounts for about 7.5% of the U.S. total energy supply.[1]
Hydropower is one of the oldest sources of renewable energy, used in ancient China and other parts of the world. As civilization progressed and methods of harnessing power changed, proponents of hydropower wanted to keep the water moving along. In fact, supporting hydropower is why dams were built in the first place.
Hydropower is a clean, renewable source of energy because water is naturally replenished. The electricity produced by turbines is as good for the environment as solar energy!
Hydropower’s status as a renewable energy source is a great part of the hydropower energy story. In fact, hydropower accounts for about 7.5% of U.S. total energy production.[2] Let’s take a look at some of the benefits:
The disadvantages of hydropower energy
Is that dams create submerged ecosystems that are radically changed. They are not the same as river ecosystems that existed before the dam was built. It is also an issue of flooding. Many wild animals are lost as they are unable to move away before the flooding begins. It is also problematic with the issue of expense. Those living in rural low-income areas have little to no power.
Solar energy has the advantage of being able to be used by any outdoor housing complex or by taking it mobile. Its low running costs make it the cheapest form of energy available. It is easy and simple to install and use. This is an excellent alternative to the need for power in remote locations and does not rely on a grid. It is no less reliable than hydroelectric energy.
Either way, the important thing to take away from this is that no matter the energy source, the impact to the environment and the people in it must be considered prior to building.
The population is growing fast and the need for energy is not going anywhere. More energy is required and as in all industries, more research has to be conducted to make sure that everyone is safe with the change from fossil fuels.
How solar and hydropower energy compare to solve our energy crisis
People who love the idea of clean energy generation are always on the lookout for better sources of energy. Many are looking to solar energy and hydropower sources to lessen their carbon footprint and to start solving their energy problems. Both these sources of energy serve as examples of renewable energy and are considered to be among the least costly sources of energy as well.
However, it is necessary to determine the benefits and disadvantages of both these sources of energy so that people can better decide which source is best for them. This article takes a closer look at solar and hydropower energy to offer a comparison of both energy sources.
I. Advantages
Both these sources of energy are renewable. The other real advantage that both these sources of energy share is that they are clean sources of energy. In other words, they don’t pollute the atmosphere and are good for the environment. Renewable energy, in general, has a very small carbon footprint, which is why it is considered to be a low-carbon energy source and is thought of more favorably than other sources of energy. Using renewable energy is a good way to save the environment.
Conclusion
Energy is one of the main pillars of civilization. It’s said that civilization started after people learned how to use fire to cook their food. Since the discovery of fire, man has used different sources of energy for cooking, heating, communication, travel, and light.
In today’s world, energy is much more than that. It’s the life line of every sector. Businesses, industries, households, education, agriculture, and even transportation run on a constant supply of energy.
The increase in both population and technology has resulted in ever increasing energy needs. Clean, sustainable, and renewable energy is the only key to solving this problem.
The world is admirably trying to do that. Every country across the globe is trying to find sustainable sources of energy that will both provide energy and benefit the environment. .
A lot of popular sources of energy have been discussed, especially in the recent years; nuclear, hydro, solar, wind, etc, but there are others also.
Though people often disregard the potential of old sources of energy and don’t view them as crucial parts of the future, I believe they should. Hydropower and photovoltaic energy; hydroelectric power, solar energy, wind energy are all very important energy options.