Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Solar Energy 

This picture shows solar energy panel. These panels sit out in the sun all day collecting energy and transmitting it into electricity for us to use.
       Solar energy is a clean, renewable, alternative energy. It is prodused by having panels absorb the sun's energy and convert it into electricity. The elctricity is then either stored in batteries, sent to the grid, or converted into alternating current using an inverter for use at the location.  In fact, "Solar energy is our most abundant form of energy... Just one hour of sunlight provides enough solar energy to power the world's homes for an entire year" (dasolar.com). Solar energy is a renewable enrgy and will always be renewable since it collects its energy from the sun and, hopefully, the sun will always be there to provide us with energy. Solar energy may also be available to people in their homes; instead of paying fof their next electric bill, people may have the oppurtunity to put their own solar panels on their home to collect and make their own energy. There are actually a few ways to use solar energy which include, but are not limited to: Solar Thermal Energy at Home, Solar Hot Air Collectors, and Utility Scale Solar Energy. Solar Thermal Energy at Home is almost exactly what it sounds like; the sun is used to heat air or water which can be used to circualte around your house to keep it warm, or even be stored for showering. Solar hot water heaters are very simple, effective, and an inexpensive way to get hot water. Thermal solar energy is used around the world daily to provide free hot water for every day uses. The next usage of solar energy is solar hot air collectors. Hot air collectors, once again, do exactly what they say they do; collect hot air. This air is heated by the sun and then ventilated throughout the house to keep it warm. Finally there is utility scale solar energy. Utility scale solar energy is when a company produces solar energy that is then sold to everyday users like you and me.

Opinion:
I think solar energy is a great alternative energy source. Solar energy is something that companies should look into and invest in because some day solar energy may be our new main energy source. I believe that we should switch from fossil fuels over to alternative energys, especially solar energy. Solar energy is better than fossil fuels in many different ways, for example it is a clean energy source. Solar energy is also better than fossil fuels becuase it is renewable and free after the panels are set up. Plus, solar energy can be used in the home so people can produce their own energy and not have to worry about their next electric bill. Solar energy is a great way to produce electricity and should be used more often.

Questions:

1. Would you ever use solar energy in your home? Why or why not?

2. What makes solar energy renewable? Explain.

3. Do you believe solar energy will be the next main energy source?

4 comments:

  1. Opinion
    Solar Energy I beleive is a great way to get free energy after the panels are buillt. I've seen panels on my neighbors house and they say it really decreases the bill for electricity. It takes up the whole roof and looks pretty cool. Solar energy is a great way to power your house but the only thing is that it doesn't provide power when the sun goes done. I agree with Allison that it is a great alternate source of power. It decreases the amount of fossil fuels being burned. It makes it even better than it is clean and releases no waste or pollution which I learned in class.
    Question 1)
    I would defiently use solar energy in my home if I had the money to bulit the panels on my roof. I would use solar power because it saves you a lot of money and the energy is renewable which means it will probably always be there. The only down side of having panels on your roof is that it doesn't collect any sunlight during the night which means you have to use coal to heat and use electricity in your house. I think everyone should get panels and companies should greatly invest in Solar power.

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  2. Opinion:
    I believe that Solar energy is a great new thing but does have a couple of drawbacks. I can remember two times in class that we talked about this topic. First of all, way back in the beginning of the semester, I remember doing a decision making model on solar energy, and also when we had a class discussion on alternitive energy, we discussed its pros and cons. Anyway, solar energy is a clean energy that is renewable. However, the panels cannot collect energy from the sun when it is foggy or cloudy or rainy. Also, installing the panels can be very costly. I believe we should still search for other alternitive energies to see if there is something even better. However despite the minor drawbacks, i would fully support Solar power.

    Question # 3:
    Solar power will most likely be a major contributer for our power supplies in the future. Solar power is a great alternitive to coal because is so clean and can do the same things that coal can. Since solar power is also renewable, that means the energy is being made faster than it is being used. However, there are some things that solar power cant do, and for those things, we would need other alternitive energies.

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  3. opinion:
    Solar energy has been a great invention. I mainly see it on larger houses or ones with pools. I also see them when i go out west during the summer, inplaces like Arizona that get alot of sunlight. It's really beneficial and important that solar energy is renewable, especially with other resources running out.

    Question #3:
    Considering it can only be used for so many things, possibly. If scientists find a way to manipulate it into somehting that can be used more often, then yes it will be a more common renewable source of energy.

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  4. Solar energy is a great way to power your house. It is clean and free after everything is installed. I personally would love to have solar energy. The sun is a free power source that we should be using more. It is a great alternative to fossil fuels.

    Question 1)
    I would definitely use solar panels in my house. The only problem would be the price. Depending on how big your house is will determine the price and number of solar panels. The solar panels are also pretty expensive but i would buy them because they pay off in the long run.

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