News about Solar, Wind and alternative green power technologies

Whenever there is a new technology available that can universally alter our way of life there is bound to be some misinformation that enters mainstream media and sticks as truth. One of these myths is that solar power is generated using heat from the sun. This is not true so let us have a look at the facts and bust this myth.

Things Are Heating Up!

One can understand why some think that the sun’s heat is responsible for generating electricity since conventional electricity production s based on burning fuel for power. There really are in fact two types of solar power panels, and one certainly does use heat. This is referred to as a solar hot water panel, solar thermal panel or solar collector.
 
This variety of solar panel uses the heat from the sun to heat up water, it is then transferred within the tubes to the building it is mounted on to service the place with hot water and heat. Solar thermal panels are on the large side and somewhat cumbersome [dark, shallow, rectangular box like units approximately eight feet long by four feet, normally attached to the roof of the building being supplied in a grouping, which combined is known as a solar hot water heater. For years now these panel systems have been used for residential water heating. However, these are not the usual solar panels that generate electricity.

Light It Up

The solar panels attached to roofs that are most evident are flat narrow panels used to produce electricity and are called photovoltaic panels or PV panels, that do in fact use the sun’s light and not its heat to produce electricity. The name photovoltaic means the way by which packets of sunlight, called photons, are transformed by solar cells into electricity. This is known as the “photovoltaic  effect” and was first revealed by Frenchman Edmund Becquerel. He realized that when silicon was exposed to sunlight, a tiny electrical charge was produced.

Solar Power Today

This power and light revelation evolved into developing solar cells made from silicon and then connected together to make up a panel. A number of these panels are combined to form an array and the power required is generated, enough to supply all or some of a home’s electrical need.

Subsequently, though solar panels are available that use the heat from the sun, they are not the same panel that people envision when they picture a solar panel to generate electricity. When someone considers using solar panels for electricity, they generally do so to eliminate or decrease their electricity bill. Nevertheless, if you have the sunshine available to provide both the heat for your hot water and the sunlight for electricity, you should really being taking advantage of both solar power systems to save money.

Power rates are increasing steadily with no retreat in sight so utilizing a renewable and free source of power like the sun only makes sense. The more money you save, the quicker you will recoup your initial costs and you’ll be helping to save to environment!