Solar technology aids efficiency

Global warming is a peril that is inspiring the worldwide movement toward renewable energy sources. There is an exhaustive search for ways to make solar energy generation cheaper and more effective. Solar technologies extract energy by securing power from the sun. There are two technological principles that can be used to provide this:  Accumulating thermal energy from the sun, known as solar thermal; and transforming light into electricity, through the photovoltaic process. Solar thermal and photovoltaic (PV) can be formed into buildings. Applications for PV include building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV), solar home systems that are not attached to the grid and solar charging stations. Solar home systems and solar charging stations are most suitable for use in rural and remote areas where grid power is not regularly available or too costly. Most BIPV applications are grid-connected which allows surplus energy to be produced and then conveyed to the grid.

Solar thermal water heating

In its most pure form, the solar thermal water heating system consists of a collector and a water storage tank. The collector is a plate made from a black colored metal sheet with metal tubes connected. The metal sheet is backed by a thermal insulation coating, and overlaid on top with a glass panel to decrease heat loss and provide protection from the adverse weather conditions. The collector tube is combined with a water tank which is located on top of the collector. The collector collects solar heat, which is transmitted to the water distributed in the metal tube. The heated water then grows and is stored in the water tank through natural convection. Then cool water automatically saturates the space in the metal tube.

Dual-use solar systems

Recently, solar thermal energy has developed to include dual-use systems, linking both water heating and space heating (combi-systems). These systems reduce energy use for space heating during the winter for buildings established in temperate regions. One downside is that the systems must release excess heat during the hot summer season. This issue has been beaten by combining solar cooling and combi-systems, which maximizes the application of solar thermal technologies year-round. Solar cooling is a reasonable choice for use in hot climatic regions. During an ordinary day, the top market for space cooling equals the peak of solar radiation. This large-scale implementation of solar cooling technology will aid in helping drop peak loads of electricity. A BIPV system is made of PV panels and a DC-AC inverter. A solar panel comprises a series of associated cells made of semiconductor substances. When PV modules are opened to sunlight, they generate direct current (DC) electricity, which is transformed to alternating current (AC) electricity – a standard form of electricity that can be used in most appliances and lighting systems. The AC electricity can then be stuffed into one of the building’s AC distribution boards, or attached to the main electricity grid. PV panels, which are integrated into the roof, façade, skylight or sun-shading devices, considered as building integrated photovoltaic technologies (BIPV). With BIPV, PV modules are normally used as a substitute for other building components. Although a proven technology, PVs are still subject to research and development. The aim is to improve the performance of energy generation and to reduce manufacturing costs. The common PV technologies can be broadly categorized into two groups – crystalline silicon and thin film. Crystalline silicon technologies account for the majority of PV cell production, whereas thin film is newer, less efficient, but building in popularity.

There has never been a better time to install a solar energy system!

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