Solar Used In Five Interesting Ways

There are a lot of energy options available today.  Solar power is becoming an increasingly important part of the planet's energy mix. Way back in 2016, for instance, new solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity increased by 50 percent globally, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The IEA also noted that, for the first time, solar PV increases grew faster than any other energy sources.

Here, HahaSmart looks at five exciting ways solar power is being used around the world.

International Space Station

The station uses eight solar arrays, each of them 112 feet long and 39 feet wide, to provide it with electricity. Put together; the collections are made up of 262,400 solar cells including around 27,000 square feet, according to NASA.  A staggering eight miles of wire attach the station's electrical power system, the space agency figures.

Solar Aircraft

In 2016, the Solar Impulse 2, a human-crewed aircraft powered by the sun, managed to circumnavigate the globe without using fuel. The trip was accomplished in 17 separate legs. In August this year, a solar-powered aircraft from European aerospace giant Airbus achieved a maiden flight lasting 25 days, 23 hours, and 57 minutes.
The Zephyr S HAPS (High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite) took off from Arizona on July 11 and went on to make"the longest duration flight ever made," Airbus Defence and Space said in a statement at the time.

Airports

The flight sector's use of solar panels is not limited to cutting-edge aircraft. In a declaration towards the end of July, Hawaii's Department of Transportation announced it would install 4,260 new solar modules at Honolulu's Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.
The panels will be established on the seventh floor of the airport's Terminal 1 parking garage. Solar energy produced by the panels will be used at the airport and help to cut the overall electricity bill by almost half, the Department of Transportation added.

Sports Teams

The Lakers’ UCLA Health Training Center is now headquarters to 456 solar panels. The use of solar panels on buildings is shifting increasingly common, with a large number of high profile sporting organizations turning to clean energy. Towards the end of August, for instance, it was announced that the Los Angeles Lakers' training center would use power generated by 456 solar panels. The panels, installed at the Lakers' UCLA Health Training Center, are arranged to produce an evaluated 245,000-kilowatt hour per year, enough to power 35 houses.

Factories

The business states that this roof can meet as much as 40 percent of the site's electrical requirements and save an estimated 2,150 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. In April, the business announced it had started construction on what it defined as the U.K.'s "largest ever solar-powered car port." The carport, a structure that produces shelter to parked vehicles,  is located at its factory headquarters in Crewe, northwest England, and manufactured up of 10,000 solar panels.

HahaSmart helps you to use solar panels to do whatever you need.  We can help you find a great price, and a local installer that will help you with your next solar project.