Solar Power
Essay by review • August 25, 2010 • Essay • 295 Words (2 Pages) • 1,700 Views
About 47 per cent of the energy that
the sun releases to the earth actually reaches the
ground. About a third is reflected directly back
into space by the atmosphere. The time in which
solar energy is available, is also the time we least
need it least - daytime. Because the sun's energy
cannot be stored for use another time, we need to
convert the suns energy into an energy that can be
stored. One possible method of storing solar
energy is by heating water that can be insulated.
The water is heated by passing it through hollow
panels. Black-coated steal plates are used
because dark colours absorb heat more efficiently.
However this method only supplies enough energy
for activities such as washing and bathing. The
solar panels generate "low grade" heat, that is,
they generate low temperatures for the amount of
heat needed in a day. In order to generate "high
grade" heat, intense enough to convert water into
high-pressure steam which can then be used to
turn electric generators there must be another
method. The concentrated beams of sunlight are
collected in a device called a solar furnace, which
acts on the same principles as a large magnifying
glass. The solar furnace takes the sunlight from a
large area and by the use of lenses and mirrors can
focus
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