Solar Energy Harvesting And Applications

WHAT IS SOLAR ENERGY HARVESTING?

You might have listened to the harvesting of crops but what is solar energy harvesting. A very new term for anyone who doesn't know what it is. To make it simpler for you lets discuss the term solar energy harvesting. Solar energy harvesting is the method of capturing and converting solar energy radiated from the sun to electrical energy that can be used to various purposes in the households.

WHAT IS THE NEED OF SOLAR ENERGY HARVESTING?

As we all know that the sun's energy is available in abundance and is available in every part of the world.

In one year the sun can provide around 15000 times more energy than the fossil fuel energy needed during the year.

The present status of fossil fuel consumption clearly states that it will exhaust soon and will make the energy crisis on Earth.

Methods of solar energy harvesting

There are various methods of harvesting solar energy but the three major ones are as follows.

1. Solar thermal collectors.

in this type of collector panels are heat absorbent which are attached to the series of circulation tubes to generate electricity.

2. Concentrating solar power

In this type of method mirrors or lenses are used to concentrate the sun's rays which in turn heats the fluid and produces electric power.

3. Photovoltaic technology

This technology is is basically the one in which the photovoltaic solar cells produce electricity from the sun's radiation by using photovoltaic effect.

Recent research in solar energy harvesting

There is some research done in the field of solar energy harvesting which shows how to make solar panels much more effective by the usage of butterfly posture. In this type of technique the investigators have tried to replicate the wings of butterfly to develop a new, lightweight reflective material that can be used in the production of solar energy.

This will be very helpful at night time making it light various appliances. Also it has been designed in such a way that during off grid conditions it can impart electricity.

Applications of solar energy harvesting

While having the proper knowledge and research it's time to apply the knowledge.

There was this former electrician named as Scott brusaw who figured an innovative solar panel in the form of a hexagon that can connect a road way.

There was a project named as solar roadways developed which used to generate power which in turn used to light up the roads are night making it easy for people to travel at night where electricity wasn't there.

In short the impact of solar energy harvesting is absolutely incredible. It is environment friendly and this should be used in every way possible.