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What is renewable energy

Energy from wind power

Energy from biomass and biofuel

Energy from geothermal heat pumps

Energy from hydro power

Energy from Solar Power

Solar energy refers to the utilisation of energy from the Sun. Solar energy can be converted into other forms of energy, such as heat and electricity.

Benefits of Solar energy:

• Generate electricity which clean and green from Photovoltaic cells
  
  Using solar-thermal panels instead of Photovoltaic cells water or air can be heated for domestic hot water and space heating needs
  Using solar chimneys air can be heated or cooled
  Solar panels are an idea source of renewable energy that is pollution free
  
  Solar panels produces electricity quietly unlike the energy produced from the use of fossil fuels and some renewable fuels
  
  Solar energy enables electricity to be produced in remote locations that are not linked to a national grid
  
  The use of solar energy to produce electricity allows the user to become less dependent on the worlds fossil fuel supplies and reduces their carbon footprint
   

How do Photovoltaic Cells work?

Photovoltaic systems use cells to convert sunlight into electricity. The PV cell consists of one or two layers of a semi conducting material, usually silicon. When light shines on the cell it creates an electric field across the layers causing electricity to flow. The greater the intensity of light, the greater the flow of electricity.

Disadvantages of Solar Power

The major disadvantage of solar energy is the initial cost of solar cells. Currently, prices of highly efficient solar cell arrays can be above £10,000 (US $20,000) and some households may need many more panels. This makes the initial installation of solar panels very costly.

Solar energy is only able to generate electricity during daylight hours. This means for around half of each day, solar panels are not producing energy for your home. The weather can affect the efficiency of solar cells. In some cities, pollution levels can affect the solar cells performance and efficiency. This would be a major setback for businesses or industry wishing to install solar panels in heavily polluted areas.

Irrespective of the disadvantages, Solar energy is still a good source of renewable energy. Prices for panels are continually coming down and technological advances are being made.