Solar Energy in the Home and at Work

Solar energy actually has a lot of different uses and applications to your home and your work place, and it also offers a lot of different advantages. Since solar energy is now becoming more and more affordable, as compared before, it is now more sustainable to have it in your home and at your work place. Here are just some of the possible advantages of using solar energy.

Solar Hot Water Heater

One of the more common uses of solar energy is for solar hot water heaters. Most homes in America actually have a hot water heater, which is probably why it accounts for about a quarter of the total energy consumption of a typical American home. Unfortunately, the U.S. government actually spends a lot of money on paying off the energy consumed by these hot water heaters, about $13 billion every year, possibly making it the single biggest energy consumer in your home or work place.

Solar energy systems used on hot water heaters can actually help you save a considerable percentage on your utility bills, over 85% of the total electric water heating cost of your home. This is probably why a majority of the people who decided to invest in the solar hot water heating systems think that this is a wise decision indeed.

Solar Energy Power

Solar energy or electricity is actually derived from certain solar energy technology and photovoltaic solar technology that allows you to convert solar heat into reusable energy, allowing you to get power and electricity in your home and work place. At this day and age, there are actually over 200,000 homes that use solar energy technology, 10,000 of which are powered solely by solar energy. And with the introduction of different photovoltaic integrated products, and incorporating them into the construction of your home, or your work place, you can actually save a lot just from the initial cost of construction as compared to building a conventional custom house.

Solar Pool Heater

If your home, or work place, has a pool, then a solar pool heater is needed to keep that pool heated at a certain temperature. Solar energy is actually being used by over 300,000 pools in the U.S., and could dramatically lower your utility bill by a considerable amount.

Solar Energy Net Metering

Net metering is actually a means for people who use solar energy to power up their homes or work place to be able to sell back to the utility company whatever excess electricity that their home or work place is able to produce using solar energy technology, but is not able to use up. This means that you will be able to lower down the cost of your power and energy consumption, especially since you have another alternative source for getting your electricity.

Also, people will soon be able to choose where they want to get their electricity from. They could either get it from their conventional utility, or get their clean power from a source that is non-polluting, but is just a bit more expensive than your conventional utility.

Heat and Solar Energy

Solar heating systems incorporate several principles on the conversion of solar energy into solar thermal energy, as well as the physical behavior of heat. The primary principle that people need to know more about include solar home heating, which involves getting solar energy and transforming it into heat. You will better appreciate solar heating systems and solar energy as a whole by knowing how the process works. Here is some more info.

About the Collectors

A solar energy collector gets the radiant energy from the sun to be converted into heat. A solar collector transforms solar energy into heat by taking advantage of the greenhouse effect. The solar energy will go through a layer of glazed glass, and then be absorbed by the material underneath. The solar energy will excite the molecules in the material beneath, leading to heat. The glass glazing will keep the heat from escaping, and will capture the heat effectively. As soon as the heat is captured, people can put the energy into good use.

Basic Heat Principles

Heat is described as a form of energy that is related to the movement of molecules. Once the electromagnetic waves that emanate from the sun hit an object, these will excite the molecules of the object, triggering movement. The movement of the molecules is then referred to as heat. Heat is constantly moving from high to low temperatures until the temperature becomes even. The process is known as heat transfer.

If a person puts two objects next to each other, the warmer object will start to cool down as the heat is moved to the cooler object. The cooler object will warm up afterwards. The transfer of heat is triggered by the difference in the temperature of the objects. The rate of heat transfer is proportional to the difference in temperature. The bigger the difference in temperature between the items, the heat movement will be faster.

Heat Movement Assessment

It is important that people know more about the movement of heat to full appreciate solar thermal energy. Passive solar energy applications use a lot of heat movement. The 3 common physical ways that heat moves include convection, conduction and radiation. Conduction is the transfer of heat via a solid material, or from a single material to another where the surfaces are in contact with each other. Heat is conducted quickly via a solid material compared to layers. Convection is the heat transfer by a moving fluid such as water or air. Radiation is the direct transfer of heat through space via electromagnetic waves coming from a warmer object to a cooler object.

Choosing the Application

Knowing the various types of heat transfer will help you choose the ideal application that will ultimately become beneficial for your home or office. Make sure that you also get all the materials needed for your solar heating system. You can stay comfortable even on long cold months by choosing the right type and knowing the devices and positioning that will guarantee you safe and effective results.