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SOLAR ENERGY AND ITS USE

THE NEXT BIG THING



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Praxis Business School

Assignment No_01

Solar Energy And its Commercial Use

A report

submitted to

Prof. Prithwis Mukerjee

I n partial fulfillment of the requirements of the course

BIS

On 07/11/2010

By

Pratik Agarwal

(B10016)



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ABSTRACT:

Solar Energy is the next big and the most efficient sour ce of energy. As the r esour ces of energy ar edecr easing day by day,solar energy is the only sor ce of energy which will never decr ease as it isder ived f rom the sunlight.

Solar energy, heat and radiant light that emanates f rom the sun have been controlled by humansbeginning the ancient per iods using a wide range of evolving technologies. Solar radiation, together with secondar y solar power ed r esour ces like biomass, wind, wave and hydroelectr icity ar eaccountable f or major ity of the available r enewable energy on Ear th. Only a small f raction of theavailable solar energy is utilized.

INTRODU C TION :

Solar energy is ver y impor tant nowadays and can become the most valuable and the most efficientsour ce of energy which a human being can always cher ish. Solar energy can be used f or generating

electr icity,solar heater s.solar cell and many mor e types of ideas and innovations that can f ulfil a human beings needs and wants.Solar power ed electr ical generation depends on photovoltaics and heat engines. The uses of solar energy ar e only limited by human ingenuity. Some of the other uses of solar energy include spacecooling and heating via solar ar chitectur e, solar hot water , solar cooking, potable water via distillationand disinfection, daylighting and high temperatur e process heat f or industr ial f unctions. Solar panelsar e one of the most effective and basic ways to gather solar energy.

H ISTORY :

When people talk about solar energy , a lot of people think of cer tain solar energy sour ces that ar e

pr etty common to them, such as wood and even dr ied animal droppings. Aside f rom these possiblesour ces of solar energy, people also associate the concept of solar energy as one of the possiblecauses f or global war ming.One of the mor e common and mor e popular roles that the sun or solar energy played dur ing theancient times is that of a f or ce that is able to sustain life based on its ability to give r enewable energy.This is probably the main and the most impor tant r eason as to why people of those days especially innative south and nor th Amer ica as well as in other par ts of the world wor shipped sun. Ancient Gr eecebuilt temples devoted to wor shipping their sun deties namely Helio and Apollo. Also the use of solar energy wer e not limited to r eligious pur poses as they even used the solar energy system to incor porate passive solar design in the construction of their houses.

SOLAR E NERGY TODAY :

Nowadays in our technologically advanced times solar energy has now gar ner ed a lot of new inter estand f ocus specially since solar energy has now become mor e aff or dable to what it was earlier andalso now its uses have also incr eased and its application in our day to day needs have also incr eased. Solar energy cells ar e actually being used in a lot of business houses and homes todayand ar e also r esponsible f or power ing most household appliances, office equipments, and ar e also used to power car s.



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H EAT AND SOLAR ENERGY :-

Solar heating systems incor porate several pr inciples on the conver sion of solar energy into solar ther mal energy as well as the physical behaviour of heat. The pr imar y pr inciple that a per son need to know about the solar energy include solar home heating which involves getting solar energy and

transf or ming it into heat.

C OLLE C TION P RO C ESS :-

Solar energy is collected by devices called c ollect ors. A solar energy collector gets the radiant energy f rom the sun to be conver ted into heat. Solar collector transf or ms solar energy into heat by taking advantage of the gr een house effect. Solar energy will go through a layer of glazed glass and then be absor bed by the mater ial under neath. The solar energywill excite the molecules in the mater ial beneath leading to heat. The glass glazing will keep the heatf rom escaping and then it will captur e the heat effectively. As soon as the heat is captur ed a per soncan use the energy f or his use.

H EATING P RIN C I P LES :-

Heat is descr ibed as a f or m of energy that is r elated to the movement of molecules. Once theelectromagnetic waves that come out f rom the sun, when hit an ob ject these molecules of the ob jectexcite tr igerr ing the movement. The movement of the molecules is then r eferr ed to as heat. Heat isconstantly moving f rom high to low temperatur es until it becomes even. The process is known isHEAT TRANSFER .

Example:- If a per son puts two ob jects i.e. (one is cold and the other is war mer ob ject) next to each

other , the war mer ob ject will star t to cool down as the heat is transferr ed to the cooler ob ject and thecooler ob ject will war m upwar ds. The transfer of heat is tr igger ed by the differ ence in the thetemperatur e of the ob jects. The rate of heat transfer is propor tional to the differ ence in temperatur e.

The bigger the differ ence in temperatur e between the ob jects the heat movement will be f aster .

ASSESSMENT OF T H E H EAT MOVEMENT :-

Passive solar energy applications use a lot of heat movement. The thr ee common physical ways inwhich the heat moves include convection, conduction and radiation.Conduction is the transfer of heat via a solid mater ial or f rom a single mater ial to another wher e thesur f aces ar e in contact with each other . heat is conducted quickly via a solid mater ial compar ed to layer s.Convection is a process in which heat transfer s by a moving f luid such as water or air .Radiation is the dir ect transfer through space via electromagnetic waves coming f rom a war mer

ob ject to a cooler ob ject



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.

C H OOSING T H E APP LI C ATION :-

Knowing the var ious types of ways in which the heat gets transferr ed will help in choosing the ideal application that will ultimately become beneficial f or home or office use.

SOLAR P ANELS :-



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What are sol ar panels:-

The solar panel is the most basic element of a solar system. It pr imar ily f unctions to gather sunlightdur ing cer tain per iods of the day to power differ ent devices and structur es depending on the size thatsolar panels can power anything f rom RVs to huge plants. It is impor tant to under stand the wor king of the panels and wher e it can be applied in or der to get the most out of it.

Solar energy star ts f rom the sun. Solar panels ar e also known as photovoltaics and ar e pr imar ily usedto conver t light f rom the sun. These ar e made of energy par ticles called photons that ar e changed into electr icity to power var ious electr ical loads. Light f rom the sun is consider ed as a r enewable sour ce of energy that gives clean energy. Solar panels can be used f or differ ent applications like r emote power systems f or cabins, r emote sensing, telecommunication equipment and also to produce electr icity f or both commer cial and domestic use.

Solar panels ar e now widely used all over the world and in several homes and commer cial buildingsand also many vehicles which r ely mainly on solar panels to generate electr icity.

Benefi t s of sol ar panels:-

If we choose solar panels f or our use then we can produce electr icity that can power var ious

applications. For people living in ar eas wher e ther e is no supply or inadequate supply of electr icity,solar panels ar e the most essential and impor tant sour ce to produce electr icity. A solar panel hasnowadays become ver y cheaper and is easily available. It is a system which is less expensive andcan give you power f or up to 25 year s if we maintain it well.Solar power is a r enewable sour ce of energy which makes it ver y clean and eco f r iendly.

TY P ES OF SOLAR ENERGY :

Solar energy is pr esent in differ ent types and they ar e as f ollows:

First Category:

The fir st way to view solar energy is how the energy is transf or med into usef ul energy. Ther e ar e a couple of types in this categor y- passive solar energy and active solar energy .Passive: it descr ibes the har nessing of the energy of the sun without the use of mechanical devices.Using the windows f acing the south dir ection helps in getting natural light as well as heating the room. Active: solar energy involves the use of mechanical devices in collecting, stor ing and distr ibuting solar energy at home pumps etc. Active solar energy water heating systems helps to cir culate the water through the system.

ABOUT T H E ENERGIES :-

solar ther mal energy is the energy made by transf or ming solar energy into heat. Ther e ar e plenty of solar applications that a home owner can use to get the benefits of this energy such as solar spaceheating, water heating and ther mal cooling. Photovoltaic(PV) power is descr ibed as the energy madeby conver ting solar power into electr icity via PV solar cells.



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TY P ES OF SOLAR ELE C TRI C SYSTEMS :-

Electr ic systems have been cr eated because of the r ise of solar power as a r eliable and a cheapsour ce of energy. Ther e ar e now differ ent techniques, methods and systems that depend on solar power to run plants houses and offices r espectively. The differ ent types of systems ar e as f ollows:

T he Stand Alone System:Ther e ar e small stand alone electr ic systems that ar e ver y good at giving electr icity at an economical rate. These systems ar e mainly used to power lighting, backup power systems and cabins. The sizeof the array of the PV or the number of solar panels as well as the batter y will r ely on the individual power r equir ements. The solar panels charge the batter y dur ing daylight per iods and the batter y will provide power to the inver ter whenever r equir ed.

Grid-T ie Solar System:

The gr id tie solar system is ver y usef ul f or homes that ar e alr eady linked to the utility gr id. The pr imar yadvantage of this kind of system is the cheap pr ice of utility. The system needs to be wir ed with aninver ter that cr eates wave electr icity which is needed f or linking to the utility gr id.

T he full stand alone:The complete or f ull stand alone system is ver y usef ul f or complete independence f rom electr icitycompanies and f ossil f uels. The benefit of the system is the capacity to provide power away f rom theutility as well as cr eating a measur e of self independence. The complete stand alone home solar system will usually have a couple of inver ter s to supply the AC house curr ent needed to power loadslike air conditioner s.

USES OF P ASSIVE SOLAR ENERGY :-

On Orientation: Ther e ar e a number of pr inciples that we have to keep in mind in or der to take the f ull advantage of passive solar energy. The applications will r ely on the specific location and climate webelong to. Or ientation r efer s to the positioning of the home so that we get most of the sun¶s rays to heat and minimize the impact of cooling. Shading is vital in managing the natural light natural temperatur e of the home.

Passive Solar Heating: Passive solar heating belongs to the categor y of solar space heating. Theheating process can be done by or ienting the home well so that most of the windows f ace to the southdir ection. The windows should be sized properly so that optimal heat gain is attained. The home hasto be insulated to r educe loss of heat. Passive cooling is a kind of solar cooling. The main idea behindpassive cooling is to r educe the impact of the sun by or ienting the landscape and the house so thatwe get the most benefits out of it.

On Daylighting: It is a kind of solar energy. It is descr ibes as the use of natural light to illuminate thehouse. Good daylighting provides the r ight light to all the rooms and also minimises the costs of electr icity. We can day light the house well by sizing and positioning the windows so that natural lightf r eely enter s the home.

Passive solar energy is consider ed as the natural and the most cost effective way to maintain thehome. We can save a lot in the long run and expect to have the r ight light and temperatur e inside thehome f or the year s to come.



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AC TIVE SOLAR ENERGY :-

Active solar energy is used by several homes, offices and other structur es today as it has many

benefits. Generally, active solar energy is descr ibed as the use of mechanical devices to gather , stor eand distr ibute solar energy inside the home.

T he Advantages: Active solar energy can provide people with many benefits. It can be used in thecurr ent place wher e we stay now r egar dless of the design. It can produce a lot mor e solar energycompar ed to passive solar energy. The heat energy cr eated can be easily used all throughout thehouse.

T he Components: ther e ar e thr ee main components in active solar energy.Fir st: Collection of solar energy which involves the use of solar collector s. The most basic collector isthe f lat plate collector , this is an insulated box cover ed with glass. Inside the box ther e ar e blackabsor ber plates that absor b solar energy and transf or m it into heat. The heat energy is moved to f luid,air or water that will f low through the collector . This will ensur e if the system is air based or liquidbased.

Solar energy storage can be done by using ther mal mass or water tanks f or liquid based systems. Air based systems will have to r ely on rock bins to contain the heated air . Solar energy distr ibution is thethir d component which is based on this kind of system.Ther e ar e thr ee types of active solar applications that can be used in home namely active solar pool heating, active solar space heating and active solar water heating. Active solar space heating can heat the air inside the house by using pumps, blower s and f ans thatwill distr ibute and gather heat. The systems can be either air based or liquid based. Air basedsystems use rock bins or ther mal mass while liquid based uses ther mal mass or water tanks.

T he third type: active solar pool heating involves the use of pumps to properly cir culate the water inthe pool via solar collector s to heat and then r etur n to the pool. The pool becomes a storage mediumf or heated water so you do not need any mor e water storage tanks. If you use active solar pool heating you can extend the swim per iods of the f amily and r educe the heating costsof maintaining thepool.



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P ROS AND C ONS OF SOLAR P OWER :-

The advantages of solar energy continue to grow with mor e pros and cons and exper ts lear ning mor e

about the process and featur es. Ther e ar e also a lot number of consequences f or a per son who do not about the devices much. We should consider the things we need to power , the location and thebudget.The good thing about the solar energy is that it can be used anytime and as long as the sun exists.We can get the power we need day in and day out. Solar energy is a r enewable sour ce of energy thatmeans we do not have to keep changing the par ts to get the desir ed r esults.

The disadvantage is that we will not be able to access the solar energy when ther e is no sun. Wecannot r ely on solar energy at night or in places that tend to be ver y cloudy f or several months.People living in tropical or deser t r egions can r ely on it.

Nowadays solar energy can power var iety of ob jects such as homes, office, car s, small light fixtur es,calculator s etc. Another disadvantage to the solar energy is that the power may tend to f luctuatedepending on the sunlight available. Some devices may not wor k as well as desir ed if the energy

acquir ed is insufficient.

ADVANTAGES OF SOLAR ENERGY :-

Thousands of people ar e beginning to invest in solar power ed devices and panels because of itsseveral known benefits. It helps the environment and maximises the potential of the energy sour ce byusing solar power instead. We have to know about the availability types and featur es of it. We shouldalso know the sour ce better so that we can get the best. We can expect to continue getting power andenergy f rom the sun f or several decades without having to r echarge or keep pur chasing new par ts f or it. The solar energy will always be available as long as the sun is ther e and is shining br ightly. On theother side oil is not consider ed as a r enewable sour ce of energy. Oil can take millions of year s to f or m. At pr esent oil r eser ves ar e being depleted at a ver y f ast rate as compar ed to its time of

development. We will have to pr epar e our selves f or the consequences and will have to look f or f ur ther alter natives and star t implementing them so that we get f amiliar to it.

Helping the Environment:Solar energy is non polluting, this means that we can save the eco system and keep gr een housegases f rom f or ming. We can f ur ther expect cooler and cleaner surrounding by investing in solar power ed devices.

Cheap and Easy:People do not have to keep maintaining solar cells because a panel can last f or mor e than 30 year s if it is well maintained. Solar cells can also be made f rom ver y cheap mater ials and we our selves canconstruct it. We can also pur chase r eady to build solar cell panels over the inter net. Even though thesolar panels ar e ver y expensive to pur chase in the beginning but the total amount of savings on thatin the year s to come will be much higher when compar ed with the investment.

Easy I nstallation:We can always expect to have our own solar panels in just a matter of hour s or days. It takes a day to construct our own solar panel and installing it in the solar panel cells. With the help of many booksthat ar e r eadily available in the mar ket or through online pur chases wher e f rom we can get theknowledge and power to yield the maximum.



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Concentrating and non- concentrating :The concentrating gather er s use panels that ar e angled the r ight way to absor b the pr ime point of thedir ect rays of the sun.Non-concentrating gather er s ar e ideal f or r egions that have lower amounts of dir ect sunlight andabsor b the energy rays of the sun f rom dir ect and var ious r ef lecting angles. Solar power generation isunder heavy r esear ch f or ideal mater ials and processes of collecting the sun¶s energy and utilizing solar generator s to cr eate both heat and electr icity.

T he Applications:Solar power can give several applications f or businesses, homeowner s and companies. Pr esent solar

power plants ar e not yet ver y rampant, but ther e is a growing population as the technology and supplyf or energy that is both clean and safe becomes mor e available. Energy systems ar e now widelyavailable to help utility companies and used by people f or var ious electr ical applications is used all over the world. Solar panels can be used to heat and power differ ent appliances in the house. Solar panels can also be used to conver t sunlight into electr icity to power heating systems lights and air

conditioning systems.

T he Cost:The cost of a solar power generator will var y depending on the size, mater ials and applications wher eit will be used f or . Big power plants will have to spend millions to get the desir ed effect. Small households can only pay a few hundr ed dollar s f or the r ight setup.

SOLAR ENERGY FIGURES AND STATISTI C S :-

Solar energy is f ast becoming one of the most promising alter native f or ms of energy sour ces that isavailable today. The main r eason behind this is probably the f act that its main sour ce of energy whichis the sun. Sun provides over 10000 times mor e than the energy that our planet is able to produce.This helps us to show that solar energy is one of the best alter native energy that is available f or thef utur e.



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Viability:One of the main things that we look when it comes to alter native sour ces of energy is whether it isfinancially viable or not?Getting a solar energy system f or home or office will actually help us in save money annually. We will be able to r ecover the total cost within 5 year s of installation.

Reducing Cost of Energy Consumption:Studies have shown that using cer tain solar energy systems do r educe the total cost of energyconsumption that our home or office might incur . If we properly setup the panel then we might save upto 80% of the annual bills.

Area that a solar power plant needs: Solar power plants r equir e a cer tain str etch of land ar ea in or der to house all the solar panels thatthese power plants need to have in or der to properly har ness and collect sunlight and solar energy.Depending on the size of the power plant and the solar energy output needed each solar power plantland ar ea would var y f rom 250000 squar e meter s of solar panels in the United Kingdom to the 93million squar e meter s of solar panel in China.

C ON C ENTRATING SOLAR P OWER :- solar power is descr ibed as the conver sion of sunlight into electr icity. Sunlight could be changedstraight into electr icity with the use of PV. It can also be indir ectly conver ted using CSPs. Ther e ar enow several devices and structur es which ar e cr eated to f ocus and concentrate solar power in var iousways depending on the need.

On Concentration:Solar power is concentrated in many ways. Solar troughs ar e the most common and visible. CSPs or concentrating solar power systems make use of mirror s, lenses and track systems to f ocus on a widear ea of sunlight into a small beam. The concentrated heat is used as a sour ce of heat f or the power plant.Parabolic trough is the most developed way of concentration. Other structur es made include theStirling dish, the linear Fr esnel r ef lector and the solar power tower .

T he Parabolic T rough:It is cr eated f rom a linear r ef lector that concentrates light r ight onto a r eceiver , placed along the f ocal line of the r ef lector . The r eceiver is descr ibed as a tube positioned r ight over the middle of theparabolic mirror and filled with a wor king f luid. The r ef lector is cr eated to f ollow the sun dur ing the daylight hour s by tracking r ight along a lone axis.



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The Stirling Solar Dish: It is also called a dish engine system which is made of an independent parabolic r ef lector that tendsto concentrate light r ight onto a r eceiver placed at the f ocal point of the r ef lector . The r ef lector thenkeeps track of the sun along an axis or two. It provides the best r esults over the other technologies.The benefits of the Stirling solar over PV cells ar e the higher conver sion efficiency f rom sunlight into

electr icity .

Power T ower:It includes a wide array of heliostats or tracking r ef lector s that f ocus light on a central r eceiver over a tower . Power tower ar e consider ed to be the most cost efficient and they provide better energystorage and higher efficiency when compar ed to other CSP technologies.

SOLAR ENERGY IN YEARS TO C OME :-

At pr esent it is easy and safe to say that solar energy is ver y quickly becoming par t of our daily life. Itis being used mor e commonly nowadays in many homes and offices. As it is growing at a rapid pace

it is also becoming mor e viable and because of this mor e and mor e applications ar e beingdevelopedf or the f utur e.Though the f utur e f or the solar energy seems to be ver y br ight and clear a lot of people still speculate

about what the f utur e r eally has in stor e f or it.However in or der to be able to under stand and properlypr edict the f utur e of solar energy lets see what it is now.

Solar Energy T oday:In today¶s world solar energy is being used f or a number of r easons and f or cer tain pur poses such asproviding home with an alter native sour ce f or energy and electr icity ther eby allowing people to gr eatlyr educe the cost of the energy and electr ic consumption by a considerable amount. Cer tain solar energy systems provide differ ent advantages and benefits depending on the use of an individual.

Solar Energy Benefits:



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The main advantages and benefits of using solar energy is that it uses one of the best sour ces f or r enewable and clean energy that is the sun. Ther e is no r eal shor tage on viable solar energy that wecan use in the f utur e as the sun produces 10000 times the energy that Ear th produces.

Solar Energy in the Future:

The f utur e of the solar energy appear s to be gear ing towar ds the better specially since ther e is a lot of r esear ch and developments going on all over the world and many r esear cher s and scientistsar e

f ocused on finding the ways to improve alter native energy systems and technology. They ar e also tr ying to find out the ways in which solar energy can be made economical and hence it becomes a solution to the world¶s curr ent energy and power cr isis.

TO P P LAYERS IN T H E FIELD :-

y Polar Photovoltaics, China

y JS solar , China

y Amplesun Solar , China

y Risen Energy, China

y Singf o solar energy, China

y TD solar , China



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REFEREN C ES :-

http://www.google.co.in/images

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_ cell

www.NEED.org

www.google.com

http://www.enf.cn/database

T H ANK YOU!

solar power_pratik agarwal

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