Science

Running Head: SOLAR ENERGY 1

SOLAR ENERGY 2

Brittney Noward

SC250: Science for Everyday Life

Prof: Kristin Douglas

Jan. 8, 2015

Energy is considered as the integral part of your lives as it is very impossible to imagine the life without energy. We use the energy in our homes, at work, for entertainment, cooking, washing and even on the road every day. Today, the energy that is basically used comes primarily from the non-renewable fossil fuels, but in the recent years there has been an increased interest in the renewable energy sources such as solar and wind energy as the other sources of energy are exhausting. Moreover the renewable source of energy is easily available and non-polluting source of energy. No matter where the energy is derived from, there are various benefits and challenges to its use. The major advantage of the use of the renewable energy is that as it is renewable it is therefore sustainable for the future generation and so will never run out or get exhausted like the non-renewable source of energy.

The Renewable energy is very efficient and it needs less maintenance than the primitive or the traditional form of the generators. The fuel for the renewable source of energy is easily available and is being derived from the natural resources that reduce the costs of the operation. Moreover, the renewable energy helps in producing the little or no waste products such as the carbon dioxide or other chemical pollutants that is very harmful for the environment and hence it adversely harms the environment and hence it has minimal impact on the environment.

We use the energy in our daily life from the electricity that charges our computer or the cell phone, to the fuel in our car; everyone consumes the great amount of the energy each day. So, it is very important to generate the energy wisely and then to preserve it for the future generation.

Solar energy is considered as the best source of energy on which we can rely on. However, there are other source of energy that can be used such as wind energy, bio energy, thermal energy and nuclear energy. The solar energy is generated for use in an easy way. The solar energy is regarded as the most common type of the home solar power system features the photovoltaic (PV) panels that helps in converting the sunlight into the electricity. These panels are generally placed or rather mounted on the roof and angled to face the sun.

Solar energy is now widely used for daily work be at home or at workplace. The solar energy is widely used because “the sun provides the “fuel” to generate power for the home’s electrical system and components. This saves money on electricity bills. If the home is set up for the net metering, any excess electricity generated by the solar power system can be transmitted to the grid and sold to the utility in the form of a credit. Electricity generated by the sun produces no harmful emissions. This reduces the home’s carbon footprint. Federal, state and local jurisdictions periodically offers grants, tax breaks, discounts and rebates for the installation of renewable energy products, including solar systems.”, (Sunshine Lyons Wendy, (2013).

Moreover, generating the energy through the use of the solar power using the solar panels on the roof as it results in reducing the dependency on the utilities and on the electric power grid that provides electricity. However, there is one disadvantage of generating the electricity through the use of the solar panel that can be easy over- come and that disadvantage is that solar power system might cost tens of thousands of the dollars. The Smaller systems can also be very expensive for installation.

“The first and foremost advantage of solar energy is that, beyond panel production, it does not emit any greenhouse gases. Solar energy is produced by conducting the sun’s radiation – a process void of any smoke, gas, or other chemical by-product. Italy’s Montalto di Castro solar park is a good example of solar’s contribution to curbing emissions. It avoids 20,000 tonnes per year of carbon emissions compared to fossil fuel energy production”, (Whiteburn Greg, 2012).

The solar energy is used for the cooking, day lighting, heating water, disinfection, for watching television and for making the saline water potable and for the high temperature process heating. However, there is other challenge that is faced while generating the energy through solar panels.

Solar energy helps in conserving the energy for future and thus preserves the environment. However, there are various ways to save with the help of the solar power, it’s important that one should keep them in the efficient and proper perspective. For instance, if one would sell the home one should reap the advantages and the benefits of an increased home value however, one would no longer enjoy the benefit and the energy savings benefits. You can calculate one or the other into your total savings, but you won’t enjoy both at the same time. While you one would achieve the benefit of the lower bill considerably.

“Energy independence is another big advantage of solar energy, particularly for the consumer. It’s a good idea to cut your dependency on big corporations and semi-monopolies, in general. The possibility of much greater energy security is a major advantage of solar power that many people are not aware of. However, our military is. The US military has researched the matter and come to the conclusion that solar power, because of how widely distributed it is, combined with micro grids (which can be disconnected from the larger electricity grid network if they are compromised) provide the most secure electricity”, (Shahan Zachary, (2014), “Solar Energy Advantages Verses Disadvantages”.

Solar Energy is the best energy form and it should be used greatly so that the coming generation take the added advantage of the energy. Last but definitely not the least we can conclude that no energy resource is perfect as it has some advantages and some disadvantages —the systems of utilizing these energy sources are regarded as inefficient, as they have their own loop hole. So, we should use the energy in an efficient energy.

References

Shahan, Z. (2014). Solar Energy Advantages Verses Disadvantages. Retrieved from: http://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/22/solar-energy-advantages-vs-disadvantages/

Sunshine, L. Wendy. (2013), Pros and Cons of Solar Power or Home use.

Whiteburn, G. (2012). Fundamental Advantages and Disadvantages of solar energy. Retrieved from: http://exploringgreentechnology.com/solar-energy/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-solar-energy/