What Is Solar Energy: A Quick Primer For The Rest of Us

If you're like me, you're probably trying to remember the answer that question based on a couple Radio Shack project kits you built when you were a kid, or maybe from a day your science teacher spent on it at school.

I've been doing some research on this recently, and thought I'd collect up my notes and post them here as a quick refresher course on the question of "what is solar energy," and help calm any fears or concerns for those of you who (like me!) are considering a first solar energy project.

There are two major types of solar energy projects:

Thermal Energy projects seek to capture heat energy from the sun. A common example these days is solar water heating. Solar water heating is typically accomplished by warming water in glass tubing on your roof and using copper piping and "heat exchangers" to get that heat into your water heater.

Usually, this type of project can only generate enough heat to "pre-heat" your hot water, which means that you will still have to use other (usually conventional gas heating) to get the water up to full temperatures. But you can lower your water heating bill up to 25% in most areas of the world, because you are starting with warm (instead of cold) water.

There are other types of thermal energy projects, designed to warm the inside of your living spaces, not just your water. In my opinion, thermal energy projects are not good candidates for your first project due to the skills and planning required. If you want to execute a thermal energy project, I strongly recommend that you find a qualified local consultant to help you.

Electric Energy projects produce electric power through solar sells (or, if you want to sound super-educated, "photovoltaics" or "PV"). The idea here is that you install panels of PV cells that will capture energy from photons bouncing off of their surface. The amount of energy in an individual collision is incredibly small, which is why you need a large panel to capture tons of them at once.

The captured energy can be wired up to a motor, light, or other electrical device, or you can choose to store the energy in a battery and use then have your device draw power from the battery instead.

Electric Energy project make great first-timer DIY projects for you and your entire family, for several reasons:

• Costs can be contained if you start with powering a small outside feature
• The voltage and current levels are low enough to eliminate the risk of shock
• You can get some quick experience and success to motivate you to do even more projects
• You can get the entire family involved or spring it on them as a surprise!
  

I'm planning my family's first electric energy project now -- we're installing a small pond in our backyard and we'll use a solar panel to power the bubbling pump that will aerate the water and keep the pond and its denizens happy.

To help us get this first project under our belts, I found a book that teaches you not only how to get these projects done, but also how to do it cheaply! I recommend this book if you are interested in learning the answer to the question "what is solar energy?"

Here's the link: Renewable Energy Solutions Book

I hope it helps!

--Bruce