Solar electricity is clean and renewable. The Earth receives from the Sun more than 10,000 times the energy that humanity consumes. It makes solar electricity clean, renewable and abundant, not far from the ideal of an affordable, renewable and clean electricity.
I How solar electricity works
II Advantages and drawbacks of solar electricity
I How solar electricity works
Solar electricity comes from photovoltaic modules, that are mostly made with silicon.
I How solar electricity works
II Advantages and drawbacks of solar electricity
I How solar electricity works
Solar electricity comes from photovoltaic modules, that are mostly made with silicon.
Photovoltaic modules.
How do they produce electricity ?
They use the photovoltaic effect.
Photovoltaic effect = photoelectric effect + voltage
How do they produce electricity ?
They use the photovoltaic effect.
Photovoltaic effect = photoelectric effect + voltage
The photoelectric effect occurs in semi-conductors and transforms the photons, particles of light, into free electrons.
How then are the free electrons converted into electrical current ?
Silicon Si has the ability of being converted into a semiconductor with more or less electrons than Si. The lack of an electron is called a hole and allows movement of the electrical fluid.
How then are the free electrons converted into electrical current ?
Silicon Si has the ability of being converted into a semiconductor with more or less electrons than Si. The lack of an electron is called a hole and allows movement of the electrical fluid.
PN junction figure. We can notice that at equilibrium, the free electrons of N (like negative, because the electron has a negative charge) and the holes from P (positive, because the hole has a positive charge), make a stable voltage, that will push the free electrons of Si into one way.
This is how a photovoltaic module works.
II Advantages and drawbacks of solar electricity
+ Renewable
+ Clean
+ Abundant
+ Cheap
Yes, I say cheap because today with global warming, we have a lot of sunny dry days, at least in Europe, and it's likely that solar electricity has become cheaper than coal or nuclear electricity.
Solar power is definetely the energy of the future, because hydraulic power is not enough for dense populations like today, but solar power is clean, renewable, abundant and available everywhere on the Earth. If CAES (Compressed Air Electrical Storage, a technology of electrical storage up to 85 % efficiency) is one day applied to tanks in houses, everyone will be able to store the excess of electrical energy of the summer to use it in the winter.
This is how a photovoltaic module works.
II Advantages and drawbacks of solar electricity
+ Renewable
+ Clean
+ Abundant
+ Cheap
Yes, I say cheap because today with global warming, we have a lot of sunny dry days, at least in Europe, and it's likely that solar electricity has become cheaper than coal or nuclear electricity.
Solar power is definetely the energy of the future, because hydraulic power is not enough for dense populations like today, but solar power is clean, renewable, abundant and available everywhere on the Earth. If CAES (Compressed Air Electrical Storage, a technology of electrical storage up to 85 % efficiency) is one day applied to tanks in houses, everyone will be able to store the excess of electrical energy of the summer to use it in the winter.
No comments:
Post a Comment