Dilara Yiğit Dila Örmen 10/A SOLAR ENERGY. What is solar energy? Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the sun harnessed using a range of ever-evolving.

Dilara Yiğit Dila Örmen10/A

SOLAR ENERGY

What is solar energy?• Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the sun harnessed using a range of ever-evolving technologies. • It is an important source of renewable energy and it’s technologies are broadly characterized as their passive solar or active solar depending on the way they capture and distribute solar energy or convert it into solar power. • Active solar techniques: Photovoltaic, concentrated solar power, solar water heating • Passive solar techniques: orienting a

building to the sun, selecting materials

with favorable thermal mass or light

dispersing properties, designing spaces

that naturally circulate air.

Where is solar energy used?• Heat• Light • Hot water• Electricity • Cooling for homes,

businesses

and industry

Solar energy techniques• Photovoltaic systems: Producing electricity directly from

sunlight• Solar hot water: Heating water with solar energy• Solar electricity: Using the sun’s heat to produce electricity • Passive solar heating and lighting: Using solar energy to heat

and light buildings• Solar process space heating and cooling: Industrial and

commercial uses of the sun’s heat

How does it work?• Solar powered photovoltaic (PV) panels convert the sun ray’s

into electricity by exciting electrons in silicon cells using the photons of light from the sun.

Structure of a solar panel

Advantages of solar power

• Solar energy is free although there is a cost in the building of ‘collectors’ and other equipment required to convert solar energy into electricity or hot water.• Solar energy does not cause pollution. However, solar

collectors and other associated equipment / machines are manufactured in factories that in turn cause some pollution.• Solar energy can be used in remote areas where it is too

expensive to extend the electricity power grid.• Many everyday items such as calculators and other low power

consuming devices can be powered by solar energy effectively.• It is estimated that the worlds oil reserves will last for 30 to 40

years. On the other hand, solar energy is infinite (forever). 

Disadvantages of solar power

• Solar energy can only be harnessed when it is daytime and sunny.• Solar collectors, panels and cells are relatively expensive to manufacture

although prices are falling rapidly.• Solar power stations can be built but they do not match the power output

of similar sized conventional power stations. They are also very expensive.• In countries such as the UK, the unreliable climate means that solar energy

is also unreliable as a source of energy. Cloudy skies reduce its effectiveness.• Large areas of land are required to capture the suns energy. Collectors are

usually arranged together especially when electricity is to be produced and used in the same location.• Solar power is used to charge batteries so that solar powered devices can

be used at night. However, the batteries are large and heavy and need storage space. They also need replacing from time to time.

Solar energy in Turkey• Turkey is located in an advantageous position in Europe for solar energy. Compared to the rest of Europe, insolation values are higher and conditions for solar power generation are comparable to Spain. The government is aiming for at least 3 gigawatts (GW) by 2023.• The main solar energy utilizations in Turkey are the flat-plate collectors in domestic hot water systems. Turkey is one of the leading countries in the world with a total installed capacity of 10 GWth as of 2011 (129 kWth /1,000 inhabitants)• The industry is well developed with high quality manufacturing and export capacity. The number of companies is around 100 and annual manufacturing capacity is 750,000 m².

Solar energy in Turkey

Sources• http://www.pveducation.org/pvcdrom/solar-cell-operation/solar-cell-structure • http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/552875/solar-cell• http://www.solarenergy.org/• http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/solar-power-profile/