3rd Submission- Solar Energies

As we have previously seen, the development of new resources of energies has help our environment. In this case I will discuss some of the commercial and residential applications of the Solar energy. Solar energies do not hurt the environment and can help citizens save some money and the environment. Solar energies can be expensive in the short run; however they will easy pay off in the long run. Some of the uses of solar energies on homes are the following:

• Solar-Electric: also called photovoltaics. It is a very new technology, its basis was discoveres by Albert Einstein in 1923. However its applications weren't seen until the 1950s, when Bell Labs found the way how to commercialize this application of solar energy. Photovoltaics is a process by which sunlight, using semi-conductors, is converted to electricity. DC is converted to AC and therefore it becames a usefull electricity for houses and businesses.
• Solar- Thermal: is the process by which the sun is used to warm up water. Installing solar hot water systems is one of the most common applications and uses of solar energies nowadays. It is a really good way of saving money since on average 30% of a home's energy consumption is used to heat water. One of the disavantages of this type of system is that it is strongly determined by the climate where you live. There exist many systems such as the Drainback, Glyncol, Active Direct Systems. The first one mentionned is the most common used in homes. They all have different limitations and uses, however they all help the Earth.
• Day lighting: this is an aspect many people did not take into consideration in the past. However having one instead of 2 windows in one room can make a difference. Day lighting is a free source of energy that can work as well as electric power; however we will save much money if when building a new house we take into consideration from where the sun rises, and therefore the orientation of the house.

All of this different uses of solar energies can be apply to houses and business. Getting informed about all this applications is free. The installations of this systems can look expensive at first and may be not too reliable. But one thing that is for sure is that they do not harm the environment. ALso, a lot of recent research has been done, and it proves that people can reduce their electricity bills up to 30%. Besides helping the environment this will help our pockets.

Sources: www.solarenergy.com