How can solar energy be used as alternate source of energy ?
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http://www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg/so...
This is a favorite source of future energy for many people, comforted by the thought that it is unlimited. But, quite the contrary is true. The Sun will exist for a long time, but at any given place on the Earth's surface the amount of sunlight received is limited--only so much is received. And at night, or with overcast skies, or in high latitudes where winter days are short and for months there may be no daylight at all, the sunlight received is very limited at times. Direct conversion of sunlight to electricity by solar cells is a promising field, but the amount of electricity that can be generated by that method is not great compared with demand. The conversion efficiency is low, about 12 percent with present technology.
Solar energy in quantity requires huge installations. It has been estimated that an area of 60 square miles in relatively clear central Oregon would have to be covered with solar cells in order to meet the present electric needs of that State. About 10% of the cells have to be replaced each year. But the big problem is how to store significant amounts of electricity when the Sun is not available to produce it. That problem remains unsolved. The statement that "solar energy will not make next century's electricity" is probably right. And the end product is electricity--a very limited replacement for oil.
I see roofing (shingles) made of solar panels. The current generated during the daylight hours could be circuited into the garage, where it is used to hydrolyze water into hydrogen and oxygen gas. Using a small compressor, the gasses could then be pumped into storage tanks.
These storage tanks could then be slipped into cars fueled by the re-combustion of the hydrogen and oxygen in their engines. People would be able to refuel their autos with no outside dependencies on fuel stations, except maybe on long trips where they could exchange their fuel tanks for refilled ones at exchange stations.
In addition to fueling automobiles with water, homes could be heated as well. The hydrogen gas could be burned in a fashion similar to propane.
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