Solar radiation energy

Solar Energy reaches Earth in the form of radiation which provides all living organisms with light and warmth. It can also be used in other ways. Right now it’s used more commonly in order to replace conventional Energy sources like coal, oil or gas.

Solar collectors use thermal energy from the sun. This is due to the photothermal conversion. They absorb radiation and transfer the heat using a specific medium (usually a liquid, but sometimes also air). Collectors are most often used for heating up water. Models that differ in structure and properties are available. The most popular types include:

• Flat collectors,
• vacuum collectors,
• storage collectors,
• elastic collectors.

Collectors work in a fairly simple way, and universal usage. They are most popular in souther countries, with high average temperatures and a lot of sunny days per year, but they can also be found in Poland.

Other method of using solar radiation is photovoltaics. It’s definetly more refined and advanced technology, thanks to which the sun becomes a great source of renewable Energy. Photovoltaic panels transform the Energy of a photon – a unit of light – into electricity. Thanks to thier special construction using photovoltaic panels to generate Energy is simple and completly non invasive.

Photovoltaic cells in which the phenomenon leading to the production of electricity takes place are connected in series with each other. Installation of such modules allows you to start producing electricity with sufficient efficiency to cover your whole electricity demand. The panels are maintenance and failure free, which makes tchem very comfortable to use. Apart from the panels the only thing needed in the setup is an inverter which converts direct current produced in the cells into alternate current, needed by devices in your house.

Solar collectors can be used together with photovoltaic panels creating a hybrid installation