Solar Energy Part Two

In my last post I talked about looking at energy primarily focused in the Southwest in Arizona. That is still on my list of areas to look up but through other research that I have been doing, I would like to look more into local smaller scale options for the use of solar energy. I was lucky enough to have Carmen give me some information that is directly related to solar energy which opened my eyes to the different types of solar energies other than large-scale solar fields that would be used in the desert of Arizona.Those suggestions have helped frame the following research.

Through my research I have been wondering whether or not the massive initial start-up costs of solar energy is worth the investment because as I have found solar power is incredibly inefficient. I have also looked at what types of energies solar power can reduce if any.

I spent a lot of time reading the information that was suggested to me on the website http://www.withouthotair.com. This author discussed three major ways to use solar power. The three are listed as solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, and solar biomass. This list is what sparked my interest to possibly switch my focus from large-scale solar power use to more local and small-scale uses. The first use I want to discuss is solar thermal. This form of solar energy is used to heat water. This form of power is generally used in homes. This option is significantly less costly than the other main option I would like to discuss which is solar photovoltaic. Solar thermal energy is a low-grade energy. The uses of this are great for heating the water in a home or building. The biggest issue with this form is that the energy produced is incapable of being stored in something such as a power grid. This becomes a problem because the unused energy is basically wasted.

The second type of solar energy I want to discuss is solar photovoltaic. This type of solar power turns sunshine into electricity. This can be used on large-scale as well as smaller scales. However, using this type of solar power can be very expensive and is not often taken up by individual households because of that fact. According to David MacKay the low-end panels in this category are only 10% efficient and the top end very expensive panels only produce energy at 20% efficiency (MacKay). On his website http://www.withouthotair.com MacKay also said that due to the laws of physics the maximum efficiency that is possible to produce using solar photovoltaic is 60%. That is using the most advanced panels and mirrors that are available which would come at an astronomically high price to individuals or large-scale companies alike. Using less developed panels and mirrors would still only result in 45% efficiency.

If you wanted to look at the best option for people to install on their homes between solar thermal systems and solar photovoltaic systems you would want to look at the price compared to the output of energy from each system. The costs of installing a solar photovoltaic system is four times more than that of a solar thermal energy system. The systems are different in that the solar thermal system heats water and cannot be stored and the solar photovoltaic system that transforms sun into electricity but when you look at the price of four times more it makes one consider it when you look at the fact that the solar photovoltaic system only produces half as much energy at four times the price of solar thermal systems.

The last topic I want to discuss in this post is the option of solar biomass. There are three main routes of getting solar power from biological systems. I will outline these briefly. The first one is to grow specific plants and burn them in a “power station” that can create electricity or heat. The second option is petroleum substitution. This involves growing crops that can produce such things that can be turned into biofuel or ethanol. Another option of harnessing solar power would be to burn agricultural byproducts. An example of this would be to burn chicken feces or straw.

That is it for now I would like to try to find price differences between the options and post that if I am able to find them. Another possible option to take my project in a more local direction would be to possibly talk with a building manager at one of the UW buildings and ask if they have any plans of investing in any form of solar power primarily in either the solar thermal option or in the solar photovoltaic option.