Solar Energy
Energy emitted by the sun in the form of solar radiation. (noun)
Additional Information On Solar Energy
Solar energy is vital to support life on earth, it helps to grow our food, light our days, influence weather patterns, provide heat, and can be used to generate solar electricity.
Solar electricity relies upon man-made devices such as solar panels or solar cells in order to provide a source of clean, and low-cost renewable energy.
We have used energy from the sun to provide electricity for many years, in the form of solar cell calculators and other small, low energy consuming devices.
As solar energy technologies become more advanced, we are able to exploit the energy we receive from the sun to provide a greater, significant amount of our electricity or even hot water (when using solar hot water panels).
The definition of solar energy describes how energy from the sun is transported to earth through the form of solar radiation. Photons contained in this solar radiation makes the generation of electricity from the suns rays possible.
Solar energy is also partly responsible for wind energy, as wind patterns are greatly influenced by the sun. Also, the sun is responsible for heating the ground beneath our feet to a significant degree to support the use of geothermal, ground source heat pumps.
Without the existence of solar energy, human life could not be supported on planet earth due to many different factors.
If you would like to view articles covering the different topics of solar energy, our articles section contains many solar energy articles.