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Solar energy is energy from
the Sun in the form of radiated heat and light. It drives the climate and
weather and supports life on Earth. Solar energy technologies make
controlled use of this energy resource.
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In building design,
daylighting techniques use sunlight to provide interior lighting and to
warm the air instead of using electric lighting and powered heating.
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Solar Energy is the solar
radiation that reaches the earth.
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Solar Energy can be
converted directly or indirectly into other forms of energy, such as heat
and electricity.
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Solar Energy is used for
heating water for domestic use, space heating of buildings, drying
agricultural products, and generating electrical energy.
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Photovoltaic Energy is the
conversion of sunlight into electricity through a photovoltaic(PVs) cell,
commonly called a Solar Cell.
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Solar water heaters heat
swimming pools and provide domestic hot water. In agriculture, greenhouses
grow specialty crops and photovoltaic-powered pumps bring water to grazing
animals.
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Evaporation ponds find
applications in the commercial and industrial sectors where they are used
to harvest salt and clean waste streams of contaminants.
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Solar distillation and
disinfection techniques produce potable water for millions of people
worldwide.
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Family-scale solar cookers
and larger solar kitchens concentrate sunlight for cooking, drying and
pasteurization.
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More sophisticated
concentrating technologies magnify the rays of the Sun for high
temperature material testing, metal smelting and industrial chemical
production. A range of prototype solar vehicles provide ground, air and
sea transportation
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The parabolic trough is the
most advanced of the concentrator systems. This technology is used in the
largest grid connected solar-thermal power plants in the world.
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A solar power tower or
central receiver generates electricity from sunlight by focusing
concentrated solar energy on a tower-mounted heat exchanger .
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A solar dish/engine system
utilizes concentrating solar collectors that track the sun on two axes,
concentrating the energy at the focal point of the dish because it is
always pointed at the sun.
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Solar energy has the
potential to become the major new domestic energy resource in the 21st
century.
General,
Energy Sources, Design and Manufacturing, Solar Concentrator, Studies
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