12 curious facts about solar energy
Solar energy is the renewable source of energy that can supply all of humanity, it is free and available to everyone. The devices created to take advantage of this energy are photovoltaic solar panels and thermal solar panels. Next I will give you a recount of solar energy facts.
For a couple of years, photovoltaics and self-consumption in Spain have been experiencing a new boost that has revived activity in the sector of both the manufacturing and marketing of solar panels.
12 curious facts about solar energy
Today, when more than 200 countries have committed to reducing the emission of polluting gases to curb climate change, solar energy is one of the types of renewable energy that will allow us to achieve this and that, in addition to being free and unlimited, could last us at least 6 billion years more.
Do you want to know some curious facts about solar energy with Svea Solar ? Solar energy is fascinating, we will prove it to you!
Curiosities about solar energy
As is well known, the sun is the source of life and the origin of all renewable energy found on Earth. However, there are many curiosities about the sun and solar energy that are not known and that make it the most extraordinary star in our universe.
Solar energy is rich in curious data and also in benefits that it is never too late to discover.
The fastest form of energy in the universe is light
Nothing can be faster than light traveling at more than 1,000 million kilometers per hour and 299,792.45 kilometers per second. How long does it take for light to reach Earth? It takes 8 minutes and 19 seconds to reach the planet and a few seconds to be captured by the solar panels.
A photon is the particle that makes up light.
The weight of a photon of light is equal to 0, it has no mass and this explains why the speed of light. Although photons are particles, they also behave like waves that can travel in all directions . As particles they have the ability to interact with matter and transfer energy in any of the forms of electromagnetic radiation.
The sun emits much more energy to Earth than we are able to consume
The sun is 109 times larger than our planet and therefore is capable of emitting 4,000 times more energy than we consume . The solar radiation received by the Earth in one hour is equivalent to the annual consumption of electricity in the world.
Did you know that our planet receives about 1,366 watts of solar radiation per square meter before entering the atmosphere?
A part of this energy is absorbed, reflected and scattered by the clouds, particles and molecules that make up the Earth’s atmosphere.
Did you know that Albert Einstein received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the Law of the Photoelectric Effect?
In 1905 Einstein explained that light is transported in minute packets of energy, which depend on the frequency of light, thus providing a seed that would contribute to the development of quantum physics and that became the basis of photovoltaic generation .
The first commercial photovoltaic cell was manufactured in 1957
In 1954, Bell Laboratories accidentally discovered that semiconductors made of silicon doped with certain impurities were sensitive to light. This finding allowed the development of those first solar cells .
The first use of solar energy was to generate electricity for space satellites.
The Soviet Union used solar cells in the design of its first space satellite launched in 1957. A few months later, the American Vanguard 1 satellite, which also used solar panels for electricity , went into space in March 1958.
95% of the rare earth mines in the world are found in China, part of the components required to manufacture solar panels
Rare earths are a group of 17 metals (lanthanides), which appear in oxide form. Its extraction is dominated by China, which produces 70% of the world total and concentrates 37% of the reserves.
A photovoltaic solar panel installed on a roof can reduce pollution by 100 tons of carbon dioxide during its useful life
If we take into account that a solar panel has an average efficiency of 90% in its first 25 years of use and that after this time they continue to work for several more years, but with lower performance, this implies a significant contribution per photovoltaic panel during all his life.
A house consumes about 11,000 kilowatt hours of energy in a year
According to this information on the energy consumed by an average home, we can say that to feed it with photovoltaic energy, it would be necessary to install around 30 solar panels of 250 watts each .
The country with the largest number of solar plants in the world is China
China has more than 400 solar companies and has become the country with the largest installed solar PV capacity. Consuming solar energy in China is cheaper than consuming electricity from the grid .
The country in Europe with the largest number of solar energy installations is Germany
Photovoltaic energy in Germany contributes 40% of the energy of that country. In 2019 alone, its solar park, which has around 50,000 megawatts of installed power, produced around 46.5 terawatt hours of electrical energy .
At Svea Solar we hope that you have enjoyed the information on solar energy that we have shared with you. The more we know about it and its advantages, the greater our ability to take advantage of it.
