Critics of solar power are quick to point out that its currently horribly inefficient. And to a point, they’re somewhat correct. We’re still not at a point where the technology for solar power conversion has advanced to the point where it’s practical or economically feasible to convert solar power into electricity and use it to power most of modern society’s power needs. Mass-produced cheaper solar panels only convert solar power to electricity with 15% efficiency.
But the other day I was reminded of something while sitting outside in the hot summer sun. I went to pick up my black computer bag which had become hot to the touch after just a short while of sitting in the sun. Too often we criticize solar power for its inefficiency in conversion to electricity. But when all we want to do is to capture the heat from the sun, solar becomes a very viable and economically sound choice.
Take water heaters, for example. Solar powered water heaters make a lot a sense in most of the United States, and apart from the initial installation and plumbing work, don’t require much ongoing energy costs. And they also don’t need expensive photovoltaic cells. When you compare them to the ongoing costs of powering a water heater throughout the year on normal electrical power coming from a coal plant or other traditional power source, it wouldn’t take you long to recoup your initial investment and of course, you’d be doing yourself and the planet a favor.
Take a look up in the sky on a sunny day and you’ll witness the most amazing, powerful, and incredibly renewable source of energy known to man. The Sun. Of course, don’t stare directly at it or you’ll risk going blind. It’s just another reminder of how powerful the Sun really is.
As a species, we’ve been using solar energy for quite some time. Man has used it since ancient times to dry everything from clothing to animal hides. But we’ve been slow to adopt solar energy on a significant scale, primarily because in the 20th century, we lacked the technologies to efficiently capture and store it.
On a sunny day, each square meter on Earth receives approximately 160 watts of power from the sun over a 24 hour period. That means the entire planet receives about 84 terrawatts of power in a day. That’s a tremendous amount of power. Of course, we lack the means to capture and harness sunlight over every square meter of the globe, but you can quickly get a sense of solar energy’s potential.
The biggest obstacle to widespread adoption of solar energy is the relative inefficiency of converting raw sunlight to usable power. Solar technology has come a long way in just the last 20 years, but significant and costly obstacles remain preventing widespread adoption. Still, if you take the long view–something we should be doing a lot more of when it comes to energy and environmental issues–you’ll soon discover that solar energy is the best long-term solution for much our needs.
Think of it this way. Most of the inhabitants of our planet got along just fine for 4 billion years relying almost entirely on solar energy. Can we adapt our approaches to energy consumption to do the same?
