Five Uses of Solar Panel Systems

Solar panel systems are composed of an array of solar cells or collectors that can harness energy from the sun for a number of household or commercial applications. Believe it or not, a solar panel can produce electricity, treat wastewater, light greenhouses, heat up water, and steam cook.

Producing Electricity

The usual solar panel systems are made up of photovoltaic cells that collect and gather light from the sun. Thereafter, it converts solar energy into useable electricity. This process is called photoelectric effect, which is made possible using special materials called semiconductors.

Solar panel systems became popular because of advancements in the quality of materials used in solar technology and improved panel design. As a result, solar panels became cheaper and more commercially appealing. Today, most homes favor solar power systems as backup power sources over the conventional backup generators.

Treating Waste Water

Solar panel systems can be used for the wastewater treatment of brackish or saline water. The process is called solar distillation.

A mining town in Las Salinas, Chile houses the first large-scale solar distillation plant that was ever constructed. The plant can distill about 22,700 liters of wastewater each day.

Heating Water

One of the features of a solar panel system is that it also collects sunlight to harness its heat energy. Concentrating the sunlight onto a heat-conducting container would raise its temperature such that it will be able to heat water. These are called solar water heaters.

Solar panel systems are popularly used to conveniently heat water in swimming pools. Aside from this, solar heating can also be used to heat water for domestic and utility purposes. There are two distinct types of solar collectors that utilizes heat: (1) glazed flat plate collectors as water heater for domestic or utility use and (2) unglazed plastic type as swimming pools heater.

The Greenhouse Effect

Greenhouses are very popular in the agriculture and horticulture industries. Solar panel systems can be setup in tandem with thermal masses to create a greenhouse effect that will improve plant growth and productivity.

English and French farmers realized that fruit walls trap the heat of the sun, and in turn, has a positive effect on the fruits. With this discovery, farmers use thermal masses to trap the heat emitted by the sun. They find that the fruits are actually undergoing an accelerated ripening process with the help of thermal masses.

Aside from increasing the growth of plants and fruits, the greenhouse effect can also be used to dry farm goods such as coffee beans, marigold and other crops. There are countries that actually use the greenhouse effect to dry up chicken manure for use as fertilizer.

For Cooking

Solar panel systems can also be used for cooking food, as well as drying and pasteurization. Panel cookers are one of three categories that use solar panels for cooking. Using a reflective panel, sunlight is directed to insulated containers. Typical cooking temperatures of about 315 degrees Celsius are possible with this setup.

The only problem with this system is that direct sunlight is required to achieve the right cooking temperature. Also, the panels must be repositioned as necessary as possible to keep track of the sunlight's position.

Setting up solar panel systems will give you the opportunity to save money from all of these applications and uses. Not only will the system be environment-safe, but it will also serve as a backup power just in case you need one.