Solar energy can be categorized in two different ways: in the form of light and heat. We utilize solar energy in different ways. At this point, when we hang clothing outside to dry in the sun, we are utilizing the solar heat to dry our garments. Plants can make their food in the sunlight. We get nourishment from plants. Non-renewable energy sources are really solar energy which is stored a million years back.

There are various products that use solar energy. These are called sun-powered gadgets (or apparatuses) or solar thermal collectors. Solar thermal technologies utilize solar heat energy to heat water or air for applications, for example, space heating, pool heating, and water heating for homes and organizations. Let’s have a look at the applications of solar technology in different sectors.

There are three essential technologies by which solar energy is an outfit: photovoltaic (PV), which convert light to power; concentrating sun based power (CSP), which uses heat from the sun (thermal vitality) to drive utility-scale, electric turbines; and solar heating and cooling (SHC) systems, which gather thermal energy to give hot water and air heating or molding.

Major applications of solar energy are as per the following

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP): Concentrating sun based power (CSP) plants are utility-scale generators that produce electricity utilizing mirrors or lenses concentrating solar energy. The four main CSP technologies are dish-Stirling engine systems, central receivers, parabolic troughs, and concentrating photovoltaic systems (CPV).

Solar Thermal Electric Power Plants: Solar thermal energy control solar power for practical applications from solar heating to electricity generation. Solar thermal collectors, for example, solar hot water panels, are generally used to create solar hot water for household and light industrial applications. This energy system is utilized in engineering and building designing to control warming and ventilation in both active and passive solar designs.

Photovoltaic: Photovoltaic or PV technology uses solar cells or solar photovoltaic arrays to convert solar energy into electricity. Solar cells manufacture direct current from the solar rays, which can be used to power appliances or to recharge batteries. Several pocket calculators integrate single cell, but for larger applications, cells are grouped together to create PV modules that are successively organized in solar arrays. Solar arrays are used to power orbiting satellites and spacecrafts, and in remote areas, as a supply of power for emergency telephones, remote sensing, and electrode protection of pipelines etc.

Solar Heating Systems: Solar hot water system uses daylight from sun’s energy to heat water. The systems are composed of solar thermal collectors and a storage, and that they can be also be active, passive or batch systems.

Passive Solar Energy: It uses for design of building to maintain of its atmosphere at a comfortable temperature through the solar energy. It is done by (1) direct gains i.e. the positioning of windows, skylights, and shutters to manage the quantity of direct radiation reaching the inside and warming the air and surfaces inside a building; (2) Indirect gain that means solar radiation is absorbed by a locality of the building envelope and transmitted indirectly to the building through physical phenomenon and convection; and (3) Isolated gain which is involved passively absorbing solar heat and so moving it passively into or out of the building through a liquid or air directly or using thermal store. Sunspaces, solar closets, greenhouses area unit are the other ways of absorbing isolated heat gain from warm air is taken.

Solar Lighting: It is known as daylighting. It can be the utilization of natural light to produce illumination to offset energy which is used in electrical lighting systems and bring down the cooling load on HVAC systems. Daylighting options involve building orientation, window orientation, exterior shading, saw tooth roofs, clerestory windows, light shelves, light-weight tubes and skylights. As a keystone of sustainable design, architectural trends are going to be more and more recognized daylighting.

Solar Cars: It is an electrical vehicle powered by energy which is obtained from solar panels on the surface of the car that converts the solar energy directly into electricity. Solar cars don’t seem to be presently a shape of transportation. Though without sun they’ll operate for restricted distances, the solar cells are terribly fragile.

Solar Power Satellite: A solar energy satellite (SPS) could be a planned satellite inbuilt high Earth orbit that uses microwave power transmission to beam solar energy to a massive antenna on Earth .It will be used in place of typical power sources. The advantage of putting the solar collectors in an area is the clear view of the sun, unchanged by the day/night cycle, weather, or seasons. However, the price of construction measures very high, and SPSs won’t be ready to contend with typical sources unless low launch prices will be accomplished or unless a space-based producing business develops and that they will be inbuilt orbit from off-earth materials.

Solar Updraft Tower: A sun based updraft tower is a proposed kind of sustainable power source control plant. Air is heated in an enormous roundabout greenhouse like structure, and the subsequent convection makes the air rise and get away through a tall tower. The moving air can drives turbines, which helps to produce power. There are no solar based updraft towers in activity at present. An exploration model worked in Spain during the 1980s, and EnviroMission is proposing to develop a full-scale power control station utilizing this Australia’s technology.

Renewable Solar Power Systems with Regenerative Fuel Cell Systems: NASA has perceived the advantage of regenerative fuel cell (RFC) systems to give energy storage to solar power frameworks in space. RFC frameworks are remarkably able to give the fundamental energy storage to solar based surface power frameworks on the moon or Mars , during long time of darkness, for example during the 14-day lunar night or the12-hour Martian night. The idea of the RFC and it’s inherit structure adaptability empowers it to effectively meet the necessities of room missions. Also, over the span of actualizing the NASA RFC Program, scientists perceived that there are various applications in government, industry, transportation, and the military for RFC frameworks too.