Solar Power

Solar power is an abundant source of energy, approximately 2.67 kWh per m2 per day, reaches the Earth’s surface. That 89 petawatts (add 15 zeros) of sunlight reaching the Earth's surface is almost 6,000 times more than the 15 terawatts (12 zeros) of estimated power consumed by humans. The problem is how to harness, store and transport it.

Solar collectors can be especially effective in the South of England as can be seen from this diagram showing Annual Total kWh/m2 - the dark red represents 1200KWh/m2 and the lightest area 900 KWh/m2. A collector on your home can be linked directly to heat water or power some lighting (for example) and so provide comfort energy independent of the national grid, ie 'free' once installed, albeit dependent on the strength of the sun. Also in theory you can gain by selling spare power back to the national grid.

There are several different types of solar panels, the most common of which in the building trade are: photovoltaic, flat panel and evacuated tube solar panels: