On a bright, sunny day, the sun shines approximately 1,000 watts of energy per square meter on the planet's surface, an average home uses 12kw of electricity per day and if we could collect all of that energy we could easily power our homes, offices and industry for free.

There are many types of Solar Systems such as Hot Water Systems which were in use in 1890's and of course passive solar such as designing a home to collect heat by the window positioning. Thermal solar reflecting and targeting the sun rays to a specific point such as a steel water pipe which is a preheating process before commercial use or even on very sunny days can create steam.









Solar Power is generated by using solar cells also called Photovoltaic cells; which are made from silicon sand which is melted into a wafer, this is communally used in the electronic industry and is the same material that computer chips are made of. When sunlight shines into the solar cell, electrons are knocked loose. They move toward the treated front surface. An electron imbalance is created between the front and back. When the two surfaces are joined by a connector, like a wire, a current of electricity occurs between the negative and positive sides. These individual solar cells are arranged together in a group which is called an array.


Solar Cells are commonly found in your home in battery free calculators, perpetual motion toys or gadgets and are also the main power supply for satellites. Experimental cars being built today use Solar Cells by converting the sunlight directly into energy to power electric motors in a car. Solar Power is becoming the most popular home self powering system in use today.