SOLAR ENERGY

1. Introduction: 3

2. Solar Energy: 3

a. Photovoltaic systems: 3 Sectors of applications: 3 Switzerland: Mount-Sun: 4

b. Thermal system: 4 A solar thermal sensor is composed of the following elements: 4 The sensors to concentration: 4 The plane sensors : 4

3. The storage of energy: 5

Introduction

Solar energy can be our only hope to be able to produce electricity on the long term.
Are the natural resources of earth soon going to be exhausted and which solutions can be adapted to us?
Solar energy is a good compromise for the future.

Solar Energy

1 Photovoltaic systems:

The conversion of light into electricity, called photovoltaic effect, has been discovered by E. Becquerel in 1839, but it is necessary to wait one century for scientists to exploit this phenomenon.
The use of solar cells starts in the forties in the spatial domain. The research after the World War 2 has permitted to improve their performances and their size, but it will be necessary to wait for the energy crisis of the seventies for governments and industrials to invest in the photovoltaic technology and its terrestrial applications.

The individual cell, which is the basic unit of a photovoltaic system, products only a tiny electric power, typically of 1 to 3 W with a tension of less than one volt. To produce more power, the cells are connected to form a module (or panel). Connecting them in series of several cells increases the resulting tension for a given current, while the setting in parallel increases the current for a given tension. Most of the commercialized are composed of 36 cells of crystalline silicon, connected in series for an application in 12V.

The current of exit, and therefore the power, is proportional to the surface of the module. The photovoltaic system is then composed of the photovoltaic generator and the equipment of consummation (load or load).

Application sectors: