List of solar energy topics
Encyclopedia
This page is a list of solar energy topics

C

Carbon nanotubes in photovoltaics
Carbon nanotubes in photovoltaics
Organic photovoltaic devices are fabricated from thin films of organic semiconductors, such as polymers and small-molecule compounds, and are typically on the order of 100 nm thick...


- Central solar heating plant
- Community solar farm
Community solar farm
A community solar farm or solar garden is a solar power installation that accepts capital from and provides credit for the output and tax benefits to individual and other investors. The power output of the farm is credited to the investors in proportion to their investment, with adjustments to...


- Compact linear Fresnel reflector
Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector
A compact linear Fresnel reflector – also referred to as a concentrating linear Fresnel reflector - is a specific type of linear Fresnel reflector technology. Linear Fresnel reflectors use long, thin segments of mirrors to focus sunlight onto a fixed absorber located at a common focal point of...


- Concentrating photovoltaics
- Concentrating solar power
- Crookes radiometer
Crookes radiometer
The Crookes radiometer, also known as the light mill, consists of an airtight glass bulb, containing a partial vacuum. Inside are a set of vanes which are mounted on a spindle. The vanes rotate when exposed to light, with faster rotation for more intense light, providing a quantitative measurement...


D

Daylighting
Daylighting
Daylighting is the practice of placing windows or other openings and reflective surfaces so that during the day natural light provides effective internal lighting. Particular attention is given to daylighting while designing a building when the aim is to maximize visual comfort or to reduce energy...


- Deployment of solar power to energy grids
Deployment of solar power to energy grids
The development of solar power by country depends on national economic incentives more than insolation. Many industrialized nations are installing significant solar power capacity in their grids as a supplement or alternative to other power sources. Long distance transmission allows remote...


- Desertec
Desertec
DESERTEC is a concept proposed by the DESERTEC Foundation for making use of solar energy and wind energy. This concept will be implemented in North Africa and the Middle East by the consortium Dii GmbH, formed by a group of European companies and the DESERTEC Foundation...


- Drake Landing Solar Community
Drake Landing Solar Community
The Drake Landing Solar Community is a planned community in Okotoks, Alberta, Canada, equipped with a central solar heating system and other energy efficient technology. This heating system is the first of its kind in North America, but much larger systems have been built in northern Europe...


- Horace de Saussure
- Dye-sensitized solar cell

E

Effect of sun angle on climate
Effect of sun angle on climate
The amount of heat energy received at any location on the globe is a direct effect of sun angle on climate, as the angle at which sunlight strikes the Earth varies by location, time of day, and season due to the Earth's orbit around the sun and the Earth's rotation around its tilted axis...


- Energy tower (downdraft)
- EURO-SOLAR Programme
- European Photovoltaic Industry Association
European Photovoltaic Industry Association
The European Photovoltaic Industry Association is the world’s largest solar photovoltaic industry association, representing around 95 percent of the European photovoltaic industry and 80 percent of the worldwide PV industry...


F

Feed-in tariff
Feed-in Tariff
A feed-in tariff is a policy mechanism designed to accelerate investment in renewable energy technologies. It achieves this by offering long-term contracts to renewable energy producers, typically based on the cost of generation of each technology...


- First Solar
First Solar
First Solar, Inc. is an American manufacturer of thin film photovoltaic modules, or solar panels, and a provider to PV power plants of supporting services that include finance, construction, maintenance and end-of-life panel recycling...


- Fresnel reflector
- Charles Fritts
Charles Fritts
Charles Fritts was an American inventor credited with creating the first working solar cell in 1883.Fritts coated the semiconductor material selenium with an extremely thin layer of gold...


- Calvin Fuller

H

Halo (optical phenomenon)
Halo (optical phenomenon)
A halo from Greek ἅλως; also known as a nimbus, icebow or gloriole) is an optical phenomenon produced by ice crystals creating colored or white arcs and spots in the sky. Many are near the sun or moon but others are elsewhere and even in the opposite part of the sky...


- Helioseismology
Helioseismology
Helioseismology is the study of the propagation of wave oscillations, particularly acoustic pressure waves, in the Sun. Unlike seismic waves on Earth, solar waves have practically no shear component . Solar pressure waves are believed to be generated by the turbulence in the convection zone near...


- Heliostat
Heliostat
A heliostat is a device that includes a mirror, usually a plane mirror, which turns so as to keep reflecting sunlight toward a predetermined target, compensating for the sun's apparent motions in the sky. The target may be a physical object, distant from the heliostat, or a direction in space...


- History of photovoltaics

I

Insolation
Insolation
Insolation is a measure of solar radiation energy received on a given surface area in a given time. It is commonly expressed as average irradiance in watts per square meter or kilowatt-hours per square meter per day...


- Installed solar power capacity
- Abram Ioffe
Abram Ioffe
Abram Fedorovich Ioffe was a prominent Russian/Soviet physicist. He received the Stalin Prize , the Lenin Prize , and the Hero of Socialist Labor . Ioffe was an expert in electromagnetism, radiology, crystals, high-impact physics, thermoelectricity and photoelectricity...


- ISE
ISE
ISE may refer to:Organizations:* Information Sharing Environment, established by the U.S. Congress as part of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004* Institute for Social Ecology...


- Ivanpah Solar Power Facility
Ivanpah Solar Power Facility
The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, is a $2.2 billion solar thermal power project currently under construction in the California Mojave Desert, southwest of Las Vegas, with a planned capacity of 392 megawatts . The project is developed by BrightSource Energy and Bechtel...


L

Light tube
Light tube
Light tubes or light pipes are used for transporting or distributing natural or artificial light. In their application to daylighting, they are also often called sun pipes, sun scopes, solar light pipes, sky lights or daylight pipes.Generally speaking, a light pipe or light tube may refer to:* a...


- List of photovoltaic power stations
- List of solar thermal power stations

P

Parabolic reflector
Parabolic reflector
A parabolic reflector is a reflective device used to collect or project energy such as light, sound, or radio waves. Its shape is that of a circular paraboloid, that is, the surface generated by a parabola revolving around its axis...


- Parabolic trough
Parabolic trough
A parabolic trough is a type of solar thermal energy collector. It is constructed as a long parabolic mirror with a Dewar tube running its length at the focal point. Sunlight is reflected by the mirror and concentrated on the Dewar tube...


- Passive solar
- Passive solar building design
Passive solar building design
In passive solar building design, windows, walls, and floors are made to collect, store, and distribute solar energy in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer...


- Photoelectric effect
Photoelectric effect
In the photoelectric effect, electrons are emitted from matter as a consequence of their absorption of energy from electromagnetic radiation of very short wavelength, such as visible or ultraviolet light. Electrons emitted in this manner may be referred to as photoelectrons...


- Photovoltaic array
- Photovoltaic system
Photovoltaic system
A photovoltaic system is a system which uses one or more solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity. It consists of multiple components, including the photovoltaic modules, mechanical and electrical connections and mountings and means of regulating and/or modifying the electrical...


- Photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector
Photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector
Photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collectors, sometimes known as hybrid PV/T systems or PVT, are systems that convert solar radiation into thermal and electrical energy...


- Photovoltaics
Photovoltaics
Photovoltaics is a method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity using semiconductors that exhibit the photovoltaic effect. Photovoltaic power generation employs solar panels composed of a number of solar cells containing a photovoltaic material...


- Photovoltaics in transport
- Polymer solar cell
Polymer solar cell
Polymer solar cells are a type of flexible solar cell. They can come in many forms including: organic solar cell , or organic chemistry photovoltaic cell that produce electricity from sunlight using polymers. There are also other types of more stable thin-film semiconductors that can be deposited...


- Polytunnel
Polytunnel
A polytunnel is a tunnel made of polyethylene used to grow plants that require a higher temperature and/or humidity than that which is available in the environment....


- PV financial incentives
PV financial incentives
Financial incentives for photovoltaics are incentives offered to electricity consumers to install and operate solar-electric generating systems, also known as photovoltaics . A government may offer incentives in order to encourage the PV industry to achieve the economies of scale needed to compete...


S

Salt evaporation pond
Salt evaporation pond
Salt evaporation ponds, also called salterns or salt pans, are shallow artificial ponds designed to produce salts from sea water or other brines. The seawater or brine is fed into large ponds and water is drawn out through natural evaporation which allows the salt to be subsequently harvested...


- Sandia National Laboratories
Sandia National Laboratories
The Sandia National Laboratories, managed and operated by the Sandia Corporation , are two major United States Department of Energy research and development national laboratories....


- Wolfgang Scheffler
Wolfgang Scheffler
Born 1956 in Innsbruck, Austria, and recipient of a Special Recognition Award at the 2006 Nuclear-Free Future Award, Wolfgang Scheffler is the inventor/promoter of Scheffler Reflectors, large, flexible parabolic reflecting dishes that concentrate sunlight for solar cooking in community kitchens,...


- SEGS
- Seasonal thermal storage
- Soil solarization
Soil solarization
Soil solarization is an environmentally friendly method of using solar power for controlling disease agents in the soil by mulching the soil and covering it with tarp, usually with a transparent polyethylene cover, to trap solar energy....


- Solar air conditioning
Solar air conditioning
Solar air conditioning refers to any air conditioning system that uses solar power.This can be done through passive solar, solar thermal energy conversion and photovoltaic conversion . The U.S...


- Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory is a spacecraft built by a European industrial consortium led by Matra Marconi Space that was launched on a Lockheed Martin Atlas IIAS launch vehicle on December 2, 1995 to study the Sun, and has discovered over 2100 comets. It began normal operations in May...


- Solar azimuth angle
Solar azimuth angle
The solar azimuth angle is the azimuth angle of the sun. It is most often defined as the angle from due north in a clockwise direction.It can be calculated in various way. In different times, it has been explained in different ways. It can be calculated, to a good approximation, using the following...


- Solar balloon
Solar balloon
A solar balloon is a balloon that gains buoyancy when the air inside is heated by the sun's radiation, usually with the help of black or dark balloon material. The heated air inside the solar balloon expands and has lower density than the surrounding air. As such, a solar balloon is similar to a...


- Solar bowl
- Solar box cooker
- Solar car
Solar car
A solar vehicle is an electric vehicle powered completely or significantly by direct solar energy. Usually, photovoltaic cells contained in solar panels convert the sun's energy directly into electric energy. The term "solar vehicle" usually implies that solar energy is used to power all or part...


- Solar car racing
Solar car racing
Solar car racing refers to competitive races of electric vehicles which are powered by solar energy obtained from solar panels on the surface of the car . The first solar car race was the Tour de Sol in 1985 which led to several similar races in Europe, USA and Australia...


- Solar cell
Solar cell
A solar cell is a solid state electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect....


- Solar cell efficiency
Solar cell efficiency
The efficiency of a solar cell may be broken down into reflectance efficiency, thermodynamic efficiency, charge carrier separation efficiency and conductive efficiency...


- Solar cell research
Solar cell research
There are currently many research groups active in the field of photovoltaics in universities and research institutions around the world. This research can be divided into three areas: making current technology solar cells cheaper and/or more efficient to effectively compete with other energy...


- Solar chemical
Solar chemical
Solar chemical refers to a number of possible processes that harness solar energy by absorbing sunlight in a chemical reaction in a way similar to photosynthesis in plants but without using living organisms. It is also called artificial photosynthesis...


- Solar chimney
Solar chimney
A solar chimney — often referred to as a thermal chimney — is a way of improving the natural ventilation of buildings by using convection of air heated by passive solar energy...


- Solar collector
Solar collector
-See also:*Solar thermal collector*Solar water heating*Solar air heating*Photovoltaic module*Renewable heat*Concentrating solar power...


- Solar combisystem
Solar combisystem
A solar combisystem provides both solar space heating and cooling as well as hot water from a common array of solar thermal collectors, usually backed up an auxiliary non-solar heat source....


- Solar constant
Solar constant
The solar constant, a measure of flux density, is the amount of incoming solar electromagnetic radiation per unit area that would be incident on a plane perpendicular to the rays, at a distance of one astronomical unit...


- Solar cooker
Solar cooker
A solar cooker, or solar oven, is a device which uses the energy of sunlight to heat food or drink to cook it or sterilize it. High-tech versions, for example electric ovens powered by solar cells, are possible, and have some advantages such as being able to work in diffuse light. However at...


- Solar cooling
- Solar cycle
Solar cycle
The solar cycle, or the solar magnetic activity cycle, is a periodic change in the amount of irradiation from the Sun that is experienced on Earth. It has a period of about 11 years, and is one component of solar variation, the other being aperiodic fluctuations. Solar variation causes changes in...


- Solar Decathlon
Solar Decathlon
The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon is an international competition that challenges 20 collegiate teams to design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house...


- Solar desalination
Solar Desalination
Solar desalination is a technique to desalinate water using solar energy. Solar desalination in the modern era extends back to the early 1950s when simple solar stills were studied for remote desert and coastal communities...


- solar eclipse
Solar eclipse
As seen from the Earth, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, and the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sun as viewed from a location on Earth. This can happen only during a new moon, when the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction as seen from Earth. At least...


- Solar Energy Generating Systems
Solar Energy Generating Systems
Solar Energy Generating Systems is the largest solar energy generating facility in the world. It consists of nine solar power plants in California's Mojave Desert, where insolation is among the best available in the United States...


- Solar easement
Solar Easement
A solar easement is a right, expressed as an easement, restriction, covenant, or condition contained in any deed, contract, or other written instrument executed by or on behalf of any landowner for the purpose of assuring adequate access to direct sunlight for solar energy systems.- Features :A...


- Solar flare
Solar flare
A solar flare is a sudden brightening observed over the Sun surface or the solar limb, which is interpreted as a large energy release of up to 6 × 1025 joules of energy . The flare ejects clouds of electrons, ions, and atoms through the corona into space. These clouds typically reach Earth a day...


- Solar furnace
Solar furnace
A solar furnace is a structure that captures sunlight to produce high temperatures, usually for industry. This is done with a curved mirror that acts as a parabolic reflector, concentrating light onto a focal point...


- Solar greenhouse (technical)
- Solar heating
- Solar hot water in Australia
Solar hot water in Australia
Solar hot water is heated using natural energy from the sun. Solar energy heats up large panels called thermal collectors. The energy is transferred through a fluid to a reservoir tank for storage and subsequent use...


- Solar lamp
Solar lamp
A solar lamp is a portable light fixture composed of a LED lamp, a photovoltaic solar panel, and a rechargeable battery.Outdoor lamps are used for lawn and garden decorations. Indoor solar lamps are also used for general illumination .Solar lights are used for decoration, and come in a wide variety...


- Solar maximum
Solar maximum
Solar maximum or solar max is the period of greatest solar activity in the solar cycle of the sun. During solar maximum, sunspots appear....


- Solar minimum
Solar minimum
Solar minimum is the period of least solar activity in the solar cycle of the sun. During this time, sunspot and solar flare activity diminishes, and often does not occur for days at a time...


- Solar mirror
Solar mirror
A solar mirror is a reflective surface used for gathering and reflecting solar energy in a system being powered by solar energy. It comprises a substrate with a reflective layer for reflecting the solar energy, and in most cases an interference layer...


- Solar nebula
Solar nebula
In cosmogony, the nebular hypothesis is the most widely accepted model explaining the formation and evolution of the Solar System. There is evidence that it was first proposed in 1734 by Emanuel Swedenborg. Originally applied only to our own Solar System, this method of planetary system formation...


- Solar neon
Solar neon
Solar neon is neon that has been made in the Sun and transmitted to Earth as ions in the solar wind. It is distinguished from allogenic neon by its isotopic abundance, since solar neon is created directly via nuclear fusion, instead of via planetary nuclear fission....


- Solar Orbiter
Solar Orbiter
Solar Orbiter is a planned Sun-observing satellite, under development by the European Space Agency . The main mission scenario is a launch by an Atlas V from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in January 2017...


- Solar oven
- Solar photonics
Solar photonics
Solar photonics is a science on the boundary between photonics/optical communication and solar energy. Basically the idea is to distribute solar energy though optical fibres or other photonic guides...


- Solar pond
Solar pond
A solar pond is a pool of saltwater which acts as a large-scale solar thermal energy collector with integral heat storage for supplying thermal energy...


- Solar power
Solar power
Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...


- Solar power in Australia
Solar power in Australia
Australia has an estimated 300 MW of installed photovoltaic power , contributing an estimated 0.1 to 0.2% of total electricity production despite the hot and sunny climate that would make it ideal for utilisation...


- Solar power in Canada
Solar power in Canada
Canada has plentiful solar energy resources, with the most extensive resources being found in southern Ontario, Quebec and the Prairies. The territories have a smaller potential, and less direct sunlight, because of their higher latitude....


- Solar power in China
Solar power in China
Solar power in the People's Republic of China is one of the biggest industries in mainland China. China has over 400 photovoltaic companies and produces approximately 23% of the photovoltaic products worldwide. In 2007 China produced 1700 MW of solar panels, nearly half of the world production of...


- Solar power in Germany
Solar power in Germany
Germany is one of the world's top photovoltaics installers, with a solar PV capacity as of May 2011 of more than 18,000 megawatts .The German solar PV industry installed 7,400 MW from nearly one-quarter million individual systems in 2010, and solar PV provided 12 TWh of electricity in 2010, about...


- Solar power in India
Solar power in India
India is densely populated and has high solar insolation, an ideal combination for using solar power in India. India is already a leader in wind power generation...


- Solar power in Israel
Solar power in Israel
Solar power in Israel and the Israeli solar energy industry has a history that dates to the founding of the country. In the 1950s, Levi Yissar developed a solar water heater to help assuage an energy shortage in the new country. By 1967 around one in twenty households heated its water with the...


- Solar power in Japan
Solar power in Japan
Solar power in Japan has been expanding since the late 1990s. The country is a leading manufacturer of solar panels and is in the top 5 ranking for countries with the most solar PV installed. Japan is third in the world in total solar power , with most of it grid connected...


- Solar power in Pakistan
Solar power in Pakistan
Pakistan is currently building solar power plants in Pakistani Kashmir, Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan. The program is currently underdeveloped by the International Renewable Energy Agency, China, and Pakistani private sector energy companies.-Installed capacity:...


- Solar power in Portugal
Solar power in Portugal
A large photovoltaic power project, the Serpa solar power plant, has been completed in Portugal, in one of the Europe's sunniest areas. The 11 megawatt plant covers and comprises 52,000 PV panels. The panels are raised 2 metres off the ground and the area will remain productive grazing land...


- Solar power in Romania
Solar power in Romania
Solar power in Romania had in 2007 an installed capacity of 0.81 MWp. Romania is located in an area with a good solar potential of 210 sunny days per year and with an annual solar energy flux between 1,000 kWh/ m2/year and 1,300 kWh/ m2/year. From this total amount around 600 to 800 kWh/ m2/year is...


- Solar power in Spain
Solar power in Spain
Spain is one of the most advanced countries in the development of solar energy, since it is one of the countries of Europe with more hours of sunshine. The Spanish government committed to achieving a target of 12 percent of primary energy from renewable energy by 2010 with an installed solar...


- Solar power in Turkey
Solar power in Turkey
Solar power in Turkey. Turkey is located in an advantageous position in Europe for the purposes of solar power. Compared to the rest of Europe, insolation values are higher and conditions for solar power generation are comparable to Spain....


- Solar power in the European Union
Solar power in the European Union
Solar power in the European UnionSolar power consists of photovoltaic and solar thermal power.During 2010, the European solar heating yield was 17.3 TWh, annual turnover 2.6 Billion € and employment 33,500 persons...


- Solar power in the United Kingdom
Solar power in the United Kingdom
Solar power is a minor source of renewable energy in the United Kingdom. , about 200 megawatts of solar photovoltaic power have been installed in the UK, capable of producing about 200 gigawatt hours per year of electricity. In April 2010, the UK instituted a feed-in tariff, offering at...


- Solar power in the United States
Solar power in the United States
Solar power in the United States is an area of considerable activity and there are many utility-scale solar power plants. The largest solar power installation in the world is the Solar Energy Generating Systems facility in California, which has a total capacity of 354 megawatts...


- Solar power plants in the Mojave Desert
Solar power plants in the Mojave Desert
There are several solar power plants in the Mojave Desert which supply power to the electricity grid. Solar Energy Generating Systems is the name given to nine solar power plants in the Mojave Desert which were built in the 1980s. These plants have a combined capacity of 354 megawatts making them...


- Solar power satellite
- Solar power tower
Solar power tower
The solar power tower is a type of solar furnace using a tower to receive the focused sunlight. It uses an array of flat, movable mirrors to focus the sun's rays upon a collector tower...


- Solar Powered Desalination Unit
Solar Powered Desalination Unit
A Solar Powered Desalination Unit designed for remote communities has been tested in the Northern Territory of Australia.The Reverse Osmosis Solar Installation uses membrane filtration to provide a reliable and clean drinking water stream from sources such as brackish groundwater...


- Solar-powered pump
Solar-powered pump
A solar powered pump is a pump running on the power of the sun. A solar powered pump can be more environmentally friendly and economical in its operation compared to pumps powered by an internal combustion engine or animal power.-Components:...


- Solar-powered watch
- Solar prominence
Solar prominence
A prominence is a large, bright feature extending outward from the Sun's surface, often in a loop shape. Prominences are anchored to the Sun's surface in the photosphere, and extend outwards into the Sun's corona...


- Solar proton event
Solar proton event
A Solar proton event occurs when protons emitted by the Sun become accelerated to very high energies either close to the Sun during a solar flare or in interplanetary space by the shocks associated with coronal mass ejections. These high energy protons cause several effects. They can penetrate the...


- Solar radiation
- Solar radiation pressure
- Solar sail
Solar sail
Solar sails are a form of spacecraft propulsion using the radiation pressure of light from a star or laser to push enormous ultra-thin mirrors to high speeds....


- Solar savings fraction
Solar savings fraction
In discussing solar energy, the solar savings fraction or solar fraction is the amount of energy provided by the solar technology divided by the total energy required....


- Solar shingles
Solar shingles
Solar shingles, also called photovoltaic shingles, are solar cells designed to look like conventional asphalt shingles. There are several varieties of solar shingles, including shingle-sized solid panels that take the place of a number of conventional shingles in a strip, semi-rigid designs...


- Solar still
Solar still
A solar still is a low-tech way of distilling water, powered by the heat of the sun . Two basic types of solar stills are box and pit stills. In a solar still, impure water is contained outside the collector, where it is evaporated by sunlight shining through clear plastic...


- Solar thermal collector
Solar thermal collector
A solar thermal collector is a solar collector designed to collect heat by absorbing sunlight. The term is applied to solar hot water panels, but may also be used to denote more complex installations such as solar parabolic, solar trough and solar towers or simpler installations such as solar air...


- Solar thermal energy
Solar thermal energy
Solar thermal energy is a technology for harnessing solar energy for thermal energy . Solar thermal collectors are classified by the United States Energy Information Administration as low-, medium-, or high-temperature collectors. Low-temperature collectors are flat plates generally used to heat...


- Solar thermal rocket
Solar thermal rocket
Solar thermal propulsion is a form of spacecraft propulsion that makes use of solar power to directly heat reaction mass, and therefore does not require an electrical generator as most other forms of solar-powered propulsion do. A solar thermal rocket only has to carry the means of capturing solar...


- Solar Total Energy Project
Solar Total Energy Project
The Solar Total Energy Project was the world’s first and largest solar thermal cogeneration project having an industrial application. Built and operated during the 1980s in Coweta County, Georgia, STEP used solar energy to provide electricity and process heat to a manufacturing facility.Developed...


- Solar tracker
Solar tracker
A solar tracker is a generic term used to describe devices that orient various payloads toward the sun. Payloads can be photovoltaic panels, reflectors, lenses or other optical devices....


- Solar updraft tower
Solar updraft tower
The solar updraft tower is a renewable-energy power plant. It combines the chimney effect, the greenhouse effect and the wind turbine. Air is heated by sunshine and contained in a very large greenhouse-like structure around the base of a tall chimney, and the resulting convection causes air to...


- Solar variation
Solar variation
Solar variation is the change in the amount of radiation emitted by the Sun and in its spectral distribution over years to millennia. These variations have periodic components, the main one being the approximately 11-year solar cycle . The changes also have aperiodic fluctuations...


- Solar variation theory
- Solar vehicle
Solar vehicle
A solar vehicle is an electric vehicle powered completely or significantly by direct solar energy. Usually, photovoltaic cells contained in solar panels convert the sun's energy directly into electric energy. The term "solar vehicle" usually implies that solar energy is used to power all or part...


- Solar-charged vehicle
- Solar water heating
Solar water heating
Solar water heating or solar hot water systems comprise several innovations and many mature renewable energy technologies that have been well established for many years...


- Solar water disinfection
Solar water disinfection
Solar water disinfection, also known as SODIS is a method of disinfecting water using only sunlight and plastic PET bottles. SODIS is a free and effective method for decentralized water treatment, usually applied at the household level and is recommended by the World Health Organization as a viable...


- Solar wind
Solar wind
The solar wind is a stream of charged particles ejected from the upper atmosphere of the Sun. It mostly consists of electrons and protons with energies usually between 1.5 and 10 keV. The stream of particles varies in temperature and speed over time...


- Solar-powered pump
Solar-powered pump
A solar powered pump is a pump running on the power of the sun. A solar powered pump can be more environmentally friendly and economical in its operation compared to pumps powered by an internal combustion engine or animal power.-Components:...


- Solar-pumped laser
Solar-pumped laser
A solar-pumped laser, is a laser that shares the same optical properties as conventional lasers such as emitting a beam consisting of coherent electromagnetic radiation which can reach high power, but which uses solar radiation for pumping the lasing medium...


- Solarium
Solarium
Solarium may refer to:* Similar to a Sunroom, a room built largely of glass to afford exposure to the sun. Solariums have glass roofs , unlike sunrooms...


- SolarPACES
SolarPACES
SolarPACES is an international programme of the International Energy Agency to further the collaborative development, testing and marketing of concentrating solar power plants...


- Sopogy
Sopogy
Sopogy a solar thermal technology supplier was founded in 2002 at the Honolulu, Hawaii based clean technology incubator known as . The company began its research on concentrating solar thermal energy to produce steam and thermal heat for absorption chiller. The company has also developed...


- Space-based solar power
- Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...


- Sun tanning
Sun tanning
Sun tanning or simply tanning is the process whereby skin color is darkened or tanned. The process is most often a result of exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun or from artificial sources, such as a tanning bed, but can also be a result of windburn or reflected light...


- Sunburn
Sunburn
A sunburn is a burn to living tissue, such as skin, which is produced by overexposure to ultraviolet radiation, commonly from the sun's rays. Usual mild symptoms in humans and other animals include red or reddish skin that is hot to the touch, general fatigue, and mild dizziness. An excess of UV...


- Sunscreen
Sunscreen
Sunblock is a lotion, spray, gel or other topical product that absorbs or reflects some of the sun's ultraviolet radiation on the skin exposed to sunlight and thus helps protect against sunburn...


- Sunshade
Sunshade
A space sunshade or sunshield can be described as analogous to a parasol that diverts or otherwise reduces some of a star's rays, preventing them from hitting a planet and thereby reducing its insolation, which results in less heating of the planet....


T

The Solar Project
- Thin-film
- Timeline of solar cells
Timeline of solar cells
The timeline of solar cells begins in the 19th century when it is observed that the presence of sunlight is capable of generating usable electrical energy. Solar cells have gone on to be used in many applications...


- Timeline of solar energy
- Topaz Solar Farm
Topaz Solar Farm
Topaz Solar Farm is a proposed 550 megawatt solar photovoltaic power plant, to be built by First Solar, Inc. in the Carrizo Plain, northwest of California Valley at a cost of over $1 billion...


- Total spectrum solar concentrator
Total Spectrum Solar Concentrator
A total spectrum solar concentrator is a device used to optimise the efficiency of solar power. The suns rays are first concentrated using parabolic mirrors or a fresnel lens, and then spread out into a light spectrum via a prism...


- Trombe wall
Trombe wall
A Trombe wall is a sun-facing wall separated from the outdoors by glass and an air space, which absorbs solar energy and releases it selectively towards the interior at night. The essential idea was first explored by Edward S. Morse and patented by him in 1881...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK