The photovoltaic effect is when photo cells convert sunlight directly into
electricity - this has been used for sometime to power certain calculators,
for example. In this country, Photovoltaic cells (PV's) are being used as roof
tiles. They cover the roof of a house and take advantage of the light coming
from the Sun. This is trapped by the cell and turned into electricity.
Another way to take advantage of the energy from the Sun, is to design buildings
so they can collect the heat. They do this by designing the building sensibly
and facing it in a way where it can use the Sun to the maximum benefit. Large
glass windows help with this, especially during the winter when the Sun is very
low. In the summer, balconies and trees protect the building from getting too
much heat.
A reasonably simple method of using the benefits of the Sun is to heat our water
pipes. Painting the thin pipes black and putting them in a 'greenhouse' type
insulator can heat our water supply and therefore reduce the cost of using electricity
to heat it.
The past
The use of solar power became very popular in the 1970s, but has fallen in and
out of favour since depending on the potential savings when compared with fossil-fuel
energy costs.
Local councils started fitting council houses with facilities to use solar power. Grants are now available to help homeowners make the switch to renewable energy.
The advantages
As well as the fact that energy from the Sun is readily available, there are
many other benefits. By locating photovoltaic cells on top of houses, no extra
land space is needed and they can also be situated in urban areas, where there
is plenty of available space.
In addition they are very easy to install, and although there are some high costs involved, they replace the need for other materials, such as tiles, to be used.
The costs
As with most renewable energy systems, there are initial costs which make setting
up these projects, initially quite expensive. However, the savings on electricity
bills in the long-term should make up for this and year on year, the costs are
falling which will make it more widespread.
The technology now needed is 90% cheaper than it was in the 1970s. Houses with solar roof tiles can in fact generate more electricity than is needed at certain times in the day, and can sell this back to local electricity companies.
Examples abroad
The UK is behind many other countries in Europe and the rest of the World when
it comes to using solar power technologies. In Japan and the USA, billions has
been spent on developing PV over a number of years, and more recently, Germany
has started to push lots of money into the development of it for projects there.
By 2005 the government aims to have 6,000 roofs in the UK fitted with solar panels. By that time Germany expects to have 140,000 and Japan nearly 400,000.
In the Netherlands, different organisations - such as the government, local authorities, architects and power companies - work together to develop solar energy.
The future
Within 10 years photo voltaic cells are likely to be competitive with conventional
power sources. Projects being set up in the UK are being used as examples to
illustrate the potential of solar power and its hoped these schemes will encourage
businesses and members of the public to get involved with setting up similar
developments.
We also need to see more large-scale projects established which are centrally funded with an energy-efficiency programme devised alongside it. We also need to establish more cooperation between different industries and governments, like in the Netherlands, which should in the long-run mean cheaper and more efficient systems being established.