Sunday, 1 April 2012

Why Solar Energy?





        Industrial Revolution has brought many negative impacts on the environment. Generation of electricity using fossil fuels pollutes the environment. The question is why not we make use of something free and easily available??  Naturally, solar energy comes into picture. First, it is renewable source of energy. Second, it is clean and environmental friendly. These two criteria helps to conserve and preserve the environment. We should utilize it to the maximum extent as it is totally free and abundant in tropical countries like Malaysia!!

          Solar heater always comes into our mind when we talk about solar energy. In fact, the application of solar energy has gone way far beyond that. Solar energy can be used to power calculator, serves as electricity supply to house, to power satellite and so on. Ever fancy about going out without having to worry about the mobile phones dying?? Solar energy is one of the potential solution. And solar energy is applied in charging a mobile phone.

        The demand for electricity has always been on the rise from year to year due to the increase in population. Fossil fuel such as coal is burnt to generate electricity to meet the increasing demand. This not only pollutes the environment but also depletes the earth’s natural resources. Therefore, limitation of mobile phones is directly linked to the supply of electricity. In rural areas where there is limited or no supply of electricity, shortage of electricity supply can cause inconvenience to the villagers in remote areas. They can hardly be contacted because their villages do not have electricity supply to charge their mobile phones.

        To overcome the limitation of shortage of electricity supply in remote areas, solar energy could be an alternative. As far as solar energy is concerned, people will think of solar heater. In fact, the application of solar energy is broad and can be implemented in many systems. For instance, solar energy can be implemented in charger for mobile phones via photovoltaic conversion. It is extremely handy in remote areas where electricity supply has been a concern.

         Solar charger is the most suitable choice to replace conventional mobile charger which needs electricity to charge. The reason is simple because solar energy is abundant in tropical countries like Malaysia. Unlike other resources like wind energy, solar energy is more consistent as Malaysia receives more than 7 hours of sunlight a day. In rural areas, though there is no electricity supply, there is an abundance of sunlight. The basic theory of solar charger is to convert the sunlight’s heat into electrical energy by photovoltaic cells. The electrical energy generated is used to charge the rechargeable battery. With solar chargers, they can help reduce environmental pollution. Besides, solar energy is convenient, available in abundant amount and non-depleting renewable source of energy.

          Realizing the energy crisis, more and more renewable sources of energy have been implemented to generate electricity. Solar energy is one of the potential and useful energy source that will help reduce environmental pollution. The project of solar charger for mobile phones makes use of the solar energy. This not only helps reduce pollution but also solves the electricity shortage in rural areas. Therefore, it is crucial to design solar chargers with high efficiency and high voltage output.