Potential energy source from the sky - this was the topic of my research last semester.
I came across a perfect video[1] that really fits on what I am working on. It was a talk delivered by the Director of Sky Power Institute, Mr. Joe Jordan[2].
Fig 1. Image taken from YouTube video.
The talk happened on June 11, 2011 in TEDxSantaCruz and I am really amazed with a huge potential of solar power he discussed. Just like the figure presented in this talk (see Fig. 1) wherein the white box according to Mr. Joe Jordan represents the annual total solar energy input to the Earth while black boxes are the annual consumption and estimated total energy reserves in the ground.
Wow! That is enormous unnoticed source of energy.
Total Solar Energy input or the Total Solar Irradiance is the power per unit area that Earth received from the sun in the form of electromagnetic radiation[3].
NASA measure this Solar Irradiance for nearly 40 years.
In fact, last December 2017, they launch the Total and Spectral solar Irradiance Sensor (TSIS-1) instrument to monitor how much energy input our Earth system receives from the sun[4].
The Annual Consumption mentioned above are the resources that human use to produce power while the Total Energy reserves are the remaining potential ground resources that likewise needed to create power for human consumption - oil, gas, coal.
There is So Much Potential on Harnessing the Sun's Solar Energy
Innovators and inventors around the globe took an ingenious approach to harness this Solar Power.
Below hand-picked videos showing the innovations and creativity on harnessing the sun’s energy. I hope you like it as much as I am having fun seeing these wonders of human inventions towards a greener and more sustainable way of living.
Video 1, Innovation Nation – Harnessing Solar Power
[5]
Solar Roads could Power the World!
Very true indeed.
This 6-sided solar road panel by its design is safe on road drivers because of its grooves that helps properly grip the tires, strong and durable, and generates electricity. Imagine if all roads have this solar road panel, it will contribute greatly to reduce carbon emissions on our atmosphere.
Video 2, homemade Solar water filter
[6]
Let us cleverly filter the water.
Imagine we can turn our dirty water into clean and drinkable water by using our sun’s solar energy right in our own home at a low cost. That is what solar water filter does. Amazing right? A simple act that can help to reduce water consumption and promote conservation at the same time. In the video, you will observe that anyone can replicate the device since it is made of recycled materials.
Video 3, A Liter of Light @ Night
[7]
Low-cost light tube that refracts solar light...
Believe it or not, this light tube can be as bright as a 40 to 60 watt incandescent bulb in the interior of the house. The device is simply made of a two-liter recycled plastic bottle, filled with a little bit of bleaching substance to avoid algal growth inside. It was developed by Brazilian mechanic and inventor, Alfredo Moser and was first launched in the Philippines through Illac Diaz under Shelter Foundation[10]. This is an alternative source of energy coming from the sun. It helps people to harness the sun’s rays and translate it to continuous light from poor Filipino families that cannot afford to have paid power source. It also produces livelihood to others.
Video 4, Incredible Solar Stickers Capture Sun’s Energy
[8]
Meet the worlds first peel-and-stick solar cells.
This is the new solar panel that is designed to be lightweight and easy to install like band-aids. Designed as same as a sticker but gives same energy as other conventional solar panels we see in solar farms. We can expect soon that these Solar Stickers will be out in the market- cheap and easy to acquire. This was developed by Stanford researchers led by Senior Author of the paper, Xiaolin Zheng and Lead Author Chi Hwan Lee, both from the field of mechanical engineering.[11].
Video 5, Elon Musk unveils Solar Roof by SolarCity
[9]
Power your home with a solar roof.
This one is same as road and roof solar panels but was designed as roof-and-solar-panel-in-1 to integrate the roof and solar panel. The tile and power warranty are lifetime and 30 years respectively (United States only)[12]
Thank you for reading my post.
What do you think of these innovative solutions?
Would you consider using any of them in the near future?
***References:***
[1] YouTube video - The Solar Window Of Opportunity: Joe Jordan at TEDxSantaCruz
[2] http://www.sky-power.org/director.html
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_irradiance
[4] https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/four-decades-and-counting-new-nasa-instrument-continues-measuring-solar-energy-input
[5] Harnessing Solar Power - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjCTyKH-29U
[6] Homemade Solar water filter - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGLbO4SKoVk
[7] A Liter of Light @ Night - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQCHvO2H0_0
[8] Incredible Solar Stickers Capture Sun's Energy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpYIPA54_lg
[9] Elon Musk unveils Solar Roof by SolarCity - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMrantzEYC8
[10] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liter_of_Light
[11] https://engineering.stanford.edu/magazine/article/peel-and-stick-solar-panels
[12] https://www.tesla.com/solarroof
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