Solar Power for Homes

Harnessing the Sun’s Energy: Solar Power for Homes

The use of solar power is all around us. Calculators, roadside emergency telephones, and street-side speed radars all utilize the sun’s limitless rays to provide power for their simple functions. As simple as these functions may be, solar power is nonetheless capable of powering much greater things. The technology and motivation for this exists; all the planet needs is time and funding before it becomes a planet powered solely by the luminous rays of the great sun. But before this universal shift towards solar power happens, citizens have the choice and ability to install their own personal solar power system for their private homes. After weighing the advantages against the disadvantages, the correct choice should be clear.

The sun has been a candidate for a universal power source for centuries. Since as early as 1839, scientists have been researching the concept of photovoltaic cells, in an effort to effectively collect electrical power from the sun’s rays. According to a professor at the University of Oregon, the entire surface of the earth receives an average of approximately 84 Terawatts of power from the sun in a 24-hour day (University of Oregon, 2001). Research done by the Energy Information Association shows that the annual worldwide power consumption in the year 2004 was 15 Terawatts (EIA, 2006). Clearly, the sun provides us with much more energy than we need. Moreover, this energy does not produce waste and is overly available, as shown by the fact that the planet earth intercepts more energy from the sun than is used in an entire year through the burning of fossil fuels (EIA, 2006). The question at hand is, what is keeping us from converting into a civilization tha...

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