Solar energy comes to us from the Sun, a burning star of flaming gases 149.6 million miles away from Earth. In fact the very word Solar comes from the Latin word Sol, meaning the Sun. Thus Solar means from the Sun.
No life, as we know it, could exist without the Sun's energy. Everything on our Planet Earth depends on the warmth and light from the Sun. For if the Sun ever "went out" or if its rays were blocked, the temperatures on our planet would continue dropping until all life on The Earth became extinct.
Without the Sun's warmth, all of our water - including the oceans and rivers - would freeze solid. And without the sun's warmth and light, all plant life would die off. The animals which eat plants are in turn eaten by other animals, so all life forms would die out without that solar energy or solar power.
Solar energy can be free
Solar energy is free to the Earth and all its plants and animals, and much of it is free to those human beings who understand how to make use of it. And that's what this website is about; harnessing that free energy which comes from the Sun.
The most simple way of using solar energy is to allow the light rays to warm objects. That is power from the sun in its most simple form. When the sun shines on your skin, you immediately feel that warmth. And when sunshine warms the mud, brick, concrete or stone of your house, that heat is retained for hours, and can be slowly dissipated (given off) during the hours of darkness. The thermal mass of your home stores the Sun's heat energy, and it releases slowly during the night and keeps your home warm.
That's why many house designs in hot tropical climates were built with as little thermal mass as possible... Often using just woven palm leaves for the roof and walls. They got hot as hell during the day, but at least they cooled of rapidly after dark so you could sleep.
Thermal mass, on the other hand retains the heat from the sun and releases it slowly all night. That's where thick brick, concrete, stone or rammed-earth walls (sometimes called pisé walls) are great. And so are concrete slabs under the home, especially if the concrete floor can be warmed by the winter sunlight but shaded from the sun in summer-time. Those are simple examples of solar heating. They are passive solar systems, in that once they have been built they continue to work tirelessly - without moving parts or further energy input. You don't need electricity or household gas to power such a system.
One of these types of passive solar heated (and cooled) buildings that can do all these things is called an earthship. Personally, I would love to be able to live in one, however these homes are very unconventional and are not accepted by many building authorities.
Another non-electric system is that which is used to produce solar hot water. The solar panels are filled with water, and are non-electric.
Most household solar power comes from a solar panel, which has solar cells or photovoltaics which catch the sunshine and produce solar electricity from it or any other very strong light. That electrical power can be used right away to power small appliances, or may be saved to storage batteries. Since the batteries can be damaged by overcharging or excessive discharge, you will need a battery regulator to protect them.
While batteries can be used to power low power lighting systems, you will eventually need a DC to AC inverter to run most household appliances and electric tools. You can still run 12v appliances, such as car stereos, many small portable TV sets and some notebook or netbook computers from battery power alone.