Solar Energy Facts

The sun is the main source of almost all energy on earth — even fossil fuels (coal, gas and petroleum) began life as plants whose energy came from the sun millions of year ago. Of course, the sun is also the original source of most renewable energy sources too — solar, wind, hydro — because the sun actually gives energy to the atmosphere, which creates wind, rain and ocean currents.

So what is this stuff? Sunlight speeds 93,000,000 miles to the earth in approximately 8 minutes at 186,282 miles per second! Energy can be measured in kilowatt-hours. 1 kilowatt = 1000 watts or the amount of electicity it takes to burn ten 100 watt light blubs for an hour.

In 2006, the average monthly residential electricity consumption was 920 kilowatthours. About 30% of our total energy consumption is used to heat water. Refrigerators are the appliance that consumes the most electricity (14%), followed by lighting (9%).

You can use the sun to dry cloths just with a cloths pin. This is a form of solar energy. Usually, when people talk about solar power, they mean using the sun for electricity production and for heating of water. Solar energy can also be used to heat swimming pools, power cars, attic fans, calculators and other small appliances. It produces lighting for indoors or outdoors. You can even cook food with solar energy.