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| In the USA there are over 120,000 homes powered by the sun. Over 1 million households use solar hot water collectors for domestic hot water and pool heating. Nearly a half million homes are heated through the use of solar power. The sun is really a huge nuclear reactor. It has the power of over 100,000,000,000 hydrogen bombs exploding every second. That's alot of power! When those explosions take place they emit radiation in many forms. The most common form we notice here on earth is light. There is also alot of energy we don't see that can be harmful to us, which is why the earth's ozone layer is our best friend. |
| If you roll up the windows in your car on a sunny day it gets really hot inside really quick, and that's what we call passive solar and you've just harvested solar energy whether you wanted it or not! It works great for heating buildings and water. The ancient romans used passive solar energy to heat their communal baths, and even instituted laws to protect your rights to solar energy access. | |
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Plants harvest solar energy with their chlorophyl and create oxygen from carbon dioxide. Your oxygen is therefore provided through solar power. |
| That's where PV or photovoltaics come in play. Just follow the link for more information. |