The Future of Solar Energy

What does the future holds for Solar Energy? Right now, many appliances are utilizing Solar Energy and are starting to gain certain followings in some homes. However, there are many issues that requires our attention before Solar Energy can be fully used in our daily lives.

The first and most important question asked often for Solar Energy is:

"What happens when the sun goes down?"

Of course, the simple answer is to build an auxiliary system that will store energy when the sun is out. The problem is that there no such storage system in the world today. Batteries that are charged and store via sunlight are not enough to power certain high-draining equipments.

One solution is to use photovoltaic cells which is still under intensive research. It will take few more years before we see the success of such cells.

Another solution is to have a hybrid system. A combination of motion and solar energy can give more power. For example, wind is a source of energy that can be used to power an equipment along with the sun. In some areas, wind energy can still function when the sun is down.

Whatever is the solution, we must take note that while solar energy is free, the devices that capture and store the energy is still in their infant stages. We must look more into this so that we can create a better tomorrow.