There are numerous solar energies out there that many people don’t really know about. There are so many it is hard to know everything. Here are a few that you may not have heard of unless you work in this field.

Solar thermal energy, this type of energy can be used to heat a heat exchanger at a high temperature and then use the heat to produce electrical power for other purposes. The power towers or as they may be known as central power or power plants. The power towers use flat moveable mirrors called reflectors, they help guide the sunlight from the focal point of the mirror to a tower. This is also known as concentrated sunlight.

In the solar plants they use something called a solar updraft tower, these are low tech solar thermal power plants when air passes under the large glass house, it is heated by the sun and then driven upwards to a convection tower where It then converts to electricity. The energy towers is the alternative use to the updraft towers. The energy tower is run by spraying water at the top of the tower and the water then evaporates and causes a down draft by the cooling air. The down draft drives the turbines and it is converted into energy.

A solar pond is a low cost way to collect solar energy. The idea is to fill a pond of water with three layers. The first layer would have a low salt content; the second level would have a salt gradient that can prevent a heat exchange from heating. The third layer would have a high salt content and could reach degrees up to 90 degrees Celsius.

These are just a few of the many ways solar energy can be converted in electricity and power. We take power for granted, maybe we should slow down and remember there is nothing that is a sure thing, conserve energy.