Solar Energy

Technologies using solar energy are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on the way they capture, convert and distribute sunlight.

Passive Solar. These are the principles of so called solar architecture that lead to energy savings. The basic principles of solar architecture include the appropriate orientation of glass surfaces and heat accumulation walls, the maximum volume of construction and at the same moment minimum outer surface (cooled down) walls, thorough insulation and use of renewable sources for energy supply of the building.

Active Solar. Realized through additional technical devices called solar collectors. Thermal collectors - used primarily for heating water, for heating buildings, for heating water in the pools etc. Photovoltaic collectors - using the photovoltaic effect (more on wikipedia.org) to convert sunlight directly to electricity.

In practice solar energy is used in households as well as in large scale, for example in the case of solar power stations.

Thermal collectors