Solar Power
Solar power converts sunlight into electricity using photovoltaic panels or into heat using solar thermal collectors.
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Play with the controls to see the idea in action.
📘 Learn
Solar power converts sunlight into electricity using photovoltaic panels or into heat using solar thermal collectors.
- No emissions when running
- Works best in sunny places
- Needs storage for night time
🧠 Quick quiz
Three questions. Score 2 or more to complete the topic.
What is Solar Power?
Within Earth & Environmental Science, which covers our planet, its resources and ecosystems, and how people can protect the environment, this topic explains Solar Power. Earth and environment topics show how the planet’s systems shape landscapes, climate and life, with models that make these processes visible.
Check that you can explain Solar Power in your own words and give one example from everyday life. If you can do that, you have understood the core idea.
Understanding Solar Power helps you explain the environment around you and weigh up how people can protect it.
Solar Power in detail
Solar power uses energy from the Sun. Photovoltaic (PV) cells made from semiconductors, usually silicon, convert sunlight directly into electricity. Solar thermal systems use collectors to heat water, and concentrated solar power uses mirrors to focus sunlight to produce steam for turbines.
Advantages include free, abundant energy, no emissions in use, low running costs and suitability for remote places. Disadvantages include dependence on weather and daylight, the need for batteries for storage, land use for large farms and the energy and materials needed to make panels. Costs have dropped dramatically, making it one of the cheapest sources of electricity.
How the interactive helps you understand Solar Power
Watch the energy stores in the interactive. Use any sliders or buttons it offers to change the values and see how the energy stores responds.
Before you change anything, predict the result. Then change one value at a time and check whether your prediction was right. This is a quick way to build a correct mental model of Solar Power.
Real-life uses and examples
- Link Solar Power to a real environmental problem and a possible solution.
- Use a diagram of Solar Power to describe the steps of a process in order.
- Discuss how human activity changes Solar Power, using a named example.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Presenting one cause as the only cause of an environmental change.
- Describing a process without the timescale it works over.
- Learning the definition without testing it. Use the quiz and the interactive to check that you can apply the idea.
Frequently asked questions about Solar Power
What is Solar Power?
Solar power converts sunlight into electricity using photovoltaic panels or into heat using solar thermal collectors.
What are the most important points about Solar Power?
The main points are: No emissions when running; Works best in sunny places; Needs storage for night time.
Why is Solar Power useful?
Understanding Solar Power helps you explain the environment around you and weigh up how people can protect it.
How can I practise Solar Power?
Open the interactive at the top of this page and change the controls one at a time. Predict the result before each change, then take the three-question quiz. A score of two or more marks the topic as complete on this device.
Which topics are related to Solar Power?
Related topics in Earth & Environmental Science include Geothermal and Biomass Energy, Minerals and Mining, Plastic Pollution.