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Many people know about solar energy but they do not quite understand the concept. People have used solar energy for billions of years with some people doing it even without their knowledge. In the 1800’s, explorers collected heat from the sun using special heat collecting boxes to cook food while they were on safari in Africa. Solar energy entails harnessing heat and light from the sun and using it for various uses both in homes and in industries. According to studies, a very tiny portion of the heat from the sun is actually being converted into energy. This has been attributed to the fact that some people do not have the technology required to fully collect energy while other people, especially in developed countries, do not feel the need to collect energy from the sun when they have other sources of power.

Photovoltaic devices and heat engines are used when people harness energy from the sun. These technologies can be classified into passive and active technologies depending on the way they are used to collect energy and convert it to power. Photovoltaic devices and solar cells are known to convert the energy into electricity and can be used to power watches and calculators. Solar energy technologies that are manufactured as well as these photovoltaic devices are classified into active technologies while building materials or designs used to make harnessing of energy from the sun easier are classified into passive technologies. They are the specific designs incorporated into buildings to ensure that light is dispersed into most parts of a room.

Solar energy can be used in very many ways by people all over the world. Lighting is the most commonly used application. Building houses or buildings with spacious windows or skylights saves on the amount of artificial lighting that needs to be used in a room. Other common applications include heating water using solar water heaters and also heating up rooms using the same concept. People also use solar water heaters to heat up swimming pools. Active solar harnessing technologies include the use of solar panels to convert heat from the sun into electricity. A major draw back in the use of solar energy is that parts of the earth only receive sun rays at specific times based on the weather, the location and the season. This means that people have to collect the all the energy that they require in the period when the sun rays reach the earth.