Imagine putting a black frying pan in the Mojave Desert during the day. The frying pan will gradually heat up and feel very hot to the touch, eventually exceeding 90°C (195°F). Beat an egg in the pan and the egg will be fully cooked in a few minutes. You may not realize it, but this simple experiment is a manifestation of solar energy harvesting applications.

      The most common solar energy collection is the solar panels you see on the roof of a house. However, the commercial applications of solar energy collection cover a variety of applications, providing a large amount of energy for the world. Let's take a look at five innovative solar energy collection technologies.

      Solar energy collection technology has long become an important part of renewable energy and off-grid power generation. This technology does not require moving parts, building dams, or burning fossil fuels to generate electricity. In contrast, solar energy uses specific interactions between solid-state photovoltaic cells and photons in light to generate a flow of electrons, thereby converting solar energy into usable electrical energy.

      Types of solar energy collection

      There are many different types of solar energy harvesting technologies, such as solar water heating systems and concentrated solar thermal power generation, the latter using molten salt to drive steam engines. But solar panels are the most common method of generating electricity in residential, commercial and industrial solar technology. Let's take a look at the four key components used in traditional solar panel energy harvesting.