ABSTRACT
Extensive use of fossil fuels in past decades has led us to the era of global warming and depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer. Fossil fuels such as gasoline, diesel, natural gas etc. when used emit harmful greenhouse gases such as CO, CO2, SO2, NOx etc. Since the realization of the harmful effect of using fossil fuels, researchers have started looking for alternative sources of energy which are renewable and environmentally friendly. One of the very promising alternative and renewable sources of energy is solar energy. Solar energy converts solar flux entering the Earth’s surface into electricity or heat. The electricity generated by the solar energy system is in direct current format which can be used as it is or can be converted to alternative current based on end user requirements. Major benefits of using a solar energy system include (a) environmentally benign operation, (b) no moving parts, (c) no wearing of parts if the system is carefully protected from the environment, (d) energy output can vary from watts to megawatts based on the size of the system, (e) can be used to power phones or to power a community, and (f) module by module construction so that the size of the system can be altered based on the requirements.
