Although the US government has been encouraging the usages of solar energy by creating significant incentive policies, one of the most neglected sources of renewable energy continues to be our own sun! Why don't more people make use of such an available energy source? At Sunfire we imagine it has been the upfront cost and low efficiency of photo-voltaic solar energy to date. It may be that though evergy comes from the sun, purchasing the means to convert it to usable energy has often been a barrier. The mission of Sunfire® Solar Supplies International Inc is to begin solving this complex issue by creating products that save evergy as well as save money for our customers! We have developed a advanced cost-effective solar water heating and solar air heating technology, allowed for a a superior financial return to our customers. Our mission also includes a very strong commitment to the environment, and to excellence in all aspects of our business.
(The purpose of this page is for beginners. If you are new to solar energy, you may start here).
Solar energy is radiation that is produced by the sun. Solar energy is the cleanest and most inexhaustible of all known energy resources. Everyday the sun radiates more energy in one second than all of the people on earth can consume in year. The sun energy, although plentiful, has been hard to harness until recently. Despite the fact that people started harnessing the sun's energy as early as 7th century B.C. (by using simple magnifying glasses to concentrate the sun light into beams so the hot would cause wood to catch fire), scientists and engineers began to research the ways to use solar energy in earnest in the middle of the 20th century. However, the world governments and public reminded largely indifferent to the possibilities of using solar energy. Started from 1970s, the oil shortages brought much-needed attention to developing and using solar energy. Today, more and more people use solar energy to heat water and warm buildings as well as to generate electricity.
However, harnessing the sun's energy and using it to heat or produce electricity is not at all easy yet. At any one particular point on earth, the amount of sunlight or solar energy that may be harnessed depends on several factors, including the time of day, the season of the year, the latitude, and cloud cover in the sky.
Solar collectors come in many forms and one is to collect heat from the sun. By absorbing the sunlight converting and trapping the energy as heat, it can be utilized in residential and commercial environments.