Solar education

What are the different types of solar?

There are two basic types of solar collectors: solar thermal and solar photovoltaic.

Solar thermal (ST) collectors absorb heat energy from the sun for the purpose of heating water for household use, for pool heating, and for space heating.	Photovoltaic (PV) collectors absorb light energy from the sun for the generation of electricity. The power generated can be fed back into the main electrical grid, or be used as a self-contained system with batteries.

What type of solar is the best?

The best type of solar is whatever is best suited to your house or building (click on the links to learn more):

Is there enough sunlight in Ontario to justify going solar?

The amount of energy generated by a solar system depends on the amount of solar radiation that reaches the solar collectors - this value is called solar insolation. Insolation is primarily affected by your geographic location, but changes based on seasonal weather patterns, smog, and other factors. In London and area, we receive in a day, on average, 4.2 kWh/m² (facing due south at a tilt angle equal to latitude). Berlin, Germany and Tokyo, Japan are two of the leading cities in the world for installed solar capacity, and their daily average insolation values are 2.6 kWh/m² and 3.7 kWh/m², respectively. If Germany and Japan can do it, Ontario can, too!

Should I be making energy or saving energy?

As noted by the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario in the article What's a Negawatt Worth?, conserving energy is much more cost efficient than generating energy. The amount of energy generated by a solar water-heating system in a year (around 3000 kWh) means that much energy does not need to be generated in the first place, meaning a reduced need for power plants fuelled by nuclear or fossil fuels.