Solar energy – The energy obtained or received from the sun is known as solar energy that is used for various purposes. The sun is the source of all energy that provides heat and light free of cost. There is about one-third of the sunlight consists of infra-red rays. The main feature of infra-red rays is that they heat the objects on which they fall. Thus, when sunlight falls on an object, it produces heat and this heat can be used for various purposes.

There are several devices that are based on solar energy are given below –

• Solar Heater – It is a device that can be used to heat water by utilizing the energy radiated by the sun.
• Solar cooker – It is a device that can be used to cook or heat food by utilizing the energy radiated by the sun. The solar cooker uses solar energy that helps in reducing the use of fuel and air pollution.
• Solar Chimney – It is a device to improve the natural ventilation of buildings or houses via using convection of air heated by passive solar energy.
• Solar cells – Solar cells are that devices that convert sunlight energy directly into electrical energy or electricity. These devices are made up of semiconductor elements such as germanium and silicon. It is used to generate electricity that is required in man-made space satellites and provide electricity to far-off places.
• Solar Power Plant – A solar power plant uses solar energy to produce electricity either by using photovoltaics (PV) or concentrated solar power. A concentrated solar power use mirrors, tracking systems, and lenses to concentrate a huge area of sun rays or light that convert it into a small beam. Photovoltaics has the property to convert light into electric current by using the photoelectric effect. Solar energy is used to produce electricity on large scale to reduce the use of coal and air pollution. This type of electricity is inexpensive as compared with the use of coal.
• Solar Furnace – It is a structure, which uses concentrated solar power or energy for generating high temperatures for the industry. In a solar furnace, thousands of small plane mirrors are arranged in a curve form to make a very big concave reflector. A temperature of about 3,500 degree celsius and this heat can be used in melting steel, producing electricity, and making hydrogen fuel.

There are several other solar energy devices are solar air conditioning, solar dryer, solar inverter, solar street light, solar lamp, and many more devices. The main benefit of solar energy devices is to lower air pollution and is available at an affordable cost.