2.16 SOLAR ENERGY
The sun is the source of the vast majority of the energy we use on earth. Most of the energy we
use has undergone various transformations before it is finally utilized, but it is also possible to tap this
source of solar energy as it arrives on the earth’s surface. There are many applications for the direct use
of solar thermal energy, space heating and cooling, water heating, crop drying and solar cooking. It is a
technology, which is well understood and widely used in many countries throughout the world. Most
solar thermal technologies have been in existence in one form or another for centuries and have a wellestablished
manufacturing base in most sun-rich developed countries.