Future of Solar Heating ????????
 

What is the future
of solar heating?
It is inevitable that in the future, we will need to
seek different solutions to our problems as we are
forced not to depend on fossil fuels. Solar energy
certainly has a place in meeting our heating needs
in the future, and considering the energy from the
sun is free, it is very surprising that more people
aren’t using it now!
We have seen in this chapter how solar heating
can meet our heating needs, but that the availability

of solar energy is seasonal, and in part that determines
the supply of solar hot water.
Even when the sun cannot provide all of the
energy all of the time, or where 100% solar
provision would be uneconomical, it can certainly
go a long way toward reducing the amount of energy
we need to consume. Even pre-heating water a little
bit in winter goes some way to saving energy.
Another thing that needs careful consideration,
is that if we need to provide extra energy for our
heating needs, where will that energy come from?
Fossil fuels pollute the atmosphere and are a finite
resource, nuclear leaves a legacy of toxic waste,

but maybe solar energy has another trick up its
sleeve—biomass!
The trees and plants that we are surrounded by
are effectively solar batteries! They take the energy
produced from the sun, and using a process called
photosynthesis, use the energy to grow. All the time
that they are growing, they are taking in carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere and producing oxygen.
Once a tree has grown, we can cut it down and burn
it. While this process releases carbon dioxide into
the atmosphere, there is no “net gain” of carbon
dioxide, as the tree took the carbon dioxide out of
the atmosphere while growing!
38 The Future of Solar Heating