The visitor center at Zion National Park has a photovoltaic system that contributes to powering the building and supplies electricity to critical systems during utility outages.

Solar energy systems can provide either heat or electricity.

Solar Heating Systems: Heat for water, homes, and buildings can be provided by solar water and space heating systems, which utilize solar collectors to capture the sun's energy. Solar space-heating systems can be passive, active, or a combination of both.

Photovoltaic Systems: Panels are used to convert sunlight directly to electricity.

Concentrating Solar Power Systems: Mirrors concentrate solar power in order to convert the sun's energy into high-temperature heat. The heat energy is then used to generate electricity in a steam generator.

Solar Heating

Solar heating harnesses the power of the sun to provide solar thermal energy for solar hot water and solar space heating. Solar water heaters and solar space heaters are constructed of solar collectors. The systems collect the sun's energy to heat air or a fluid. The air or fluid then transfers solar heat directly to a building or water.

With Utah's abundance of sunshine, a solar water heating system can meet the majority of home water heating needs. Homes and buildings can also be heated with solar space-heating systems.

A solar space-heating system can consist of a passive system, an active system, or a combination of both.

A passive solar structure is one that permits direct sunlight to entering through windows to provide heating, but is also designed to not overheat the structure and to minimize heat loss through the windows at night.

Features of passive solar design are structure shape and orientation, window area, thermal mass to store heat, overhangs to shade the windows in summer, and thermal shades or highly insulated windows. In Utah, 50 to 75% of heating is achievable.

Active solar space-heating systems consist of collectors that collect and absorb solar radiation combined with electric fans or pumps to transfer and distribute that solar heat. Active systems also generally have an energy-storage system to provide heat when the sun is not shining.

Click here for more information on solar heating systems from the Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network.

Photovoltaic Systems

Photovoltaic (PV) systems use semiconductor materials that convert sunlight directly to electricity. PV panels vary in size from a few square inches to about the size of a door. The largest panels generate 300 watts in full sunlight.

A PV system, which consists of PV panels, a charge controller, and may include an inverter and batteries, can provide electricity for everything from parking lot lights to large, utility-size systems that can power a city.

These systems have several advantages; they may be a cost-effective alternative to utility line extensions, they have no moving parts and are low maintenance, and they produce electricity without polluting the environment.

In areas with utility service, some individuals and communities chose photovoltaics for the environmental benefit even though it is not the least-cost alternative.

Click here for more information on photovoltaic systems from the Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network.

Concentrating Solar Power Systems

Solar thermal technologies can be used to generate electricity from the sun. These technologies concentrate the suns power to heat a working fluid, such as water or molten salts. The heated working fluid is used to produce steam to run a turbine that generates electricity.

There are three kinds of concentrating solar power systems—troughs, dish/engines, and power towers—that are classified by how they collect solar energy.

The southwestern United States potentially offers the best development opportunity for concentrating solar power technologies in the world. There is a strong correlation between electric power demand and the solar resource due largely to air conditioning loads in the region.

Click here for more information on concentrating solar power from the Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network.