Introduction

As the time passes by, demand of energy is increasing with an increase in the worlds population. From different
corporations to small households, people need energy to perform daily tasks. As the science and technology is
developing, peoples lives are also becoming more complex .To meet energy demands, renewable energies such
as solar is used besides other sources..

What is the solar system

The solar system consists of a central star, the sun, and all of the smaller celestial bodies that continuously travel
around it. The smaller bodies include eight planets: mercury, venus, earth, mars, jupiter, saturn, uranus, and neptune,
which are themselves orbited by more than 140 moons. (Only Mercury and Venus have no moons.) In addition, the
solar system contains millions of rocky asteroids and billions of icy comets. All of these objects are held together in
a group by the Sun's gravity.
So, the Solar System is the gravitationally bound system comprising the sun and the objects that orbit it, either
directly or indirectly. Of those objects that orbit the sun directly, the largest eight are the planets, with the remainder
being significantly smaller objects, such as dwarf planets and small solar system bodies. Of the objects that orbit the
sun indirectly, the moons, two are larger than the smallest planet, Mercury.

How did the solar system form

The planets, asteroids and comets in the solar system are loose objects left over from the formation of the Sun.
Originally the gas and dust that would become the Sun was the core of a cloud much larger than the solar system,
probably several light-years across. Here, one light-year is equal to approximately 6,000,000,000,000 miles. The
core was slowly rotating at first, but as it collapsed it spun faster, like a spinning ice-skater pulling in his arms. The
rotation prevented the material at the core's equator from collapsing as fast as material at the poles, so the core
became a spinning disk.
Gas and dust in the disc spiraled gradually in to the center, where it accumulated to form the Sun. But because dust
is denser than gas, some of the dust settled to the mid-plane of the disc. These dust particles stuck together to make
clumps, then clumps stuck together to make rocks, then rocks collided to make planets. In the case of the "gas giant"
planets, jupiter, saturn, uranus and neptune, the rocky cores were massive enough to also attract some of the gas. The
outer layers of these planets are made up of hydrogen and other gases.
So the sun is the collapsed core of an interstellar gas cloud, and the planets, asteroids and comets are small lumps of
dust or ice chunks which stayed in orbit instead of spiraling into the Sun. The planets all formed within a very short
period, probably a few million years, about five billion years ago.

Status of application of PV Technology in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, the applicability of standalone SHS is more than others. The remote and scattered clusters of rural
households make the SHS more appropriate for electrification.
IDCOL is the main financing organization in the renewable energy sector and it contributes in dissemination of
renewable technology through partner organizations in Bangladesh. So far 116,448 SHSs have been installed by
different NGOs throughout Bangladesh and a target of installation of 200,000 SHSs will be implemented by the year
2009. Besides NGOs, government organizations like the REB have installed 3521 SHSs in Bangladesh under
different renewable energy projects26. Till January, 2005, the total PV installation capacity of the Bangladesh Power
Development Board (BPDP) was 56 kWp in the Chittagong hill tracts region and it is expected to install around 150
kWp in near future. The Local Government and Engineering Department (LGED) so far installed 35.6 kWp solar
installations in Bangladesh. It is to be mentioned that for both the BPDB and LGED, the total PV installations
include various applications like SHS, centralized solar electrification, solar water pumping and others. The
centralized solar electrification programs are implemented by some government organizations with the assistance
from donor organizations. So far six centralized solar electrification projects were implemented in Bangladesh and
they were implemented by the BPDB and LGED. These projects were implemented to determine the viability of the
centralized PV technology for remote rural electrification.

Advantages of Solar Energy

1. Renewable energy source
Solar energy is a truly renewable energy source. It can be harnessed in all areas of the world and is available
everyday. We cannot run out of solar energy, unlike some of the other sources of energy. Solar energy will be
accessible as long as we have the sun, therefore sunlight will be available to us for at least 5 billion years, when
according to scientists the sun is going to die.
2. Reduces electricity bills
Since you will be meeting some of your energy needs with the electricity your solar system has generated, your
energy bills will drop. How much you save on your bill will be dependent on the size of the solar system and your
electricity or heat usage. Moreover, not only will you be saving on the electricity bill, but if you generate more
electricity than you use, the surplus will be exported back to the grid and you will receive bonus payments for that
amount considering that your solar panel system is connected to the grid. Savings can further grow if you sell excess
electricity at high rates during the day and then buy electricity from the grid during the evening when the rates are
lower.

3. Diverse applications
Solar energy can be used for diverse purposes. You can generate electricity (photovoltaics) or heat (solar thermal).
Solar energy can be used to produce electricity in areas without access to the energy grid, to distill water in regions
with limited clean water supplies and to power satellites in space. Solar energy can also be integrated in the
materials used for buildings. Not long ago Sharp introduced transparent solar energy windows.
4. Low maintenance costs
Solar energy systems generally dont require a lot of maintenance. You only need to keep them relatively clean, so
cleaning them a couple of times per year will do the job. Most reliable solar panel manufacturers give 20-25 years
warranty. Also, as there are no moving parts, there is no wear and tear. The inverter is usually the only part that
needs to change after 5-10 years because it is continuously working to convert solar energy into electricity (solar
PV) and heat (solar thermal). So, after covering the initial cost of the solar system, you can expect very little
spending on maintenance and repair work.
5. Technology development
Technology in the solar power industry is constantly advancing and improvements will intensify in the future.
Innovations in quantum physics and nanotechnology can potentially increase the effectiveness of solar panels and
double, or even triple, the electrical input of the solar power systems.

Disadvantages of Solar Energy

1. Cost
The initial cost for purchasing a solar system is fairly high. Although the UK government has introduced some
schemes for encouraging the adoption of renewable energy sources, for example the Feed-in Tariff, you still have to
cover the upfront costs. This includes paying for solar panels, inverter, batteries, wiring and for the installation.
Nevertheless, solar technologies are constantly developing, so it is safe to assume that prices will go down in the
future.
2. Weather dependent
Although solar energy can still be collected during cloudy and rainy days, the efficiency of the solar system drops.
Solar panels are dependent on sunlight to effectively gather solar energy. Therefore, a few cloudy, rainy days can
have a noticeable effect on the energy system. You should also take into account that solar energy cannot be
collected during the night.

3. Solar energy storage is expensive

Solar energy has to be used right away, or it can be stored in large batteries. These batteries, used in off-the-grid
solar systems, can be charged during the day so that the energy is used at night. This is good solution for using solar
energy all day long but it is also quite expensive. In most cases it is smarter to just use solar energy during the day
and take energy from the grid during the night. You can only do this if your system is connected to the grid. Luckily
our energy demand is usually higher during the day so we can meet most of it with solar energy.
4. Uses a lot of space
The more electricity you want to produce, the more solar panels you will need, because you want to collect as much
sunlight as possible. Solar panels require a lot of space and some roofs are not big enough to fit the number of solar
panels that you would like to have. An alternative is to install some of the panels in your yard but they need to have
access to sunlight. If you dont have the space for all the panels that you wanted, you can just get a fewer and they
will still be satisfying some of your energy needs.
5. Associated with pollution
Although pollution related to solar energy systems is far less compared to other sources of energy, solar energy can
be associated with pollution. Transportation and installation of solar systems have been associated with the emission
of greenhouse gases. There are also some toxic materials and hazardous products used during the manufacturing
process of solar photovoltaics, which can indirectly affect the environment. Nevertheless, solar energy pollutes far
less than the other alternative energy sources.

Conclusion
Installation of SHS provides a convenient and sustainable way of power by supplying high quality, reliable, clean
and environmentally friendly energy services having a huge impact on the lives of the rural people in Bangladesh. If
we can overcome different kinds of limitations of PV panel & panel users then it could be a major source of
alternative electricity generation in Bangladesh. Future work can be done on further studies on SHS user all over
Bangladesh, to improve the present condition of power.