If australia began to use only solar energy to power the country, what do you think would happen? Also, what would happen to the other energy sources we are currently using and all the power lines? And how would we be able to make sure that important buildings like hospitals always have power?
Please answer, best question gets full points.

<<And how would we be able to make sure that important buildings like hospitals always have power?>>

Any alternative energy source that is ‘intermittent’ solar or wind will be built with a storage mechanism, so that when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing, you will still have power. If a country were to rely fully on a technology like solar, they would set it up so that while the sun is shining, they would produce much more energy than they need. They would store the rest of the energy using technologies such as molten salt storage, creating hydrogen through electrolysis of water, or just simple batteries.

Likely, a country will never rely fully on one source of energy like this.

Particularly home built or inexpensive solar energy. I’m looking for something that will explain the entire process. Many books I have found assume previous knowledge of the subject and usually end with me Googling for a couple hours. Thanks!

You can go for "Earth4Energy". It offers a lot of fantastic home made solar solutions on their site, which can be built easily, for the low cost of less than $200.

The features are :
* Full and detailed instructions given which can be easily understood by a layman or the unskilled for building a home made solar panel.
* Other details on how to obtain the components available in the neighborhood material store for preparing the home made solar system.
* Tips on how to construct the alternative energy generators that is not readily available anywhere else.
* One time investment - and life long updates to the manual and video series, at no additional cost.
* Full cash back if you are not saving hundreds of dollars per month on your energy bill after using the system for eight months.
* Detailed instructions explained by videos

There are also testimonials given on this site. You can go through them.
http://solarpanels-for-home.blogspot.com

All the best

What happens to the solar energy that reaches Earth’s surface, but is not reflected back into space?

It heats up the earth’s surface and the atmosphere

I mean when light hits the solar panel where does the energy go and what does it become? Be specific.

Visible light from the sun is in the form of photon before hitting the solar panel. In a silicon solar panel, the photon is caught by the semiconductor material. Energy equivalent of the photon is then used to excite an electron from the semiconductor molecule. The aggregate of free flowing electrons form the current in a closed electric circuit.

The efficency of conversion from sun light to electricity is not 100%. The majority of light energy hitting the solar panel is dissipated in the form of heat. As technology advances, the conversion efficiency is improving, hence reducing the cost of solar energy.

If I mount a flat surface which points to certain constant direction. At certain place of the world. I now need to estimate the maximum amount of Solar radiation energy which this surface can get during certain time.
Is there a PC program or an algorithm that can make this estimate for me?

The actual problem.
I need to know how much maximum energy can I get during a year, if I put solar cells or solar collectors on my house tilted roof?

Is there anyone who can somehow help me?

Thank you in advance.

Try looking here: http://rredc.nrel.gov/solar/old_data/nsrdb/redbook/atlas/

That’s the National Renewable Energy Labs site, and will give you insolation (amount of sun) for your area. If you have an ideal location and roof, you would choose, Average, Annual, Flat plate tilted south at latitude. Then a map will come up. This map takes into account weather conditions, too, because it is derived from actual measured data. Thus, a dry, cloudless location such as Phoenix shows more sun than a place with more clouds like Honolulu.

Let’s say the map says you get 5 hours equivalent sun per day. The word "equivalent" is important, because it factors in that morning and evening sun are weaker than noonday. The number you get means the equivalent of direct, noonday sun for 5 hours, even though it may be 12 hours from sunrise to sunset. And it’s an annual average, so you will get more in the summer, less in the winter. Ok, so you take that figure, say 5 hours, and multiply it my the size of your array in watts, and multiply it by 365, the number of days in a year.

Example:

5 hours/day X 3 kW array X 365 days/year = 5475 kWh/year.

If you want a more complex calculation, you can try http://www.pvwatts.org/ , and take into account exact tilt and orientation of your roof.

I want to find a stove and air conditioner that are energy efficient. The air condioner has to use solar energy and less than 500 watts. Can somebody send me the link of where i can find these products?

Also, can you turn on and off solat power lights?

I don’t know if I can answer your question in the fashion you wish it to be answered. I don’t know of any specific manufacturer which makes either a solar powered A/C unit or stove. There are many smaller appliances that are solar powered or portable solar arrays to power small appliances.

To give you an idea, a portable room A/C unit uses 1200 watt to start the unit and 1000 watts to run. With my simple mind, it would take at least 6 @ 200 watts panels or more (I’m do not have any solar power training, so consult a professional). If you are looking to go green for your home, look into purchasing a solar system. The price has been falling over the years and the technology has been improving. In addition, there are many grants and tax incentives to make it more affordable. Solar system are making more economic sense today.

This company has basically just fallen into my lap, but it needs a name. It is a solar energy company that uses UV rays. So, you can get solar energy even on a cloudy day! Your help is greatly appreciated!

Solar Electric, but it is probably already taken. Rainy Day Solar Products. Cloudy Day Solar Panels.

This company has basically just fallen into my lap, but it needs a name. It is a solar energy company that uses UV rays. So, you can get solar energy even on a cloudy day! Your help is greatly appreciated!

You need a name that conveys the attributes of your company. Something that lets potential customers know that they’re wasting their money on "feel-good" environmentalism if they buy your product.
Solar is expensive, inconvenient, unreliable and worse - on a per kilowatt hour basis, it has a larger environmental footprint than conventional sources of electricity. The chemical processes used to make solar panels create wastes that never degrade and are a potential danger forever.
Why don’t you call it "Wish Upon a Star." It’s a fairy tale.

I am writing a literature review essay..and i have to discuss about the political impact of solar energy..can anyone give me some advices or examples for what i can do about this topic.

Oil is a very political tool. Run by OPEC.

Solar power can be produced 100% domestically in a capitalistic manner. When you have no foreign governments dictating our energy policy, you create an independence that is very important for security. We don’t have to rely on anyone but ourselves. Foreign governments want us to "need" them.

I mean, it’s the hottest place on earth, so one would assume it would be prime area for solar energy methods no?

The equator isn’t the hottest place on earth, it just gets the most direct sunlight at the top of the atmosphere. Near-tropical desert areas are hotter and get more sun at ground level due to less cloud cover. In addition, there are the questions of local demand for energy and local economic surplus to build solar power installations. There are some solar power installations in equatorial countries.