What’s the difference between solar thermal and solar photovoltaic, and how can switching to renewables solve our energy challenges?

In Korea, where energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions are among the highest in the world, it is necessary to understand the difference between solar thermal and photovoltaic, and to explore ways to reduce our dependence on nuclear and fossil fuels by switching to renewable energy.

 

Energy-related issues have always captured our attention. Global warming, carbon dioxide emissions, these issues can no longer be ignored. Unfortunately, in recent years, Korea’s energy consumption has been increasing at a rate of 10%, the highest in the world, and its greenhouse gas emissions are ranked first in the world. Compared to other industrialized countries, Korea has not yet broken away from nuclear energy generation, and as of 2024, the proportion of nuclear energy in Korea is about 29%. While nuclear energy can certainly be efficient, it comes with a lot of pressure and risks. The accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant on March 11, 2011, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on April 26, 1986, and the devastating accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which was rated 7, prove that nuclear energy generation is too unstable and dangerous.
Therefore, Korea must now turn to renewable energy. Renewable energy is not coal or oil, but sunlight, biomass, water, wind, and other renewable energy sources. Nuclear power is not a renewable energy source. Of all the renewable energies, solar and photovoltaics are probably the easiest to apply to our lives. This is because solar and photovoltaics are easy to install. However, most people don’t recognize the difference between solar thermal and solar photovoltaic. They are commonly thought of as just using the sun’s heat to generate electricity. In this article, we’re going to give the public a little more accurate information about solar thermal and solar photovoltaics, as well as the differences between them, so that they can become more familiar with these technologies, and so that they can put them into practice in their own lives.
Solar thermal and solar photovoltaics are two very similar, yet distinctly different technologies. The biggest similarity between the two technologies is that they both use the sun’s energy to capture and generate electricity. However, there are significant differences between solar thermal and solar photovoltaics.
First of all, solar thermal power is basically a technology that absorbs, stores, or converts the sun’s heat while taking into account the wave nature of the sun’s rays and uses it to heat or cool a building or home. There are two main types of systems that use solar power: installed solar thermal systems and natural solar thermal systems. Installed solar thermal systems are those that use the heat from the sun without any kind of drive. They use a collector to convert the sun’s energy into thermal energy, and then use or store the converted thermal energy. A natural solar thermal system uses the structure of the building to collect heat.
Photovoltaic, on the other hand, converts light energy from the sun to generate electricity. In simpler terms, it’s a system that converts the light energy from the sun into electricity. The core of this system is a solar cell with a p-n junction structure, in which photons enter the inside of the solar cell from the outside, and pairs of holes and electrons are generated inside the solar cell from the energy generated by the photons themselves. When the charge collected from each electrode is connected to an external circuit, it is the beginning of the energy that allows the load to be operated by the current flowing within the load.
As I said earlier, Korea is a country that is still lacking in resource development and resources themselves, and we cannot continue to rely solely on nuclear power or coal. Therefore, I think Korea should gradually develop and popularize renewable energy to generate energy. Solar thermal and photovoltaic systems are not complicated to install or use, so even if every house has one, it will make a big difference.
So, what kind of changes can we expect when we implement solar thermal and solar photovoltaics into our daily lives? First, lower energy costs. The initial installation cost may be a bit high, but in the long run, it can significantly reduce electricity and heating costs. This will be a great boost to your household finances. Second, you can contribute to protecting the environment. By using solar energy, you can reduce the use of fossil fuels, which in turn reduces carbon dioxide emissions. Third, it increases energy independence. It reduces dependence on external energy sources and allows each home or building to generate its own energy.
For these reasons, solar thermal and solar photovoltaics will play an important role in our future energy strategy. In this article, we’ve tried to make them more approachable by explaining their similarities and differences. We hope that this will help people to better understand renewable energy and actively adopt it in their daily lives.