10 PW

35 PW
111 PW
7 PW 10 PW

174 PW

28 PW
5 PW

28 PW
12 PW

89 PW
40 PW
 Scattered to Total solar radiation
space 1,353 w/m2
Reflected to
80 w/m2
space
383 w/m2
365 w/m2

28 w/m2
Absorbed by Clouds
atmosphere
190 w/m2
Direct radiation
460 w/m2
Diffuse
radiation
230 w/m2

Total radiation absorbed by earth

690 w/m2

Simplified paths of solar radiation

In full In words Prefix Symbol
1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 septillion yotta- Y
1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 sextillion zetta- Z
1 000 000 000 000 000 000 quintillion exa E
1 000 000 000 000 000 quadrillion peta P
1 000 000 000 000 trillion tera T
1 000 000 000 billion giga G
1 000 000 million mega M
1 000 thousand kilo k
1 00 hundred hecto h
10 ten deka da
0.1 tenth deci d
0.01 hundredth centi c
0,001 thousandth milli m
0,000 001 millionth micro η
0,000 000 001 billionth nano n
0,000 000 000 001 trillionth pico p
0,000 000 000 000 001 quadrillionth femto f
0,000 000 000 000 000 001 quintillionth atto a
0,000 000 000 000 000 000 001 sextillionth zepto z
0,000 000 000 000 000 000 000 001 septillionth yocto y
The total flux of energy entering the Earth's atmosphere is estimated at 174
petawatts. This flux consists of:

 solar radiation (99.97%, or nearly 174 petawatts; or about 340 W m-2)

o This is equal to the product of the solar constant, about 1,366 watts
per square metre, and the area of the Earth's disc as seen from the
Sun, about 1.28 × 1014 square metres, averaged over the Earth's
surface, which is four times larger. The solar flux averaged over just
the sunlit half of the Earth's surface is about 680 W m-2
o Note that the solar constant varies (by approximately 0.1% over a
solar cycle); and is not known absolutely to within better than about
one watt per square metre. Hence the geothermal and tidal
contributions are less than the uncertainty in the solar power.

Outgoing energy

The average albedo (reflectivity) of the Earth is about 0.3, which means that 30%
of the incident solar energy is reflected into space, while 70% is absorbed by the
Earth and reradiated as infrared. The planet's albedo varies from month to
month, but 0.3 is the average figure. It also varies very strongly spatially: polar
ice sheets have a high albedo, oceans low. The contributions from geothermal
and tidal power sources are so small that they are omitted from the following
calculations.
So 30% of the incident energy is reflected, consisting of:

 6% reflected from the atmosphere

 20% reflected from clouds
 4% reflected from the ground (including land, water and ice)

The remaining 70% of the incident energy is absorbed:

 51% absorbed by land and water, then emerging in the following ways:
o 23% transferred back into the atmosphere as latent heat by the
evaporation of water, called latent heat flux
o 7% transferred back into the atmosphere by heated rising air, called
Sensible heat flux
o 6% radiated directly into space
o 15% transferred into the atmosphere by radiation, then reradiated into
space
 19% absorbed by the atmosphere and clouds, including:
o 16% reradiated into space
o 3% transferred to clouds, from where it is radiated back into space

When the Earth is at thermal equilibrium, the same 70% that is absorbed is
reradiated:

 64% by the clouds and atmosphere

 6% by the ground
Without the Sun, the resulting average temperature on Earth would be slightly
above the temperature of outer space (−270.15 °C; −454.27 °F).

Anthropogenic modification

Emissions of greenhouse gases, and other factors such as land-use changes,

modify the energy budget slightly but significantly. The Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC) provides an estimate of this forcing, insofar as it is
known. The largest and best-known are from the well-mixed greenhouse gases
(H2O, CO2, CH4, halocarbons, etc.), totalling an increase in forcing of 2.4 W m-2
relative to 1750. Total forcing effects are H2O 75 W m-2 (60%), CO2 32 W m-2
(26%), O3 10 W m-2(8%), CH4+N2O 8 W m-2 (6%). This is a lot less than 1% of
the solar input, but contributes to the observed increase in atmospheric and
oceanic temperature. Temperature changes are inferred from radiative forcing
using climate sensitivity in computer models.

(http://en.wikipedia.org)
This process by which energy is recycled in the atmosphere to warm the Earth's
surface is known as the greenhouse effect and is an essential piece of Earth's
climate. Under stable conditions, the total amount of energy entering the system
from solar radiation will exactly balance the amount being radiated into space,
thus allowing the Earth to maintain a constant average temperature over time.
However, recent measurements indicate that the Earth is presently absorbing
0.85 ± 0.15 W/m2 more than it emits into space (Hansen et al. 2005). An
overwhelming majority of climate scientists believe that this asymmetry in the
flow of energy has been significantly increased by human emissions of
greenhouse gases .

(http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Greenhouse_Effect_png)

Applications

Solar lighting

Solar thermal

 2.4.1 Water heating

 2.4.2 Heating, cooling and ventilation
 2.4.3 Water treatment
 2.4.4 Cooking
(Source: Renewable Energy Technologies in Asia, Elepano et al., undated)