Heat without the grid: The case for solar thermal

Ask anyone what solar energy looks like, and they will point to shiny photovoltaic (PV) panels. However, there is another side to the solar story, one that is arguably more intuitive: put a black surface in the sun, and it gets hot. That is solar thermal, a technology that uses sunlight to directly heat water or other fluids for use in buildings or industrial processes, without converting it to electricity.