Less than one billionth of the Sun's output is intercepted by Earth. The rest travels outward in space to make our sun look like a middle age, average star to the rest of the galaxies in the universe. When the Sun's radiation does arrive on the Earth, it can be reflected or absorbed and re-emitted. Some of it is absorbed and re-emitted by the rocks, plants, building, lakes, oceans, and even your body lying on the beach. When water increases in temperature, the volume stays approximately the same.
Most liquids expand only slightly when heated.
If the water is adequately contained, there will be very little leaking to the surrounding environment. Most other materials require a fraction of a calorie to experience the same 1 degree change. When air increases in temperature, the air inside a jar will try to expand. If the jar could expand like a balloon to keep pressure the same , then the gas volume will increase. In this case, 0.24 calories will be needed to increase the temperature of 1 gram of air by 1 degree Celsius.