What is the difference between the energy from the sun at the equator and the energy from the sun at the poles?

There is little difference in the distance. What is different is the amount of atmosphere that the sun has to travel through. When the sun is lower on the horizon, it has to travel through more atmosphere. It loses energy as it does. That is why it's hotter at noon no matter where you are on the earth. At the equator, the sun tends to stay higher in the sky throughout the day so the overall temperature tends to be higher.