pratibha asked:


With the slowing down of economy and shortage of money in people’s hand, it is the right time to invest in some other cost effective and free source of energy so that we can save huge money monthly and forever. We know that solar energy or sun’s energy is available to all of us round the year and if we make a solar generator using the instructions available in solar power books, we will start generating virtually free energy and can save hundreds of dollars every month on our electricity bills.

Although a readymade solar power kit is available in the market, however the cost of the kit is more than $3000, which is sometimes higher than the electricity bills for whole year and therefore instead of going for a readymade kit, you can assemble a solar power generator using solar power books yourself. These solar power books provide you each and every instruction in details so that once you go through these, you can assemble and install a generator your own.

So, using solar power books, you will not only produce electricity cheaply, however the other main advantage of solar electricity is that while producing it, you don’t cause any pollution to environment. The conventional sources of energy such coal, gas and oil produces large number of pollutants including green house gases, oxides of sulfur, particulate matters etc. Thus if we produce more and more solar energy, we will not only reduce our electricity bills but at the same time we will do a great job by protecting our environment from these pollutants and will contribute towards making our earth a better place to live.

So, using solar power books available at Internet, you can make solar panels and after installing these as per the instructions provided in the DIY guide, you can start producing electricity at marginal investment of $200. You have a scope of reducing your electricity bills by 80 percent and therefore if you have not yet taken a decision, take a quick decision and save $3000 on initial investment. Use solar power books for assembling the solar generator and reduce hefty amounts each month on your electricity bills.

Smit Mathur asked:


Solar panels in Australia are being used extensively both at homes and non-residential buildings. Like anything else, solar panels have their own gains and disadvantages. The gains are plenty, and the foremost one is your growing into your own energy provider. There are no more tensions from the utility companies, and you might well be safe from the daily-increasing and mounting electricity costs. Moreover, you are absolutely far away from any tension of maintenance, which is an amazing fact.

The long-lasting nature also supports your cause, besides giving out obvious environmental gains. By getting along this way, the consumption of fossil fuels gets slashed down for a longer part, and greenhouse gas emissions are thus controlled.

You can get a small solar electricity system; Just contact a good solar company in Australia and get benefitted in a grand way. The initial cost is the only worry with it, as the installation of a solar power system may touch tens of thousands of dollars. However, solar rebate in the picture is a great relief effective for growing solar panel sales. This creates more choices and decreasing prices.

Solar installers would charge that much is not easy to consume and seem daunting, and might force you to leave the idea behind. Having solar panels in Australia would not be that daunting, as you will get various government programs to make up for the cost. But you can’t avoid having these panels, as the rising rates of the solar panels in Australia would seem fairly less in comparison to the growing rates of electricity cost. Thus, you know what your choice would be.

Australia is seeing enhanced demand and so the rise of solar company, using advance technology. Now we tend to see lots of types in solar panels, and some look fairly pleasing. Modern panels are installed into homes for serving more purpose than they were initially meant for. After all, the technology has taken a drastic change, and so has your tastes. Depending on your need, solar panels can be picked.

Monocrystalline, polycrystalline and amorphous are some of the types of solar panels in Australia, which are bought about according to the need. They all work in the same way, but just have difference in efficiency. The power you need, the space you have and the location will all decide what your choice would be for solar panels.

Tom Wood asked:


Most people will tell you that you can’t run your car on solar electricity, but that’s exactly what I do. In 2001, during California’s energy crisis, I installed a grid-tied solar-electric system with design assistance from Bob-O Schultze of Electron Connection. My original motivation was the desire to avoid rolling blackouts. Today, not only am I powering my home with solar electricity, I’m running my car on sunshine too! Our system has 3,600 watts of solar-electric (photovoltaic; PV) modules mounted on three dual-axis tracking pole mounts.

At our location, the tracking arrays generate about 30 percent more energy than fixed arrays on an annual basis. Since the system is tied to the utility grid, there is always somewhere for our electricity to go, and regulation losses are avoided. To ensure that we have electricity during power outages, a deep-cycle battery bank was included in the system. The inverter maintains the batteries at 100 percent state of charge, so they’re always ready for the next utility outage. I have been extremely happy with my PV system, and delighted with the decision to include battery backup. While the grid goes down periodically, our home has never experienced any blackouts. When the grid fails, our inverter seamlessly switches our appliances over to the battery bank, and life continues normally. The system functions as a wholehouse uninterruptible power supply for all 120 VAC loads. Efficiency & Rates Before the installation, I reduced my monthly electricity use from about 1,000 KWH to around 600 by replacing a refrigerator and freezer with new energy efficient Kenmore appliances from Sears, and converting all the house lights to compact fluorescents.

I signed up for the then-new, E-7 time-of-use (TOU) net metering rate schedule from Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), which paid US$0.31 per KWH, the peak rate, for all electricity metered back to the grid for the six summer months, from noon to 6 PM, Monday through Friday. The off-peak rate was US$0.08 per KWH, and covered all the other times. This large differential in rates provided a strong incentive to shift electrical loads out of the peak period and into the off-peak period. With the help of several timers, my wife and I manage to use very little electricity during the peak period. As a result of the TOU rate schedule and our load shifting, at the end of the first twelve months we had a positive balance with PG&E of US$88. This is called the true-up period, and unfortunately our utility does not have to pay us this amount. On the other hand, the TOU schedule did allow us to use 1,840 KWH more from the grid than we generated that first year. By the middle of the second year, it became obvious that our surplus for the second twelve months was going to be almost two-and-a-half times the US$88 of the first year because of improvements in our load shifting and further conservation efforts. We started to talk about how to use up this surplus because there was very little appeal in handing more than US$200 to PG&E.

Electric Vehicle The obvious solution was to buy one of the Toyota RAV4 EVs that were available at that time (the end of 2002). I was dragging my feet, but my wife prodded me into action, and we traded in our Acura for this electric vehicle. If I had not followed my wife’s prodding, we would not have this car. Soon after placing our order, Toyota announced that they were discontinuing production of this vehicle and taking no further orders. We bought the car late in the year, so after the second twelve months we still had a US$112 surplus with PG&E and a 1,550 KWH positive energy balance. I was somewhat expecting this car to more than use up our surplus. But after the first full year’s use of the RAV4 EV, we still had a zero bill with PG&E, but had used 3,568 KWH more from the grid than we generated. We put about 12,000 miles (19,000 km) on the EV for the year, and it uses about 300 watt-hours per mile. All of these watt-hours were charged during off-peak times at US$0.08 per KWH. Without the solar-electric modules, if you had to pay US$0.08 per KWH to charge this car, it would cost less than US$0.03 per mile for the electricity, compared to the US$0.10 per mile (or more) you pay for a gasoline-fueled car. The car uses about 3,600 KWH per year, just about what our net usage from the grid is per year.

The fact that we owe nothing for electricity used by our house and car is entirely due to the E-7 TOU net metering, and really demonstrates the effectiveness of the combination of a solar-electric system with this rate schedule. Unfortunately, the gain available with this rate schedule is entirely dependent on the size of the summertime peak rate, and PG&E lowered it from US$0.31per KWH to US$0.29 per KWH. This may have the effect of pushing my current year’s bill into positive territory, which has given us incentives for further conservation. Petroleum Free After rebates and tax credits, the solar-electric system cost about US$26,000 and the car about US$29,000. I would have bought both without the rebates and tax credits, and never intend to go back to a gasoline car. The PR campaign by the automakers and the petroleum industry to turn the people of this country against EVs is a national disgrace and a big step backward for the sustainability of the planet.

It is possible to live petroleum free for both home and transportation needs!

Aidan Doran asked:


Solar Panels are the simplest form of technology for making the best use of renewable energy. The Sun is considered as the ultimate source for energy for all living forms on earth.

As known widely, on a bright sunny day, the sun supplied around 1000 watts of energy on every square meter of earth’s surface. The most appropriate method to conserve fuel sources and yet produce sufficient energy for our domestic as well as industrial purposes is to collect this solar energy. Solar Panels are devices that collect and convert this solar energy from sun and convert into electricity and heat.

The working of Solar Panels is very simple and easy to understand. The total structure consists of three major components namely Photovoltaic module, solar thermal collector and solar hot water panel. The photovoltaic cell in the Solar panels is responsible for producing electricity from sunrays. Alternatively, the thermal collector holds the sun heat and is used for heating purposes. The Solar water panel is a distinct mechanism that is used for water heating function in homes. To transform heat from sun light into usable forms, Solar panels employ modular array systems which are wired jointly in expandable design. Abundant exposure to sunlight and correct installation of Solar Panels is all that one needs to receive a free flow of electricity and reduction in huge electric bills at home.

The inclusion of Photovoltaic(PV) cells and Solar panels in households and industrial set ups is a part of the solar revolution that has occurred all over the world since 2 decades. Latest research shows two different mechanisms to make use of solar energy. They are:

Solar water heating collectors: These kinds of Solar panels absorb direct solar energy and utilize it in heating water.

Solar electric or PV cells: such panels convert solar radiation into direct current.

For maximum efficiency, it is advised to mount Solar panels on a roof that faces south at an angle of 30 degrees. The surface of the solar panels should avoid any shadows or objects that block its direct interaction with sunrays. Solar panels are a smart way to conserve household electricity and wastage of fuels hence producing required energy from the ever free warm rays from the sun.

To get a better understanding on the working of Solar panels and other features, log on to http://www.techstore.ie/Renewable-Energy/Solar-Energy/Solar-Water-Heating.htm

James Hunt asked:


Solar power involves harnessing the power of the sun to produce light and heat for buildings and homes. With today’s rising fuel costs, many people are turning to this alternative source of power as a means of heating their homes. The initial cost of setting up such as system may be more expensive, but the long- term costs are much less expensive.

You already have experience using solar power, even though you may not realize it. Calculators that will operate without batteries as long as they are close to a light source are very common examples. Greenhouses rely on solar power to help the plants to grow. They are usually constricted of translucent plastic that harnesses the power of the sun and transforms it into the heat and light that plants need.

This use of the sun is not a modern idea. Thousands of years ago the Anasazi peoples used the same technology in their cliff dwelling homes. Adobe homes are another example of how people have used the power of the sun throughout history. Today this age old technology is called passive solar heating. It simply means that the heat from the sun is collected and distributed throughout a home with using any means of pumping it through.

Different methods of solar power

There are several different ways of collecting and using power from the sun for your daily needs:

a. Photovoltaic roof tiles – These are special tiles that are used on the roof of a house to take full advantage of sunlight. The tiles are the material used for the roof covering and the cells in these tiles trap the sunlight and transform it into electricity.

b. Specially designed buildings – Buildings can have a special design in order to collect the heat radiated by the sun. They usually face toward the sun in order to take full advantage of every second of daylight. There are large glass windows in every room and in summer, balconies and large trees are used as shade to prevent the entry of too much of the sun’s heat during the day.

c. Heated Water Pipes – Using the heat from the sun to heat water pipes that run throughout the house is becoming the common method of using solar power. The pipes are painted black and placed in a type of greenhouse that will absorb the heat from the sun. This helps to keep water hot without having to use electricity. Having the pipes running through each room allows the solar power to heat the house in a manner similar to radiation heating systems.

d. Solar panels – These are panels placed on the roof of a home to collect the heat from the sun. They are designed to maximize the light and the heat and in so doing cut down on fuel costs for the homeowner.

Many countries of the world are beginning to realize the effectiveness of solar power, not just in terms of fuel costs, but also in the fight against pollution. There are no fumes or pollutants being released into the air with using solar power.

Douglas Taylor asked:


Picture yourself way out in the middle of nowhere and you do not have any access to power. You have no electricity to operate your computer, you cannot watch TV and worst of all your electric hairdryer will not come on. The good news is portable solar energy can help you out and run all of the gadgets we mentioned and much more. Solar panels are used by individuals and business all around the world to furnish power for your house or building. This article will take a look at why solar power can play an important role in your future.

A lot of the solar power devices make use of photovoltaic cells. When exposed to light these cells will produce electricity. These panels have two different layers that are made of different materials. When light goes through these layers one becomes positively charged while the other has a negative charge. This provides the current. The solar electricity this makes can be used however you like. There are variables on how much electricity the panel will put out. It depends on things like how strong the sun is and the size of the panels.

You can get small panels that will only provide enough power to run items that do not demand a large amount of electricity. When you go looking around for portable solar power you will notice that they have different watt ratings. To pick the right panel you will need to know how many watts you will be using. Take a look at the output rating, as this should let you know how many watts the panel will produce. The larger the solar panel the more output you have in most cases.

You can even get a panel that you can take with you when you go hiking or camping. You can carry it around on your back wherever you go and use it at your campsite. You can charge up your equipment while you are enjoying the scenery around you. You need to remember that these portable solar panels work best in bright sunlight. This may not be the best situation for your laptop or camera, as they usually should not be placed in direct sunlight.

Portable solar power can make life easier when you want to get off the beaten path. As technology advances you can expect the price to drop and the quality to increase. Thanks to modern day advancements you can now carry your power with you no matter where you choose to go.

drohilm asked:


In spite of the obvious importance of solar energy for our future energy reserves, and the huge amount of energy, that the sun provide us for free, I want’ to emphasize some of the draw-backs of solar energy, with the current technology, and share some of my worries about the problem that using solar energy still have.

I intend to drip some cool water on the entire hot “solar power” lobby, not to abolish it, but to speed them up, and causing them to think again about the problems.

Availability

Although solar energy is a great source of energy, it is still can be unavailable and unreliable some time. we need to remember that on our spherical earth, receiving different amount of light during the day and throughout the year, making it hard to retain constant energy supply. moreover, our current devices require a huge surfaces of panels in order to collect a small amount of energy, making it unachievable.

Price

solar energy, in our current situation is very expensive. Yes, sun is for free, but the current technology is very expensive, and in terms of surface needed relative to the production of electricity with fossil fuel, it is still very expensive. So prices have to be dramatically reduced , before it will become a good energy resource.

Efficiency

As I already said, our current technology is extremely inefficient. There are two main ways to produce electricity form solar energy: photovoltaic cells – which produce electricity directly from the sun, but are very inefficient and expensive, and heating fluids using the sun (like solar boiler), to drive turbines that produce energy. these two methods are still very ineffective, energetically speaking. There must be other ways to produce electricity efficiently from solar power.

Possible effect on the environment

Although it might sound strange, solar energy in its current form can be harmful to the environment. First, the materials used for the production of the panels, and the methods of production are very unfriendly to the environment. Second, these large surfaces, consume a huge space, and increasing the use of solar power will cost in many space wasted on solar panels. Third, increasing the reflecting surface of earth might cause a phenomenon of reflecting the sun light out, causing global cooling (this is not a joke!). Global cooling, looks good in first glance, might be horrific in the future. messing with earth climate was never a good idea. Not mention the effect that such a phenomenon might have on plants and photosynthesis, which are the basis for life.

effect on technology

Finally, since the current situation of solar energy in insufficiency and economically problematic, I think that the time to promote solar energy has not arrived yet, most of the concentration should be in increasing the investment in research and development, so the future generation will benefit from a good solar energy solutions.

drohilm asked:

We live in a world eager for new resources of energy. But despite the huge progress and development of green energy and renewable resources, we have not yet attained the goal of good fossil fuels replacements.

There are several directions of research for new energy sources, but all of them cannot supply enough energy to make a real change. The real “green” resources are wind, waves, hydro and geothermal power, which are good resources, but certainly not sufficient to supply the demands.

The more promising sources of energy are:

1. Solar energy – which so far is very inefficient and expensive.

2. Hydrogen – which is hard to produce presently.

3. Biofuels – that can compromise our food supply.

The question is – what is the most promising? – in what resource we should invest?

Before we all start to walk in the solar power road, we first must understand that for now, biofuels are the real solar power supply.

Why is that?  Our solar harvesting devices are still very insufficient compared to engines using fossil fuels. but where did these fuels come from?  Well, these fuels come from ancient plants and animals that were much more efficient in term of harvesting the sun’s energy. I am talking about photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis is one of the most efficient processes on earth, maybe the most competent. Cyanobacteria, algae and plants can use almost 100% of the sun’s energy to produce chemical energy. Nearly hundred percent of the light captured by the photosynthesis apparatus, is transformed to electric current and then into chemical energy stored in sugars and fats. These sugars and fats turn into our hydrocarbon fuels millions of years later.

But today’s plants and algae can still produce this solar energy as well as they did millions of years ago, and we use this energy in our foods to maintain our lives. Agriculture was the driving force that first allowed humans to control this enormous energy supply, and probably was the main trigger for the development of the human society.

In order the satisfy the ever growing demand for energy in the modern and post-modern society, we must refine our agricultural skills. Why do we need to re-invent new ways to harvest the sun’s fruit, when evolution already did it for us, and created an amazing machinery in plants?

The real goal of the people who seek for new energy sources should be dramatically increasing the yield of the agricultural production, in order to be able to use plants sugars and fats to produce ethanol, biodiesel and other bio-fuels to use in modern industry and transportation.

Let us redirect our investments from traditional engineering approaches to bio-engineering, guiding our research toward more proficient production of biodiesel and ethanol, the easily accessible solar power.

Madison Greene asked:


Like most people you probably know that now more than ever we need to find alternative energy sources. Solar, nuclear and wind power are all viable options, but solar power is the most popular alternate energy source for residential homes.

Beyond knowing that it turns the sun’s rays into electricity, do you really know how it all works? If you’re interested in learning more about solar energy and are considering having it installed in your home, call a company that sets up solar panels start asking them questions.

You can also use the internet to research what solar energy is, find out how much it costs, the pros and cons of having it and you can even learn how it all works. If after learning what solar power is all about, and you decide that it’s for you, start pricing around and set up your home for solar capabilities so that you never have to pay another dime to the electric companies.

What Is Solar Power? Solar Cells

Solar cells are one of the first things you’ll learn about in your quest for finding out more about solar power. Solar cells are plates that look like they’re made of tinted glass.

These cells are set up on your roof or on special platforms and they are the plates that actually catch the sun’s rays. In order to power an entire home, it may be necessary to cover your entire roof with these cells.

It all depends on how much energy you need. Installing these solar cells can cost quite a bit of money but it’s a one time cost that will save you money in the long run.

Just make sure that you are going to be living in your home for the next several years. Also, you may need to repair or replace cells as time goes on so you should also save for these unexpected costs.

What Is Solar Power? Converter Boxes

Also, in your quest to find out what solar energy is, you’ll learn about the converter boxes that transform the energy from the sun’s rays into actual electricity. This is how you power your home, or whatever else you intend to power with solar panels.

These are the heart of the solar power system and can also set you back quite a bit financially. These converters can also hold a charge, which means they will store the energy you don’t use so that you can use electricity even if no sun is shining, such as at night.

As you find out more and more what solar power is, you should get a good idea of whether or not solar energy is for you. Ask as many sources as you can and make sure you’re not being sold by anyone because they may not give you such an honest answer if they are just trying to get you to buy something from them.

Do your own research, read all you can and learn about what solar power is from the experts. That is the best way to find out about this technology and it’s the best way to make a decision of whether or not solar energy is for you and your home.

Douglas Taylor asked:


More and more people today are now looking for alternative ways of supplying power that they need in order to run appliances and equipment in their home. For some people because of where they live setting up a solar powered system is the ideal choice. In this article, we go through a number of factors that need to be taken into consideration if you are thinking about building a solar power system.

One of the first things that you should be doing in order to see if building a solar powered system is a viable option is to find out how much sunlight you get each day where you live. To do this you need to check out weather data for the area where you live or use a solar energy map, which you can easily find online.

The next thing that you need to do when considering building your own solar powered energy system is to calculate how much power it is you actually use. The easiest way of doing his by looking at the bills, you receive for your electricity company and then dividing the figures up so that they provide you an average of what you would use on a weekly basis. To work out what your weekly power consumption for your home is you take the total monthly figure off of your electricity bill and then divide this by 4.3.

Along with knowing how much sunlight, you are likely to get and how much power it is you will need to be able carry on running all appliances and equipment in your home there are other factors, which need to be taken into consideration. You need to make a decision on the kind of inverters you will be using, how many solar panels you will need and how many batteries you will need to store the energy in.

When it comes to selecting the inverters for your system, which is what converts the sunlight that has been collected by the solar panels in to AC power rather than DC power. All inverters will be rated according to their continuous and surge wattage. So the more power you are likely to use then the much higher these wattage ratings will need to be.

As for the batteries, you need ones that will be able to take continuous charges of electricity into them. Therefore, car batteries are not suitable simply because they are not designed to be able to collect and store large amounts of power at any time. The kind of batteries that you should be selecting to use when it comes to building your own solar powered system is say a marine or golf cart battery.

Of course, when it comes to someone actually choosing to build a solar powered system they must not forget about the solar panels. It is important that you carry out plenty of research on this item in order to ensure that you have the right ones for yours. As you will soon discover when looking for these panels there are a number of different sized panels to choose from. So take your time and look for those that will help to collect sufficient amounts of sunlight for your own particular requirements.