Solar Power Gold

In this article, I am going to talk about what each piece of a solar power system does, and what role the component plays in the system.  Each part does a specific role, though you don’t have to include every piece in every solar project.  A standard solar power system generates electricity, stores it in batteries for later use and then changes the DC electricity from the battery to the same kind of AC electricity that comes from the wall sockets in your house.

Solar Panels

Energy from the sun is converted into electricity by solar panels.  The panel has a layer of silicon.  When photons from sunlight hit the silicon, they knock loose electrons.  The electrons are sent through wires and turn into electricity.  Many solar cells, each of which generates about half a volt are put together to make a single solar panel.  Any voltage can be generated by putting together the correct number of solar cells.  You can actually build your own solar panel and produce your own free electricity fairly cheaply and easily.  For a great guide to building your own solar panel, see Building a DIY Solar Panel

Charge Controller

The solar panels generate power and then send the power to a charge controller, which charges the batteries. The voltage going to the battery needs to be in a certain range - not too high and not too low - and the charge controller makes sure the voltage stays in this range. As the batteries get close to fully charged, it gradually reduces the power sent to the batteries to make sure the batteries don’t overcharge. The charge controller will also “top off” the batteries every once in a while after they are fully charged to make sure they stay fully charged. If you’re interested in more detailed information about charge controllers, visit All About Solar Charge Controllers

Batteries

The majority of solar power systems use 12 volt batteries like you find in your car.  The most common type are sealed lead acid.  These batteries are rugged, cheap and easy to find.  Weight is the only potential downside, but since you aren’t going to be moving the batteries around, it isn’t really much of a problem.  You often can get batteries from surplus computer UPS systems for cheap or even free.

Power Inverter

A power inverter converts the 12v Direct Current (DC) power from the batteries into 120v Alternating Current (AC) electricity like what comes out of your wall sockets.  There are two types of power inverter:  Modified Sine Wave (MSW) and True Sine Wave (TSW).  MSW is not as good as TSW because TSW exactly matches the electricity that comes out of the the wall sockets in your home.  It is preferable to use TSW over MSW becuase TSW more closely matches the electricy that comes from the grid.  MSW is cheaper than TSW, but it is generally worth it in the long run to pay more for a TSW inverter.

Complete Solar Power System

Now we will put all the pieces together into a complete system.  The roof is where the solar panels are generally mounted.  The solar panels are connected together with wires which then send the electricity to the charge controller.  The power coming from the solar panels is then conditioned by the charge controller and used to charge the batteries.  The batteries are charged all day while sunlight is striking the solar panels.  All day, while sunlight is striking the solar panels, the batteries store the power generated by the panels.  The power inverter takes the DC electricity from the betteries and converts it to the standard 120v AC electricity that all your applicances are used to getting from the wall sockets in your house.  This type of solar system can be small enough to power just a single device or big enough to power your whole house.

To see how much it would cost for enough solar panels to provide electricity to your whole house, check out this guide to Cost of Home Solar Panels

Tags: home solar power, solar energy, solar power

We live in a time when alternative is going mainstream. Solar power has many applications and is widely considered as an important source of alternative energy, along with other such variants as wind power and hydel power. Wind power, a popular alternative energy, dates back to the time of the early settlers who used crude windmills for crushing grains that measured up to 20 feet. However, it was not until 1979 when Danish engineers developed petite electricity generators fitted with light PVC blades capable of producing electricity that wind power became practically feasible. Those were the very first “Wind Turbines”. It marked a significant step in the evolution of alternative energy and paved the way for the world to have its first device for generating electricity by harnessing the power of the wind.

The success of the Danish engineers didn’t go unnoticed by the world and other nations were quick to follow in their footsteps. As a result, soon after their first appearance, wind turbines came up in great numbers all across the US and the UK. What made alternative energy so popular was their ability to help the user save on electricity bills and also lessen their dependence on the local utility company. However, wind energy was not without a few disadvantages. The most serious drawback was due to the highly unpredictable nature of the wind itself. Low wind speeds have always posed a major problem for wind turbine systems. Another problem with the turbines was the noise associated with them. No wonder, they were often dubbed as ‘roaring monsters’ due to the great noise made by the rotors. However, use of better bearings and careful redesigning of the inner mechanism have reduced the noise to a mere intermittent ‘wheezing’ heard during times when the turbines are spinning at high speed. In fact this is one of the top reasons why wind turbines are rarely installed in residential areas or close to human habitation.

So much for wind power. Let’s look at another very popular form of alternative energy, viz. solar power. Solar power has had a very curious history of its discovery. Calvin Fuller, Gerald Pearson and Daryl Chaplin of Bell Laboratories accidentally discovered, what is widely regarded as the mother of the modern solar cell, silicon semiconductors which had very strong solar properties while researching on the behavioral pattern of non-metals. Following this seminal discovery, the first solar cell was soon developed and everybody was amazed to find out how effective they were in generating electricity, especially when made to work in clusters. Solar power became an instant hit and caught the people’s imagination like wildfire. Very soon companies and manufacturers everywhere got themselves busy making and installing solar panels all across the land. The US government also encouraged the use of this new technology by staring to offer incentives, grants and rebates for every installation undertaken within the country. Solar power promised a world of benefits to the user. The main benefit came in the form of slashed electricity bills and hassle-free supply of current that needed no raw material or virtually zero maintenance. The only drawback that solar power suffered from was its inability to perform in the absence of the sun, especially after dark.

The answer to the problem, however, is simple. To ensure uninterrupted power supply for 24 hours, as also to drastically reduce electricity consumption costs (red electricity bills) one might go for the following setup.

Install both solar panels as well as wind turbines for the home. While the solar system will generate power during the day, the turbine will ensure uninterrupted power supply at night.

Install a battery bank with the system as a stand-by unit to work when everything else fails. Batteries can easily store some amount of the generated power that can be used during times when both the systems are unavailable.

Get the system connected to the grid so that all surplus power can be sent back to the grid, helping you make earn from selling power to the utility.

It doesn’t take much to make money from the system. With both units running simultaneously, the consumer will not only need any current from the grid but will actually be able to sell back to it his or her own generated current.

With every passing day, more and more people everywhere are enthusiastically adopting alternative power. The demand for solar and wind power for residential use has already picked up considerably, and will continue to climb up the popularity curve in the following years. Even though there are still a few technical glitches, they are not of a very serious nature and will be resolved in the near future through continuing research and development.

So would you like to set up such a system? Take help from a manual that will help you install it step by step by showing you where to set it up, how to do it, how to wire the system, where to get the parts and the batteries from and will inform you about the safety instructions too. People across the world now know the advantages of installing a solar or a wind power system at home. By doing this you are now only contributing to clean up the environment, but the benefits are financial as well as you can reduce your power bills.

Tags: solar energy, solar power, global warming

In my green research, I’ve found some interesting information. Remember though, being green is not just about saving electric energy. It’s also about conserving the resources that we have so that our children’s children can have a bright future for themselves.

Trying not to sound too much like a tree hugger, after all I am in construction. It would seem remiss of me if didn’t acknowledge that I participate and fully advocate growth where it is needed. But, I have often spoken about recycling and remodeling as well.Tearing a house down gives a builder the opportunity to use some of those same materials and to build in that same place. It’s new. It’s fresh. It works.

Not everything needs to be torn down though. If the structure and the foundation are solid, remodeling is the answer. These are things I learned from my father throughout my life and when I followed in his footsteps years ago.

Taking those same principles universally, I learned early that conservation and preservation are important even and especially within the construction industry. What can I say? My father was a forward thinker.

So, my research will begin to depict my learning as far as the construction industry is concerned. But, what can we all do in our own little way? I’m learning a good bit about that as well.

Do you know that switching from a desktop to a laptop computer is a great energy saver? First of all, I didn’t know there was anyone on the planet who still owned a desktop. I was amazed to learn years ago that a laptop had the same capabilities as a desktop, but I could carry it around with me. I write on planes and now I can even surf the internet sitting in a coffee shop. Could you imagine lugging a desktop around with you everywhere you go? And now, there is yet another reason why someone would want to purchase a laptop. It saves energy. You can even use a home made electric generator to save energyon your laptop

Use a slow cooker instead of the stove every time you possibly can. Do you really need to cook rice on the stove? Take a little extra time and put it in the crock-pot. You’ll love the taste and the electric bill might not look so bad either.

One final thing for now is keeping your tires properly inflated. This has several benefits. You’ll save on buying new tires because over-inflated and under-inflated tires wear much sooner than properly inflated tires do. But also, you’ll save on the gas bill. Not having to fuel up as much will put a smile on your face when your car isn’t being so hard on your wallet.

Being green means being concerned with both conservation and preservation. Conservation is managing what you use and preservation is managing what you have. But, you don’t have to live your life in a shell. We can live our lives fully and completely enjoy them while at the same time making sure there is a great life left for our children to enjoy.

Tags: solar power, global warming, home solar power

The following article presents the very latest information on the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy. If you have a particular interest in the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy, then this informative article is required reading.

Investors hoping for growth will want to focus on companies focused on types of renewable energy with the largest resources. Investments in clean energy companies and projects worldwide reached $155 billion in 2008. Not including large hydro (which may be clean but is hardly green).

Investors are encouraged to research and verify facts and under no circumstances is our site endorsing the content as a recommendation to buy or sell stock. Investors hoping for growth will want to focus on companies focused on types of renewable energy with the largest resources.

Hopefully the information presented so far has been applicable. You might also want to consider the following:

Investors should note the company’s shares suffered on Wednesday after California voters struck down a proposition that offered tax rebates to buyers of more fuel-efficient cars. California-based Clean Energy has maintained that the ballot initiative’s failure will not hurt its long-term prospects.

Renewable energy technologies tap into natural cycles and systems, turning the ever-present energy around us into usable forms. Renewable energy technologies tap into natural cycles and systems, turning the ever-present energy around us into usable forms. The movement of wind and water, the heat and light of the sun, heat in the ground, the carbohydrates in plants-all are natural energy sources that can supply our needs in a sustainable way.

Renewable power has been more in demand for the last few decades although drastic change needs to take place so as to save our environment from the damaging effects of fossil electricity. Whatever we do to our world currently is going to be endured by all succeeding societies. Renewable fuels have become one of those motherhood-and-apple-pie catchphrases, as unobjectionable as the troops or the middle class.

Knowing enough about the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy to make solid, informed choices cuts down on the fear factor. If you apply what you’ve just learned about the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy, you should have nothing to worry about.

Tags: solar power, global warming, solar

The following article presents the very latest information on the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy. If you have a particular interest in the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy, then this informative article is required reading.

The Environmental Protection Agency reflects the environmental performance per unit of energy produced. That is, the relationship of emissions per billion kilowatt-hours. The Environmental Protection Agency is to install diesel particulate filters (DPFs and diesel oxidation catalysts (DOCs) on the 70 buses owned by its bus contractor. All buses converted from using standard diesel fuel to using ultra low sulphur diesel fuel (ULSD).

Investors are encouraged to research and verify facts and under no circumstances is our site endorsing the content as a recommendation to buy or sell stock. Investors hoping for growth will want to focus on companies focused on types of renewable energy with the largest resources.

Most of this information comes straight from the the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy pros. Careful reading to the end virtually guarantees that you’ll know what they know.

In a car, there would be only need for one super conductive battery, charged for use for weeks or months at a time. PowerDown was introduced on all University PCs by mid-2006, and has saved the University more than 1,000,000 hours of idle time every month. PowerDown has been made freely available for anybody to use; several FE and HE institutions within the UK are using it, as well as others around the world.

PowerSat Corporation’s first patented technology, BrightStar, allows individual powersats to form a wireless power transmission beam without being physically connected to each other. This “electronic coupling,” conceptually similar to cloud computing, effectively eliminates the need to handle large (gigawatt) levels of power in a single spacecraft.

Renewable power has been more in demand for the last few decades although drastic change needs to take place so as to save our environment from the damaging effects of fossil electricity. Whatever we do to our world currently is going to be endured by all succeeding societies. Renewable fuels have become one of those motherhood-and-apple-pie catchphrases, as unobjectionable as the troops or the middle class.

Knowing enough about the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy to make solid, informed choices cuts down on the fear factor. If you apply what you’ve just learned about the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy, you should have nothing to worry about.

Tags: home solar power, solar power, solar energy