Archive for March, 2009
Portable solar cells - time to get free power easily
Posted by admin in Solar Wind Energy on March 29th, 2009
The renewable energy market is greatly expanding . President Obama just recently ordered that within 4 years, he wants 50% of the energy in America to come from renewable sources. That’s a big target , and we’re all going to have to pitch in if it’s going to happen. This leaves manufacturers of devices like portable solar cells in a unique situation. They will have a enormous move in the supply and demand relationship for their products. As the government steps in to offer tax credits to people who employ solar technology like portable solar panels, we’ll see prices hit the floor.
Why not look around now at the benefits of owning one or two portable solar panels or perhaps even many more? Here’s the reason : To begin with , they’re passive. You can leave the house , come back after a few hours of sun and find the batteries you left to charge topped up. What would you possibly have batteries charging for? An inverter is a device to convert the DC electricity from batteries to AC power, like that used by a TV or computer. The batteries you charge can power any number of devices you already have in your home. This is very convenient, as you can then move your panels throughout the house, charging batteries wherever they need a recharge. “But I don’t want a ton of batteries around my home! That’s not practical!” you say. Indeed. I’m suggesting very small batteries, like the type you’d discover in a UPS or even a boom box (from a couple years ago). These don’t take up a lot of space, aren’t spillable (they won’t leak when tipped over), and aren’t hazardous. You can then take portable solar panels everywhere you need power. Of course, this translates in a straight line into cash in your pocketbook or purse. Think of cutting your power bill in half while not having to feed these devices, and not only do the portable solar panels pay for themselves, they save you money every month!
Another plus is the environment. You’re helping keep nature even greener. No wasted batteries to go back to the landfill all the time, clogging our garbage burial sites that are already filled to capacity with tons of disgusting things like mercury, acids and lead. No more. In some areas of the country, your portable solar panels will even get you a tax credit. On top of that, some power companies will even fund your purchase of them partly or totally! You can’t beat that! This is what I mean by the government helping to stimulate renewable energy.
So think about checking out the payoff from portable solar panels, and get ready to enter the exciting new world of renewable energy.
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The Home Solar Power System Will Be In Our Future
Posted by admin in Solar Wind Energy on March 29th, 2009
Perhaps the best means of making best use of alternative sources of energy is to install a home solar power system. Solar power has advantages and they include a clean source of energy; once installed in your home the system will not require much maintenance. If you want to save yourself from paying exorbitant electricity bills consider a solar home power system, you can save if your eligible; depending on the area you live in you may receive from twenty to seventy-five percent of the installation on the home solar power system.
If you have a home that is located in an area that the roof gets full sunlight all through the day at most times of the year that is what is needed for the number of photovoltaic cells that usually are located on the roof of a home.. Normally, solar panels are located on the south side of the home. Once installed, the photovoltaic cells draw sunlight into them and then convert the energy into direct current power that in turn travels via an inverter, which converts the direct current into alternating current that is then used to power up your home. In case the home consumes all the generated power; you can always depend on accumulated energy that has been stored in batteries when the house produced extra and stored backup.
If you are looking for a back up power unit for your remote country home consider a variety of reasons for installing a home solar power system. States such as California offer benefits including rebates and subsidies up to forty percent rebate on the total cost of installing such a system. However, before you choose a particular type of home solar power system makes sure that you have done comparison shopping and checked with various dealers to identify a system that meets your needs and fits your budget the best. While the use of solar power is most desirable you must first understand how to choose the best solar panels and solar power system for your home use.
If you are going to be looking for the different packages you can get from the solar power dealers make sure you get a full package some dealers will offer less make sure you have a maintenance plan, panels and batteries plus inverters included in the total package. When looking for the best package look for a dealer that is reputable as well as reliable they should be the one that has the best packages available
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Solar Energy: How Does it Work?
Posted by admin in Solar Power on March 10th, 2009
We speak a lot about renewable Energy, solar energy, solar panels, advances in science and new discoveries. But, how does solar energy exactly works? What type of solar panels exists and what are they compose from? We will try to make a brief introduction to the world of the sun like an energy source.
There are two main ways to use the solar energy, one is like heat source for thermal Solar System, and the other is as source of electricity for photovoltaic Solar System. We will be focusing in this last application.
In principle the form in which the light of the sun is captured to turn it in to electricity is through solar panels or photovoltaic panels. These panels are formed by groups of the so called solar cells or cells that are the ones that change the light energy (photons) into electricity (electrons).
These cells are connected to each other in a serial circuit thus to increase the current of the out coming electricity, that might be 12 or 24 volts. At the same time several panels coupled in parallel circuit will increase the amount of electrical production that the panels will be able to provide.
Because the electric current type that solar paddles provide is direct current (DC), an investor and/or power converter is often used to transform the DC into alternating current (AC), this is the one that we normally use in our houses, offices and stores.
When we speak about renewable energy, new discoveries or advances in science, generally, we are making referred to the discovery or development of new and better materials to produce solar cell.
A solar cell works basically in the following manner: photons coming in the solar radiation, hit on the surface of the cell and there they are absorbed by semiconducting materials, such as crystalline silicon. The photons strike to electrons releasing them from the atoms to which they belonged. So the electrons start to run around the material, and as a result they produce electricity.
This basic process is the same for all semiconducting materials used in solar cells, as long as they enclose conductive properties and absorb the light.
The cells in solar panels that are most commonly used in the market are done out of silicon, a semiconductor that is very abundant on the planet, but it is also difficult to extract and to synthesize, resulting in expensive solar paddles usually heavy and hard to install. But new materials are appearing that are easier to produce and are more efficient.
Therefore scientists of the entire world work continuously on the search of new materials with similar or better result, cheaper, more efficient, lighter, thinner and able to have greater amount of applications, hoping to find even one being able to be caned as spray.
That’s how we can appreciate that to manufacture solar cells; materials as copper, Indium, gallium, selenium and even germanium are used. This last one gives the best results in efficiency but they are very expensive to produce, therefore its use is restricted to organizations like the NASA. There are also composed cells that are made with double or triple lyre cells, using several added elements, in thin layer, using dye-sensitized Graetzel solar cell, hybrid materials, and nanotechnology.
The Greatest bet of the future is placed in organic solar cells, that are made out of organic polymer, like certain types of plastic, that have the same conduction properties of the silicon but that can “be printed” or “be stick” on almost any type of material. The solar panels made out of organic cells are cheaper to manufacture, lighter and easier to install. The great disadvantage they present is that they can’t yet manage to reach the level of efficiency conversion that has the silicon panels. Although we see continuously that scientist achieve these efficiency levels, but it will still take some time to get them to a commercial level.
Freescale Semiconductor unveiled new technology for power conversion for photovoltaic devices at this year’s Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC) in mid-February.
New Circuit Technology for Solar Cell Phones
Spain Sets New Wind Power Record Supplying 40% of Total Demand
Ocean-power installation up and running; 8. Magenn floating wind generators take advantage of high altitude winds; 9. New carbon capture technology promises cleaner power plants.
This is a video that gives a detailed description of a new technology created by a company called Bright Source Energy.
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