Alternative Energy HQ » photovoltaic cells

Solar Energy – Solar Power For Your Home

newenergy — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 04:12:02 +0000

Alexander Brody asked:

More and more people in the USA and worldwide are thinking about the possibility of installing an alternative energy system to power their homes. The most popular choices among home owners are solar power systems and wind energy systems. The preferred choice depends on your location: there is no point in installing a solar panel in a place where it won’t get enough sunlight! However, for most locations, solar energy is a better choice (and it can always be complemented by a wind turbine, just in case!)

Solar generators produce electricity using so-called solar cells or photovoltaic cells, which convert the energy of sunlight to electric energy by the photovoltaic effect. These devices have been developing rapidly over the past few decades, and now solar power systems are much cheaper and more efficient than it was just ten years ago. From the economical viewpoint, it is certainly very feasible to install a residential power generator as a supplemental energy source to cut on electricity costs. Moreover, solar power may be even more economical for you, because many states and regions offer substantial incentives to consumers such as tax breaks or direct rebates.

Why choose solar electricity for your home? Besides obvious economical considerations, it has the following benefits:

- Clean. It doesn’t require burning fossil fuels and doesn’t produce greenhouse gases.

- Plentiful. The solar power is truly unlimited for any practical purposes. The amount of energy radiated by the Sun that reaches Earth each minute is more than the yearly energy consumption of the entire planet.

- Easy to install and use. Solar panels don’t require complex and expensive maintenance after they are installed.

Overall, installing your own home solar power system is definitely a great way to cut back on your electricity costs and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Solar power

Advice On Home Ideas

Robert — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:34:37 +0000

Home Improvement
Photovoltaic cells, shaped as black colored square pieces placed in an on a solar panel, are becoming more efficient with each passing day and their designs are getting more efficient at focusing sunlight in concentrated forms with the cost becoming less as well. They are much smaller in size compared to what was offered a few years back, hence it is possible to produce them for less. The price of solar power energy has reached the price of per hour per watt. That price was double less than two decades back.

There’s definite benefit in using electricity generated from the sun for the environment. Solar energy uses the most natural of sources for its production: the sun which releases no harmful emissions into the environment and is considered to be an excellent alternative source of energy. Solar cells are today very popular fixtures on people’s home rooftops. You can use them without much trouble in heating your home, heating water and in producing power for all your needs . In the case of using the photovoltaic cells for hot water generation, the system works by having the water encased in the cells, where it is heated and then sent through your pipes.

Solar Energy

Photovoltaic cells are becoming increasingly better at collecting sufficient radiation from the sun even on overcast or stormy days. One company in particular, Uni-Solar, has developed solar collection arrays for the home that work well on inclement days, by way of a technologically more advanced system that stores more energy at one time during sunlit days than previous or other arrays.

Solar energy can be gathered and utilized by another system known as the PV system. Connecting this PV system to an electric grid that is close whenever there is excessive energy gathered in a particular home, this energy is allowed to pass into the energy grid and hence, the grid gets a supply of energy for itself and it will not have to depend on hydroelectric sources. By providing such a network, the PV system allows you to use a cheap environment friendly source of energy and itself works without much pressure on it. Centralized solar collection panels are being devised in some areas so that they can provide cheap energy to whole town or suburban areas.

Solar Power House

A number of multinational companies have expressed keen interests of entering into solar power generation, thus emphasizing how feasible and viable this source of energy is considered to be. Google has already installed a 1.6 MW solar power generation plant on the roof of its headquarters while Wal-Mart will soon outdo this by installing a 100 MW solar power system of its own.

The popularity of solar power generation is being further fostered by countries like Germany, Switzerland, Japan and of course the US by subsidizing individuals or companies who are installing these systems and also providing additional tax deductions to them. By checking out the new inventions in the solar trapping technology, new investors will want to cash in on the technology and make profits with it and this will only bring in more popularity to solar power generation.

Solar Energy & Photovoltaics

newenergy — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 06:32:29 +0000

David Tanguay asked:

Solar energy is energy that is harnesses from the Sun. The technologies harness the sun’s incredible energy for practical ends. Solar power plants use a variety of methods to collect sunlight and convert this energy into electricity.

While the use of solar energy has been used for millennia, itâ€™s potential has only been recognized within the past few decades{readmore}, when it played an essential part in the success of early commercial satellites. After the Solar energy collected, it is most often stored as heat in the thermal mass of buildings, however batteries, water tanks, and other storage facilities can be used to store energy in thermal and chemical forms.

Solar energy provides an energy efficient and environmentally friendly power source and it has satisfied the demands of activists for an eco-friendly world. Solar energy has also become an attractive solution to global warming.

Solar energy is the solar radiation that reaches the earth. The technologies have great potential to benefit our nation because it can be used in both large-scale applications and in smaller systems for the home.

Solar energy has many different advantages over conventional energy; The biggest one being that the energy from the sun is virtually free after the initial cost has been recovered.

Photovoltaic is a process where solar cells directly convert sunlight into electricity. Solar energy collected in photovoltaic cells can be used to produce electricity for a number of uses, including: remote area power supply systems such as remote farms or in national parks electricity supply in urban areas electric fencing and telecommunications.

Photovoltaic energy is the conversion of sunlight into electricity through a photovoltaic (PVs) cell, commonly called a solar cell. This process is gaining credence among private investors as having the potential to grow into the next big industry.

Photovoltaic cells, like batteries, generate direct current (DC), which is generally used for electronic equipment. The photovoltaic cells that convert sunlight directly into electricity and are made of semiconductors such as crystalline silicon or various thin-film materials.

Photovoltaics can provide tiny amounts of power for watches, large amounts for the electric grid, and everything in between. It is an incredible procedure that may very well end our dependence upon fossil fuels.

Photovoltaic systems provide a unified solution, bringing power to these that need it, while making a moderate but important contribution to climate protection.

Bio Fuel Video Channel

Solar Energy Facts

newenergy — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:33:23 +0000

Bryan Wong asked:

Most power plants in the United States and all over world are using fossil fuels to operate and generate electricity. They have been used as an energy source as long as man has learned to generate power. These traditional fuel sources have been around for ages and when man started using this energy sources no one though about the consequences. Fossil fuels will eventually run out and there will be a shortage of it in near future. This shortage in will have its affect on our daily live and various industries. Today we see some of these affects already, prizes are raising and electricity is becoming more expensive. Although these fuels are more scares, the need will still be here and will not decrease in near future. To solve this shortage we will need to look for other possibilities for our energy demand.

Fortunately, alternative energy sources are growing in interest. For instance, locations with high water falls are experimenting on building a hydro-electric power plant, which turns out to be successful. Other locations with high wind speed make use of a power wind mills that can convert wind power into electricity. Also thermal and tidal powers are good alternatives.

Solar energy is also one of the energy sources that is gaining in interest. This form of energy has steadily been growing. Today it is widely used in the US and other parts of the world and the advantages are numerous. Our solar energy source, the sun, its life span is estimated to be another 4.5 billion years. It is fair to say that this energy source is almost endless.

Rate of Energy from the Sun

The sun’s radiation reaches a certain unit of area in space in the region of the Earth’s orbit and is estimated to be at 1,400 watts per square meter. Out of this, photovoltaic cells (also known as solar cells) can capture 19 to 56 watts per square meter (for 15% efficiency) or an equivalent of 0.45 to 1.35 kilowatt per hour (kWh) in an annual day and night average.

Therefore, if there would be more area that will be covered by several solar panels, these panels can produce slightly more energy in the form of electricity than what is currently available from oil, gas, and other sources of energy combined (assuming 8% solar cell efficiency).

Conversion of Solar Energy

There are two ways of conversion of solar energy. First is the direct solar energy which involves only one conversion into a usable form. For instance:

* Sunlight hits the solar cell, converting it into electricity.
* Sunlight hits the absorber surface of a solar thermal collector, converting into thermal energy which can be used to heat homes during cold season.
The second is the indirect solar energy which involves more than one conversion to reach a usable form. For instance:
* Plants use photosynthesis to transform solar energy to chemical energy, which can be burned later as fuel to generate electricity (also known as bio-fuel technology).
* Hydro-electric dams and wind turbines are indirectly supplied by solar energy through its interaction with the Earth’s atmosphere.

Pros and Cons of Solar Energy

Just like any other types of energy resources, this energy source has its pro’s and cons.
Pros:

* Pollution-free.
* Solar facilities can be run with little extra input or maintenance.
* It is abundant. As mentioned earlier, most of the inhabited areas here on Earth can be reached by sunlight.
Cons:
* Although it is abundant, some areas receive little sunlight. Thus, power that will be produced in these locations is a minimum.
* Only available during daytime, thus a need to conserve to energy for use in night time.
* Photovoltaic cell technologies generate direct current (DC) power which needs to be converted to alternating current (AC) power used in distribution grids.

Once massive development of the use of solar energy is materialized, expect that every household or industry in the world will now be powered by solar energy. It is not just a dream, it will be a dream come true.

Water Fuel Video Channel

Solar Energy Risks To Health

newenergy — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 22:32:33 +0000

Anna Hart asked:

Solar energy is a potential source of free electricity and water heating. It offers the power to enjoy electrical power in remote areas of the world. It seems to offer health and safety along with power, but does it?

Solar energy health risks are seldom mentioned. That may be partially due to the limited use of this source of energy. It may also be due to the lack of research in this area. Some have begun to study solar energy health risks, however, and if one researches long enough, a few estimates are available.

Thermal Solar Energy Health Risks

Solar energy health risks are inherent to the design and installation of most thermal energy systems. These are the systems designed to heat water and air for household use.

Solar water heaters complete three basic operations before delivering hot water to your faucet or your heating unit:

1. collect sunlight and convert it into heat energy.
2. circulate fluids that transfer the heat energy to a storage unit
3. store the hot water until you need it

The solar energy health risks with such a system usually occur in the storage units. Some units allow for the growth of allergenic molds and fungi.

If proper materials are used for the storage unit, however, these solar energy systems present few, if any, health risks. Their advantages are that they are far safer than most fossil fuels or nuclear power – they have no emissions and do not pollute the air.

PV Panel Solar Energy Health Risks

The solar energy health risks associated with photovoltaic (PV) panels occurs before the panels are put into use on the consumer’s home. PV panels are the panels used to collect solar energy from sunlight and convert it into usable electricity.

The manufacture of PV panels requires the use of toxic materials. Silicon dioxide is mined from sand or quartzite and reduced with heat to pure silicon. Materials released during refining are the main health risks. Several steps in forming the photovoltaic cells utilize toxic materials. These are sprayed on the cells, and can readily be inhaled.

It is estimated that solar energy health risks associated with producing PV panels per unit energy may be between 11 and 21 deaths per quadrillion joules of energy produced.

Solar energy health risks from PV panels are very slight once the panels are produced and installed on the consumer’s home. This type of solar energy is known for reliability and low maintenance. The home owner seldom needs to be involved in any repairs, and thereby cuts solar energy health risks.

Passive Solar Energy Health Risks

Passive solar energy provides safety and health. A new building that maximizes this technology can reduce energy costs by nearly one half. How?

1. Warming indoor air in a house through vertical, slanted windows facing the sun. The windows capture maximum solar energy from the sunlight.

2. Collecting solar energy in adobe or stone walls and floors, and then releasing it into the air as the temperature falls.

3. Collecting solar energy in a sun space, much like a greenhouse built on the sunny side of the home. This heat is sent into the home with proper ventilation.

4. Holding water in black roof tanks until needed, cutting the working time of the home’s hot water heater.

5. Using clerestories – rows of windows near roof peaks that catch sunlight and bounce it through the building. The sunlight reduces the need for electric lights.

In Summary

Solar energy technologies present few, if any, health risks for the end user. Their use can reduce the health risks presented by other energy sources, providing cleaner, safer, more cost effective energy.

Hybrid Cars Video Channel