Category Archives: Solar Power
The Truth about Solar
The use of solar energy is versatile; it is used for electricity, central heating, hot water, cooking, for producing salt and even for desalination. The energy comes from the sun’s rays and is known to be very environmentally friendly. However, when the sun rays enter the earth’s atmosphere it is quite dilute. Although the advantages are clear there are also disadvantages.
Let’s start with the biggest advantage; it is a clean form of energy. To produce electricity or heat you only need the sun rays. There is no need to use fossil fuel in combination with sun rays to produce electricity or heat. You just need a solar energy collector or solar power panels in order to convert the energy into electricity.
Solar Panel
Another advantage is that it is cheaper than to use traditional electricity for heating. If you are using traditional electricity for heating you can save a lot of money. In return you will get lower electric bills and it also means that you don’t have to maintain heaters.
If you live in a remote area where there are no power-lines solar energy can be the solution. There are remote areas where power companies have no means to access your home. This great alternative can provide you with anything from heating water, electricity, and even cooking.
Another great use is for desalination in areas where fresh, drinkable water is scarce. The brine is evaporated and leaves the salt crystals in the bottom of the basin. The water in turn condenses back in another basin where it is now drinkable.
The advantages mentioned above are tremendous but there are some disadvantages. These disadvantages also need to be discussed to paint a better overall picture.
The main disadvantage of solar energy is that it’s dilute. This means you have to have a lot of solar collectors installed around your house. The energy itself is free, but the solar collectors are relatively expensive and some require regular maintenance in order to work properly and efficiently. If you decide to go solar you need to calculate the return on investment in order to know if the investment will be worth it.
One big disadvantage is that you need the sun rays to make use of it. If you are situated in a part of this beautiful planet where there is not much sun light then this could be a problem. In other areas, the sun rays are almost always covered in clouds making solar energy collectors less efficient. You should first know if the sunshine in your area is abundant for the most part of the year. Of course if you live in desert areas like in Arizona or Mexico the sun produces a lot of sunshine for the most part of the.
Solar energy is very clean and is a good alternative for traditional electricity. Although this is true it is also good to mention the disadvantages. If you are considering using solar energy you must read this first to make a balanced decision.
For more information on how you can gain from the many benefits of solar energy, visit http://sourcetecenergy.com/.
Still Not Convinced about Solar Lighting?
There has never been a better time than now to take advantage of the numerous benefits of solar power. Many countries have made solar power affordable, cost effective, providing a 10% return on investment and in many cases solar power will pay for itself almost instantly.
The utilization of solar lighting has never offered more benefits than now. Not only can the installation of solar power pay for itself almost instantly, but given the current world political climate and the threat of terrorist actions to disrupt cheap oil supplies make it very prudent.
In the state of California the cost of solar power in 1978 was well over $300 per watt. Today, with incentives offered by the state, that price has now dropped to less than $6 per watt- a staggering 98% reduction in cost of solar energy.
In addition to the reduction in cost of installing a solar power system, your home’s value increases $20 for every $1 reduction in annual utility bills- this according to the National Appraisal Institute.
Therefore, installing a solar power system in your home costing $16,000 would increase you home’s value by $17,520. That’s a net gain of $1520 the day you install the system.
On April 25, 1950 Bell Laboratories introduced the first silicon solar cell. Bell called its invention “The first successful device (solar cell) to convert useful amounts of the sun’s energy directly into electricity.” The NY Times heralded it as “The beginning of a New Era, leading eventually to the realization of one of mankind’s most cherished dreams-The harnessing of the almost limitless energy of the sun for uses of civilization.”
99% of the world’s energy comes from sunlight or solar energy. Everyday enough free sunlight energy falls on the Earth to supply our energy needs for 4-5 years at our present rate of consumption. At the equator, the Sun provides 1000 Watts per square meter on the Earth’s surface.
The amount of solar energy we take today in no way diminishes the amount we can take tomorrow or any time in the future.
For more information on how you can gain from the many benefits of solar energy, visit http://www.sourcetecenergy.com/.
Benefits of Solar Energy
We have ways to heat our water, our homes and provide us with electricity. We probably take all of this for granted and if we lost them we would probably panic. We take for granted that these conveniences will be there for us from now on. We expect glitches to happen but we want them to be fixable without going long without all of these. We appreciate the heat in the winter when it snows outside and when the temperatures drop. We need water to live and although it is usually running under the ground we want the convenience of it running through our pipes and into our homes.
Solar Energy
The sun is a very intense ball of gas up in the atmosphere. It burns twenty four hours a day, seven days per week. We only see it during out daytime but on the other side of the globe they get the daytime when we get the night. When the sun light beams down on the earth’s surface, a small percentage of the solar radiation heading for earth gets reflected. There are larger amounts of the sunlight that is actually absorbed. When you consider the fact that the sunlight must go through fog, clouds, dust particles and harmful pollutants in order to reach us that reduce the amount of sunlight that we receive even more. When it finally makes it to the earth’s surface it is then radiated back up into space. When it reaches the earth, plants and vegetation absorb it and the oceans, winds and other resources absorb the sunlight as well.
Some people use some of the heat generated from the sun in order to heat homes, power electricity and provide water to their families and businesses. When you think about all that you have that runs through a machine it may be possible to reroute that in order to run it all by sunlight. Scientists have only started to make this possible but it is far from being completed. When you consider all the solar energy that reaches the earth’s surface and then radiated back into the atmosphere, you could power electricity, heat and water from now on. This solar energy can be redirected and concentrated using special boxes that attract the light during the day to heat water and homes throughout the night.
Solar power is very important and provides a natural way to heat, obtain electricity and water with just a little more effort. In the future we may have no other choice but to look at natural resources in order to have these necessities and conveniences. Solar power is important now and in the future.
For more information on how you can gain from the many benefits of solar energy, visit http://sourcetecenergy.com/.
Cash in on Solar
In today’s struggling economy, saving even a few dollars has become important. While people are not putting a halt on their spending, they are requiring something in return. More and more homeowners are limiting their recreational spending, opting instead to increase the energy efficiency of their homes. Solar power homes are becoming quite popular and for good reason. There are several benefits of using the sun to power your home.
Lower Electric Bills
This is obviously the first thing that comes to mind when you think of solar power homes. The typical homeowner spends about $1400 a year on electricity. With a complete solar power home, it’s actually possible for the electric company to pay you! If your home is able to produce enough solar energy to power your home, then the excess energy is put back into the grid. The power company will pay you for this excess. That’s a dream that many homeowners only hope for!
Huge Boost for the Environment
One medium sized solar power home will save the earth from 6,000 lbs of carbon dioxide pollution. We all pay for traditional means of energy, such as coal and natural gas. We pay for it in tax dollars, pollution, acid rain, smog, and in many other ways. One of the benefit of solar power homes is that the renewable energy produced is clean. There are no harmful byproducts.
Low Maintenance
Solar power requires little maintenance. Unlike your gas or electric furnaces and appliances, solar panels are self contained and made to last for up to 25 years. Most photovoltaic solar panels come with a 25 year warranty. Unless there is a significant weather event, such as hail, or some outside problem, such as a falling tree, most of your solar panels will last a quarter of a century or better with little maintenance.
Aesthetically PleasingThere are now a number of solar power homes that are beautiful. What once was though of as a detriment to the physical beauty of a home is now almost invisible with the new models of solar power panels. They are integrated into the roofs of new home construction and provide a quiet knowledge of the saving happening within.
For more information on how you can gain from the many benefits of solar power, visit http://www.sourcetecenergy.com/.
Photovoltaic Solar Panels
How Solar Power Works
How Solar Panels Work
The first component to consider when trying to understand solar power basics is the solar panel itself. These panels are typically mounted to the roof of a home, but could also be located on a pole or ground frame nearby. They need to have adequate sunlight exposure throughout the day and should be facing south for the best possible production of solar power for your home. So how solar panels work is that inside each of the panels is a collection of solar cells that are able to produce a small electrical current when exposed to sunlight through a process known as the photovoltaic effect. Even though this current is small for each individual solar cell, when they are connected together in a group their output can be quite substantial when generating solar power for the home. Most homes have a group of these solar energy panels in the system that can generate all the power their home requires.
How Solar Energy Works
Solar Power Inverter
These solar panels generate a DC current as part of their conversion process that needs to be converted to AC current before this electricity can be used by your home appliances. This is accomplished through the use of a device called a solar power inverter. The inverter is connected to your home’s electrical system and converts this DC current to AC current and supplies it to your home when your home solar power system is active. If your home solar power system is generating more power than you are using, the inverter will send the excess power back up the power lines to the local utility and generate an energy credit for you. This credit can be applied to the power you’ll need to buy back energy from the local utility company in the evenings when your system is inactive. If you size your system correctly this back and forth trading of power should cancel each other out and you’ll be left without a power bill each month. The solar power inverter is also the part of the system that switches your home between solar power that you are producing during the day and utility supplied power you are purchasing in the evenings.
Solar Power Battery
The last component that some solar power for homes systems include is a set of batteries. These are completely optional in your system, but if installed they can store the excess power your system produces during the day for later use at night. Some homeowners use this power first in the evenings before switching to utility supplied power to lower their energy bills even further. Other homes keep this reserve of power separate for use in the event of a power outage in their area.
For more information on how you can use green energy and gain from the many benefits of solar energy, visit http://www.sourcetecenergy.com/.