Part three of a series of three articles on solar energy....
How do Photovoltaic panels work?
Silicon is mounted beneath non-reflective glass to produce photovoltaic panels. These panels collect photons from the sun, converting them into DC electric power. The energy created then flows into an inverter. The inverter transforms the power into basic voltage and AC electric power.
Photovoltaic cells are prepared with particular materials called semiconductors like silicon, which is presently the most generally used. When light hits the Photovoltaic cell, a certain share of it is absorbed inside the semiconductor material. This means that the energy of the absorbed light is given to the semiconductor.
The power unfastens the electrons, permitting them to run freely. Pv cells also have more than one electric fields that act to compel electrons unfastened by light absorption to flow in a specific direction. This flow of electrons is a current, and by introducing metal links on the top and bottom of the -Photovoltaic cell, the current can be drawn to use it externally.
Pros and Cons of Solar Energy:
- Pros
- Heating our homes with oil or gas or using electricity from power plants running with fossil fuels is a reason for global warming and climate disruption. Solar energy, on the contrary, is clean and environmentally-friendly.
- Solar hot-water heaters require little maintenance, and their initial investment could be recovered within a relatively small amount of time.
- Solar hot-water heaters can work in almost any climate, even just in very cold ones. You just need to choose the right system for your climate: drainback, thermosyphon, batch-ICS, etc.
- Maintenance costs of solar powered systems are minimal and also the warranties large.
- Financial incentives (USA, Canada, European states…) can aid in eliminating the cost of the first investment in solar technologies. The U.S. government, for example, offers tax credits for solar systems certified by by the SRCC (Solar Rating and Certification Corporation), which amount to 30 percent of the investment (2009-2016 period).
- Cons:
- The initial investment in Solar Water heaters or in Solar PV Electric Systems is higher than that required by conventional electric and gas heaters systems.
- The payback period of solar PV-electric systems is high, as well as those of solar space heating or solar cooling (only the solar warm water heating payback is short or relatively short).
- Solar water heating do not support a direct combination with radiators (including baseboard ones).
- Some air con (solar space heating and the solar cooling systems) are costly, and rather untested technologies: solar air-con isn't, till now, a truly economical option.
- The efficiency of solar powered systems is rather dependent on sunlight resources. It's in colder climates, where heating or electricity needs are higher, that the efficiency is smaller.
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About the writer - Barbara Young writes on solar RV kits in her personal hobby web site 12voltsolarpanels.net. Her work is devoted to helping people save energy using solar powered energy to reduce CO2 emissions and energy dependency.
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Monday, June 28, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Learn about solar energy - Part 2
Part 2 of a series of articles on solar energy...
Who invented solar technology?
People have harnessed solar energy for hundreds of years. As early as the 7th century B.C., people used simple magnifying glasses to concentrate the light of the sun into beams so hot they'd cause wood to catch fire. Over a century ago in France, a scientist used heat from a solar collector to make steam to drive a steam engine. At first of this century, scientists and engineers began researching ways to use solar energy in earnest. One important development was a remarkably efficient solar boiler invented by Charles Greeley Abbott, a united states astrophysicist, in 1936.
The solar water heater became popular at this time in Florida, California, and the Southwest. The industry started in the early 1920s and was in full swing just before The second world war. This growth lasted before mid-1950s when low-cost gas had become the primary fuel for heating American homes.
People and world governments remained largely indifferent to the possibilities of solar technology until the oil shortages of the1970s. Today, people use solar power to heat buildings and water and also to generate electricity.
How do we use solar power today?
Solar energy can be used in several different ways, of course. There are 2 simple kinds of solar energy:
* Solar thermal energy collects the sun's warmth through one of two means: in water or in an anti-freeze (glycol) mixture.
* Solar photovoltaic energy converts the sun's radiation to usable electricity.
Let us discuss the five most practical and popular solutions solar energy can be used:
1. Small portable solar photovoltaic systems. We see these used everywhere, from calculators to solar garden tools. Portable units may be used for everything from RV appliances while single panel systems can be used traffic signs and remote monitoring stations.
2. Solar pool heating. Running water in direct circulation systems via a solar collector is an extremely practical way to heat water for your pool or spa.
3. Thermal glycol energy to heat water. In this method (indirect circulation), glycol is heated by the sun's rays and the heat is then transferred to water in a warm water tank. This technique of collecting the sun's energy is much more practical now than ever before. In areas as far north as Edmonton, Alberta, solar thermal to heat water is economically sound. It can pay for itself in three years or less.
4. Integrating solar photovoltaic energy into your home or office power. In numerous parts on the planet, solar photovoltaics is an economically feasible method to supplement the power of your home. In Japan, photovoltaics are competitive with other types of power. In the USA, new incentive programs make this form of solar technology ever more viable in many states. A frequent and practical way of integrating solar energy into the power of your home or business is through the use of building integrated solar photovoltaics.
5. Large independent photovoltaic systems. When you have enough sun power at your site, you could possibly go off grid. You may also integrate or hybridize your solar power system with wind power or other kinds of sustainable energy to stay 'off the grid.'
Part 3 - How do Photovoltaic Panels Work and Pros and Cons of Solar Power - COMING SOON!
About the writer - Barbara Young writes on solar RV kits in her personal hobby web site 12voltsolarpanels.net. Her work is devoted to helping people save energy using solar powered energy to reduce CO2 emissions and energy dependency.
Who invented solar technology?
People have harnessed solar energy for hundreds of years. As early as the 7th century B.C., people used simple magnifying glasses to concentrate the light of the sun into beams so hot they'd cause wood to catch fire. Over a century ago in France, a scientist used heat from a solar collector to make steam to drive a steam engine. At first of this century, scientists and engineers began researching ways to use solar energy in earnest. One important development was a remarkably efficient solar boiler invented by Charles Greeley Abbott, a united states astrophysicist, in 1936.
The solar water heater became popular at this time in Florida, California, and the Southwest. The industry started in the early 1920s and was in full swing just before The second world war. This growth lasted before mid-1950s when low-cost gas had become the primary fuel for heating American homes.
People and world governments remained largely indifferent to the possibilities of solar technology until the oil shortages of the1970s. Today, people use solar power to heat buildings and water and also to generate electricity.
How do we use solar power today?
Solar energy can be used in several different ways, of course. There are 2 simple kinds of solar energy:
* Solar thermal energy collects the sun's warmth through one of two means: in water or in an anti-freeze (glycol) mixture.
* Solar photovoltaic energy converts the sun's radiation to usable electricity.
Let us discuss the five most practical and popular solutions solar energy can be used:
1. Small portable solar photovoltaic systems. We see these used everywhere, from calculators to solar garden tools. Portable units may be used for everything from RV appliances while single panel systems can be used traffic signs and remote monitoring stations.
2. Solar pool heating. Running water in direct circulation systems via a solar collector is an extremely practical way to heat water for your pool or spa.
3. Thermal glycol energy to heat water. In this method (indirect circulation), glycol is heated by the sun's rays and the heat is then transferred to water in a warm water tank. This technique of collecting the sun's energy is much more practical now than ever before. In areas as far north as Edmonton, Alberta, solar thermal to heat water is economically sound. It can pay for itself in three years or less.
4. Integrating solar photovoltaic energy into your home or office power. In numerous parts on the planet, solar photovoltaics is an economically feasible method to supplement the power of your home. In Japan, photovoltaics are competitive with other types of power. In the USA, new incentive programs make this form of solar technology ever more viable in many states. A frequent and practical way of integrating solar energy into the power of your home or business is through the use of building integrated solar photovoltaics.
5. Large independent photovoltaic systems. When you have enough sun power at your site, you could possibly go off grid. You may also integrate or hybridize your solar power system with wind power or other kinds of sustainable energy to stay 'off the grid.'
Part 3 - How do Photovoltaic Panels Work and Pros and Cons of Solar Power - COMING SOON!
About the writer - Barbara Young writes on solar RV kits in her personal hobby web site 12voltsolarpanels.net. Her work is devoted to helping people save energy using solar powered energy to reduce CO2 emissions and energy dependency.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Learn about solar energy - Part 1
One component of green homes is solar energy. Many consumers have questions about this form of energy for their home, so we are running a series of articles on the subject from Barbara Young from 12voltsolarpanels.net to help better understand this technology. This is part one of a series of articles on the subject.
What's solar power?
Solar energy is radiant energy that is produced by the Sun. Every day the Sun radiates, or sends out, an immense volume of energy. The Sun radiates more energy in a second than people have used since the beginning of time!
The energy of the Sun originates from within the Sun itself. Like other stars, the sun is known as a big ball of gases––mostly hydrogen and helium atoms.
The hydrogen atoms in the Sun’s core combine to create helium and generate energy in a process called nuclear fusion.
During nuclear fusion, the sun’s extremely high pressure and temperature cause hydrogen atoms to come apart and their nuclei (the central cores of the atoms) to fuse or combine. Four hydrogen nuclei fuse to become one helium atom. However the helium atom contains less mass compared to four hydrogen atoms that fused. Some matter is lost during nuclear fusion. The lost matter is emitted into space as radiant energy.
It requires many years for the energy in the Sun’s core to make its way to the solar surface, after which somewhat over eight minutes to travel the 93 million miles to Earth. The solar energy travels to the Earth at a speed of 186,000 miles per second, the velocity of sunshine.
Simply a small percentage of the energy radiated from the Sun into space strikes the Earth, one part in two billion. Yet this quantity of energy is enormous. Every single day enough energy strikes the USA to provide the nation’s energy needs for one and a half years!
Where does all this energy go?
About 15 percent of the Sun’s energy that hits the Earth is reflected back to space. Another 30 percent is used to evaporate water, which, lifted into the atmosphere, produces rainfall. Solar energy is absorbed by plants, the land, and the oceans. The remaining could be employed to supply our energy needs.
Part 2: Who invented solar technology, and How do we use solar power today? COMING SOON!
About the writer - Barbara Young writes on solar RV kits in her personal hobby web site 12voltsolarpanels.net. Her work is devoted to helping people save energy using solar powered energy to reduce CO2 emissions and energy dependency.
What's solar power?
Solar energy is radiant energy that is produced by the Sun. Every day the Sun radiates, or sends out, an immense volume of energy. The Sun radiates more energy in a second than people have used since the beginning of time!
The energy of the Sun originates from within the Sun itself. Like other stars, the sun is known as a big ball of gases––mostly hydrogen and helium atoms.
The hydrogen atoms in the Sun’s core combine to create helium and generate energy in a process called nuclear fusion.
During nuclear fusion, the sun’s extremely high pressure and temperature cause hydrogen atoms to come apart and their nuclei (the central cores of the atoms) to fuse or combine. Four hydrogen nuclei fuse to become one helium atom. However the helium atom contains less mass compared to four hydrogen atoms that fused. Some matter is lost during nuclear fusion. The lost matter is emitted into space as radiant energy.
It requires many years for the energy in the Sun’s core to make its way to the solar surface, after which somewhat over eight minutes to travel the 93 million miles to Earth. The solar energy travels to the Earth at a speed of 186,000 miles per second, the velocity of sunshine.
Simply a small percentage of the energy radiated from the Sun into space strikes the Earth, one part in two billion. Yet this quantity of energy is enormous. Every single day enough energy strikes the USA to provide the nation’s energy needs for one and a half years!
Where does all this energy go?
About 15 percent of the Sun’s energy that hits the Earth is reflected back to space. Another 30 percent is used to evaporate water, which, lifted into the atmosphere, produces rainfall. Solar energy is absorbed by plants, the land, and the oceans. The remaining could be employed to supply our energy needs.
Part 2: Who invented solar technology, and How do we use solar power today? COMING SOON!
About the writer - Barbara Young writes on solar RV kits in her personal hobby web site 12voltsolarpanels.net. Her work is devoted to helping people save energy using solar powered energy to reduce CO2 emissions and energy dependency.
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