Monthly Archives: October 2009
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Solar Energy?
Me and my husband is planning to build a new home in Austin TX and we wanted to be 100 free from electric bill using the sun energy. Anybody who have knowledge about PV, Solar Panel please I need your help. Project Plan: 2500 sqm floor plan 5 bedrooms What type of PV or Solar Panel Cell we need? How much do you think it will cost? Do you know an architect or builder who provide custom plan Do you know somebody from Austin is using Solar Panel Do you know local manufacturer that we can contact with? XoXo Cookie
Wind Power?
Wind Energy? “950W of power at 45km.hr winds Delivers 100 Kw / hours a month at an average wind speed of 5.4 m/s Adjustable voltage (12/24/36/48V)” Can someone please tell me what that means? And my question is would you be able to indefinitely power a small fridge, a TV and other things on that wind turbine which costs $3 000? I’m posting this many times because I’m not satisfied with the answers I already received. People are just not making it simple enough to comprehend. Its all spanish to me.
Renewable Energy?
Why isnt there a massive program to include the ocean waves as a source of renewable energy? there are trillions of gallons pushed upon american shores everyday. There is no way to deplete this because the waves are cause by the pull of the moon. If there was a way to turn those waves into energy, then why hasnt man, with all the technology done it? And P.S. i know they have done it in a small way but in talking a massive!
Green Energy?
My energy supplier is offering options of staying the same (regular), going 50% green, or going 100% green. Going green is more expensive. Any advice?
Solar Energy Profile: Straight from the Source
Every day, the Earth receives more energy from the sun than mankind uses in a year. Still, solar energy remains a tiny sliver in the global energy mix. Falling prices and better efficiency could change this, but can it happen fast enough? When it comes to meeting energy needs, humanity has not been able to eliminate the middle man. The energy we use today comes from the sun, but we get it indirectly. Sunrays fed countless generations of plants and organisms millions of years ago, which we now use to burn to produce electricity, heat our homes, and run our cars. Its heat also strikes up the winds that we use to sail ships and run turbines. Despite our dependence on the sun, mankind has still not fully realized the potential of harnessing the sun?s vast energy directly. Worldwide Importance and Future Trends Even with steady annual growth, the International Energy Agency says solar energy – combined with wind and geothermal power – still only supplies less than one percent of the world?s energy. In Germany, the global solar market leader, solar supplies around 0.3 percent of national electricity demand; in the United States, it supplies less than 0.1 percent. The UN?s annual “Global Trends in Sustainable Development” report said that the solar sector attracted 16 percent of the 70 billion U.S. dollars invested in renewable technology in 2006 – behind wind (38 percent) and biofuels (26 percent). According to the World Energy Council, solar water heating market is growing at a rate of around 20 percent a year, and solar PV at 35 percent. If the costs of solar technology continue to drop, it has a chance to compete with other forms of energy production. In places like sunny California, solar has already reached “grid parity,” which means the costs of producing solar power are now competitive with conventional energy production even without government subsidies. Sinking production costs would allow solar power to eventually join or even replace coal, gas, and oil as a primary energy source by the end of the century, which some experts say is possible. Global Resources and Producers The amount of solar energy that reaches the Earth?s surface every 20 days exceeds the energy trapped up in all of the planet?s coal, oil, and natural gas reserves. The trick is finding cost-effective and efficient ways of converting this abundant resource into usable energy. Currently, there are two main ways of doing so. Photovoltaic (PV) panels, thin pieces of crystalline silicon, transfer sunlight directly into electricity. Solar thermal collectors, on the other hand, are used to heat water for domestic or industrial use and to run steam power plants. Germany is the world?s leading producer of PV and solar heating technology and energy. In 2006 alone, 968 Megawatts (MW) of PV was installed in Germany. Japan, which added 292 MW last year, is also an important market and exporter of PV technology. China is aggressively adding solar systems to its energy mix. The country already consumes half of all solar-heated water in the world, and aims to increase solar water heater coverage by 50 percent by 2010. China is also emerging as an important producer and consumer of PV cells, which the government is integrating in remote and urban area. Energy Output The energy output of photovoltaic and solar heating depends on the size location of the system. Most areas receive ample sunlight, but deserts that seldom get cloud cover are better suited for solar energy production. Standard PV cells have an energy conversion rate of 6 to 8 percent, meaning that 6 to 8 percent of all solar power absorbed is turned into energy. Some prototypes have already achieved conversion rates of more than 40 percent, but are still too expensive for mass-market production. Solar heaters utilize solar collectors that are significantly more efficient. Current collectors turn between 60 to 70 percent of absorbed sunlight into heat. Concentrated solar thermal systems use mirrors to reflect sunlight onto a tower, producing extremely hot temperatures to boil water or other fluids and produce steam to drive a thermal power plant. An 11 MW concentrating solar power plant was completed near Seville, Spain in March 2007. A 154 MW facility is planned in Australia, and a 500 MW system in California?s Mojave Desert. Environmental Impact and Drawbacks Manufacturing and installing solar systems requires energy, and as with almost any industrial activity, involves handling hazardous materials, such as arsenic and cadmium. Mass production of PV cells is sometimes marred by shortages of quality silicon. Large-scale solar power plants also take up lots of land. Overall, however, the environmental impacts of switching to solar energy are positive. Solar heaters require significantly less fossil energy input than natural gas and electric systems. PV systems are cleaner energy producers compared to coal and oil. Greenhouse gas emissions of solar PV plant including production and installation are eight times less than that of a coal-fired plant. The initial costs of solar heating and PV systems, however, prevent many homeowners from installing them. But falling costs and subsidies have helped sustain market growth in some countries. Like with wind turbines, another technical problem is effectively storing solar energy to provide power throughout nights and cloudy days. http://solarpanelgreenenergy.com
Solar Energy…when Will it be Affordable to the Average Homeowner?
Introduction: Global warming impact to our quality and cost of living is large and very catastrophic. Homeowners are well aware of the increasing energy costs to heat, cool and illuminate their homes. The increasing costs of oil and other fossil fuels are daily headlines. The insatiable demand for energy to fuel world growth guarantees that the cost of these limited fuels will continue to increase. Political/economic forces will determine the rate of increase for fossil fuels. In addition, the increasing cost of global warming using fossil fuels is slowly being recognized. The world is slowly beginning to understand the urgent need for renewable energy sources. However, each of these alternative energy sources brings major advantages and disadvantages. An example is wind generated energy. Wind energy is available to the whole world and generates electricity competitively with fossil fuels. The technology is understood and easy to apply. But, there are big objections to a windmill in “my back yard”. Also, the number of birds and bats that will be crushed with wind power generation is not a warming thought. Wind technology will be a component of our energy solution. However, because of the above concerns, we need other major solutions to meet our demand for energy sources. This search leads us to solar energy. The amount of sun energy striking our world in one day is sufficient to supply our energy demands for a year. We will not run out of this source in the foreseeable future. The major barrier to harnessing solar energy has been cost and convenience. For example, drying clothes in a dryer is easier than hanging clothes on an outside line, thus convenience precluded efforts to find more energy efficiency. We can convert solar energy to electricity but with a major capital cost. Greater acceptance and use of solar energy will lead to lower cost. Solar Energy: Energy from solar energy can be divided into two major categories: Passive Solar Energy: This technology ranges from clothes drying in the sun to solar heating for hot water and many other passive techniques. All are important for our present and future quality of life. The technology is well understood and can be implemented as economics and space conditions allow. Active Solar Energy: One of the active solar energy technologies is converting solar energy directly into electricity. It is called photovoltaic cell or PV. This is a device that converts light into electricity using the photoelectric effect. The first working solar cells were constructed by Charles Fritts in 1883. These prototype cells were made of selenium and achieved efficiencies around one percent. The silicon solar cell was created in 1954. The solar cell has benefited from the development of silicon semiconductors. Physics of Active Solar Energy: The physics of photon to electricity conversion is well understood by physicists. The basic model is of a photon from the sun which strikes the cell material and excites electrons that emit electricity. This model is simple compared to the complexity of modern day semiconductors. The major variables of PV electrical generation are cell material and impurities in the cell material. Manufacturing Technology for Active Solar Energy: Primarily single crystal, high purity silicon has been used to generate photon to electricity conversion. The manufacturing techniques for single crystal silicon and limited quantities of pure silicon impose a high cost for PV devices. Shortages of refined silicon have been hampering production worldwide since late 2004. This shortage persists to this date and has slowed PV growth. New materials are starting to come forward which should lower the PV materials hurdle. Efficiency growth of Active Solar Energy: Since the silicon PV invention in 1954, cheaper fossil fuel prices largely removed solar power from the public consciousness. Annual growth of electrical generation by PV ranged from 10 to 20% percent throughout the 1980′s and 1990′s. Worldwide installation of PV reached 1000 megawatts in 1999. Manufacturing costs for PV arrays has been dropping 3 to 5% over the recent years. This cost drop began to expand the use of PV electricity generation. Total peak power of installed PV was around 6000 megawatts at the end of 2006. Installed PV is projected to increase to over 9,000 megawatts in 2007. The average lowest retail cost of large photovoltaic arrays has declined from $7.50 to $4.00 per watt between 1990 and 2005. PV materials have also been improving in recent years. The most recent materials approach is to process discrete cells on silicon wafers cut from multi crystalline ribbons which form thin films. This approach is the least expensive of known technologies. This group of technologies includes amorphous silicon cells deposited on stainless-steel ribbon, cadmium telluride (CdTe) cells deposited on glass, and copper indium gallium dielenide (CIGS) alloy cells deposited on either glass or stainless steel substrates. The efficiencies of these new materials are currently at 20%. Many researchers are working to improve the efficiencies. An added advantage of the new thin films is that they are flexible and are currently being used in roofing materials. Current Trends in Generating Active Solar Energy: Commercial businesses like Google, IBM, BJ’s Wholesale, Estee Lauder, Kohls, Target, Tiffany & Co., Wal-Mart are installing PV solar energy. From “big box” discount giants to high end commercial businesses PV solar energy is finding acceptance in 2007. The most recent retail-outfitter to become part of this trend is Macy’s, which announced earlier this month that it will install solar powered systems on 26 stores throughout California. These leading companies are turning to solar power because it makes good business sense and supports their environmental initiative. Creative financial arrangements allow these companies to afford the upfront capital costs and payback their loans with energy savings. So what does all this mean to the average home owner? PV Cost per Kilowatt (kWh): In the California market, where state incentives and net metering are in place, PV electricity prices are dipping below 11
Solar Energy a Reliable and Practical Source
These days we are experiencing a growing awareness to the fact that our energy resources, as they have been used in the last few years, are probably not going to last for long and that the energy markets are exposed to more and more rapid changes, some due to political reasons and others because of the changing climate of the planet. Solar energy is a renewable free source of energy which is sustainable as it is not inexhaustible, unlike fossil fuels which are finite. It is also a non-polluting source of energy and it does not emit any greenhouse gases when producing electricity. The solar electricity that is produced can supplement your entire or partial energy consumption. Using solar energy means reducing your energy bills and saving money. Also having solar PV panels adds value to your home, they are low maintenance and unobtrusive. Germany is the global leader for solar-generated electricity. Why choose solar energy? Australia is the luckiest country in the world. Our geography gives us the opportunity to use the most natural, sustainable and clean energy in our homes ? the energy from the sun. Solar thermal applications are the most widely used category of solar energy technology. These technologies use heat from the sun for water and space heating, ventilation, and many other applications.Solar energy is not a new concept, it has been properly introduced to the global public many years ago and successfully implemented in different parts of the world in different ways, so we can say that solar energy is known to most people, but it is still not as popular as it should be, as a cheap replacement for other sources of energy. The energy of the sun, from its direct sun rays that are projected directly at the earth or by giant wind turbines are free fro us to use, to manipulate for our needs, and this can be done by almost anyone in any place, it just needs to technology and the know-how. Energy Matters specializes in solar power & wind energy for your home. We offer products and services including batteries, deep cycle batteries, renewable power, solar hot water and heating, solar panels, wind generators etc. Contact Us:- 63-69 Market Street, South Melbourne, Victoria 3143 Tel No: – 1300 727 151 Fax: – 61 3 9697 1919 Email us: – sales@energymatters.com.au Website: -http://www.energymatters.com.au
Bringing you a new solar power outlet
This blog is designed to be a research outlet for all of you that are looking to bring the best green technology to your home, business or community. The San Francisco Bay Area has already been apart of the revolution that is helping change our nation to renewable energy resources. The wind farm on the Altamont Pass in Livermore Tracy area was one of the first of its kind. The silicon valley has also made huge strides to solar technology in the last couple of years. With more and more residential homes adding solar technology to their roofs, their reducing there carbon foot print while increasing the idea that solar energy is feasible and efficient. On this Website you will be able to read about different companies, different projects and news to determine what the best situation is for you. Being a native born from San Ramon, with family living in The City and parents always working in Oakland and the Silicon valley, I know all the different aspects of the Bay Area and will bring you an un-biased opinion about todays green companies.