Solar Panels For Homes

Solar Powered Home Brew

Solar Panels For Homes — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:02:09 +0000

Hey guys,

Just read a great article over here about using the energy of the sun to power home brewing. You can now make totally green beer - cool:) - well as long as it isn't actually green!!

A guy named Joseph Blair from Princeton University has created the world's first solar powered home brew kit - combining two loves of the American man - beer and DIY!!

He's used some genius home made tools and converted various other bits to achieve the feat and if you head over to the article above, you'll see some cool photos of the whole process. Lots of timber, a fridge (I think!) and even a wheel chair help pull this solar power project together.

Some of the photos from flickr:

Cheers

p.s.Mine's a pint!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Solar Powered Home Brew

Largest US Solar Plant Goes Live Soon

Solar Panels For Homes — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:21:25 +0000

Barack Obama is set to open the US's largest solar power plant on Tuesday this week (27th October 2009), with a capacity of 25MW.

It has taken nearly a year to build the plant on what was open land in Florida. This plant will be twice as big as the nxt biggest plant in the US, however it won't be the largest solar power plant in the US for long as projects in Nevada and California will quickly overtake it.

This plant cost $150 million to build and it will be able to power about 3,000 homes. 400 employees were required to build it but there will only be a few required to run it.

Cheers

p.s.The next few years are going to see a big change in how power is produced. Until I started writing this blog, I didn't realise just how many solar plants were being constructed - it is going to take time but they are going in the right direction.

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Largest US Solar Plant Goes Live Soon

Dell installs solar panels in HQ carpark

Solar Panels For Homes — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:14:42 +0000

Dell has just finished installing solar panels in the car park of its HQ in Round Rock, Texas. Known as a solar grove, they have worked with Envision Solar to produce this renewable energy source.

It will be expanded into a parked plug in for electric cars at some point soon.

They apparently can produce 131,000KWh a year from the 516 individual solar panels. They have the added benefit of sheltering the cars underneath them from the sunshine too!

Cheers

p.s.Interesting choice of vehicles for an HQ carpark - unless they have down graded, the execs and VPs don't appear to use the facilities shown in this photo! Unless Porche or Ferrai do an electric car....

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Dell installs solar panels in HQ carpark

Protect your solar panels from theft

Solar Panels For Homes — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:58:55 +0000

There have been reports in teh media lately of solar panels being stolen from people's rooftops or gardens, and then ending up as cheap sales on ebay or other online auctions sites.

A winerey in California is has lost $1000s in the last year and have been hit by theives 16 times according to this report.

Use one way screws to attach the panels
Cover all bolts with an epoxy resin
Link all the panels with heavy cable, locking them if possible inside the house
Inscribe the frame with your details making the panels easier to to trace
Advertise the fact that you taking these precautions to deter would be thieves.

photo credit: jasminejennyjen

Cheers

p.s.Just one thing on all of these precautions - ensure that you have the panels in the correct place first, otherwise it will be a real nightmare moving them!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Protect your solar panels from theft

German team wins solar decathlon

Solar Panels For Homes — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:18:07 +0000

I spoke a few weeks ago about the upcoming Solar Decathlon that was takeing place in October (2009) and we now have a winner.

German Uni students have got themselves a second consecutive win in this international competition. 20 teams were involved in the event which asks the teams to build a livable home that operates on solar power alone. Judging is on a variety of factors.

You can take a tour of the event (virtually) here: http://www.solardecathlon.org/virtual_tours/#

The German team were judged to have made the most attractive and efficient solar powered home.

Cheers

p.s.Looking at some of the photos on the solar decathlon site - the weather wasn't always great - not sure how they could judge solar efficiency in the rain!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

German team wins solar decathlon

DSSC has first commercial use in a backpack

Solar Panels For Homes — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:35:29 +0000

DSCC (dye-sensitized solar cells) which are created by G24 Innovations has been commercialised for the first time in the shape of a solar panel in a ruck sack.

Less than 1mm thick these solar panels are eco-friendly as they don't contain solicon or cadmium. They are ideal for outdoor types and could be incorporated into tents as well as clothing and bags.

Located in Wales, G24i's factory relies exclusively on renewable energy - 100% practicing what they preach!

The manufacturing process is bizarrely similar to ink jet printing. Called roll to roll, it transforms a lightweight roll of foil into a rugged half mile of DSSC in less than 3 hours!

Cheers

p.s.We are moving more and more to a portable society - power on the move will be the next big thing.

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

DSSC has first commercial use in a backpack

LG Pop Solar Powered Touch Screen Mobile

Solar Panels For Homes — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:12:43 +0000

LG have launched their new Pop in the UK. The Pop is an ecofriendly touch screen mobile. It has a solar panel embedded in the cover of the battery which uses the sun's energy to charge the phone's battery.

The really cool thing is that just 10 minutes of sunshine will give you 2 minutes of talktime and so that you can feel really smug, software in the phone tells you how much you are reducing CO2 emissions by.

It is made with nice materials so there are no PVC, BFR or CFRs in them making it even more eco-friendly.

To finish off, the packaging is recycled paper and the battery charger (from the wall) has a neat little device to remind you to switch off the charger when the phone is fully charged.

Cheers

p.s.I can't wait till I can be solar powered but maybe that's called a tree!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

LG Pop Solar Powered Touch Screen Mobile

LG powers e-book readers from the sun

Solar Panels For Homes — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:58:40 +0000

LG has developed a solar panel compatible for e-book readers. These devices already have a long lasting battery solution, but when they do run out of juice, it can be incredibly frustrating as it will always happen at the worst possible moment!

The solar panel will allow the unit to be charged on the go as long as you have some sunshine. At the moment it is only a prototype, but the one they have developed is only 10cm square, so it wouldn't be a hassle to carry.

Cheers

p.s. can't wait till a similar technology is built into my iphone - can you imagine!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

LG powers e-book readers from the sun

Solar Powered Car – less power than your toaster

Solar Panels For Homes — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:58:31 +0000

A car on a test run for the Global Green Challenge (Darwin to Adelaide - Oct 24th 2009), was zooming down the motorway in Australia at the weekend. Reaching a speed of 110km/h (about 66mph), the car uses less power than the average toaster!

The car is called IVy and isn't really suitable for driving on the road as it is less than a metre high and 5 metres long.

It is built by students from the University of NSW.

Cheers

p.s. Coupled with the price - $280,000 (AUS) - not really all that suitable for everyday use!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Solar Powered Car – less power than your toaster

Eneloop batteries pre-charged by the solar power

Solar Panels For Homes — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:57:37 +0000

Sanyo's recharable battery range - Eneloop took a big step forward recently. The batteries, which can hold a residual charge of upto 75% for a year (ie do nothing with them after a charge, and they still have 75% of their power), are now being pre-charged through solar power in the Sanyo factories.

These great batteries are now coming ready to use - fixing one of the biggest annoyances of most other rechargeable batteries.

Cheers

p.s. Christmas presents for the kids, suddenly become a bit easier to manage - no more realising at 6am Christmas morning that little Jakey can't play with his robot for another 8 hours, until the batteries charge up!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Eneloop batteries pre-charged by the solar power

Solar Powered…..Necklace

Solar Panels For Homes — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:32:50 +0000

Hi guys,

Came across this very unusual necklace today - why am I writing about jewellery? well this particular piece is solar powered!

Mae Yokoyama has created this piece that charges up through the day and illuminates a string of pearls at night. Interesting concept don't you think? It doesn't look greatly comfortable, but then I suppose fashion never does!

Cheers

p.s. Not sure on the response from the love in your life if you came home with "darling, I've bought you this lovely piece of jewellery, whould you mind charging my phone while you wear it......"

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Solar Powered…..Necklace

Solar power news

Solar Panels For Homes — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:30:50 +0000

Solar power is generated by converting sunlight into electric current by using any of the following two ways. One with the use of Photovoltaics(PV). The other is by Concentrating Solar Power(CSP) where the sun's energy is focussed to boil water which is further used for power production.

Though there is Solar Energy Generating Systems(SEGS) which is considered as the largest solar power generating thermal plant, consisting of nine power plants in California but many multi-megawatt photovoltaic plants are being built.

In India, Ahmedabad based Torrent Power has announced to increase its generation capacity by 9,500 megawatt in next 5 to 7 years. Torrent power also decided to increase its Surat based Sugen power project capacity to 3,000 megawatt.

First Solar Inc.'s 20 megawatt solar power project that is under construction in Ontario has been agreed to buy by Enbridge Inc., Canada. Enbridge plans to spend around 91.9 million US dollars on solar-power projects as said by an Enbridge spokesperson.

Companies in United States that import solar panels from China are getting strained by the unexpected tariffs. This tariffs are affecting both the foreign solar panel manufacturers and foreign and the native distributors. This may further distort the China-America trade relationship. Because of more production of solar panels in China leading to ferocious competitions and due to global economic recession, many manufacturers in China are on the losing side.

Cheers

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Solar power news

Tokyo’s Proposed Solar Powered Olympic Stadium unlikely to be Constructed

Solar Panels For Homes — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:26:43 +0000

With the recent ceremony awarding the 2016 Olympic Games to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, it is now highly unlikely that the proposed solar powered stadium which formed part of the Tokyo bid will be built.

This will be a disappointment for environmental campaigners who advocate the use of sustainable power. The stadium, which was to be the main one for the games and was to be constructed in the heart of the Tokyo, was to be similar in design to the stadium built in Taiwan for the July 2009 World Games.

The Taiwan stadium derives 100% of its electricity from solar panels and its roof is covered by almost 9000 of these. The panels provide all the power the stadium requires for over 3000 lights and two giant TV screens.

Also when the stadium is not in use, the electricity it produces can be used to power 80% of the surrounding neighborhood. Hopefully future stadiums will consider this environmentally sustainable option for providing electricity and more of these will be constructed, but with the disappointment of Tokyo not been chosen for the 2016 Olympic games, the baton for solar powered stadiums will need to be passed on elsewhere.

Cheers

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Tokyo’s Proposed Solar Powered Olympic Stadium unlikely to be Constructed

Wind Up Mobile Phone With Solar Booster

Solar Panels For Homes — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:56:47 +0000

Courtesy of the BBC

A UK company has designed the first mobile phone with an integrated wind up charging mechanism. TCL, the firm behind the handset says this solution is different than other wind up devices on teh market because the it cranks power directly into the battery resulting in more charge per wind.

One minute of cranking should provide enough green power for 4 minutes talking, and with a solar panel built into the back of the device, it can squeeze out a little more too.

Cheers

p.s. Whilst I don't really see this catching on in the trendy world, for those people living in areas where there aren't electricity sockets, or even solar powered daisies, everywhere, it may turn out that the hassle is worth it.

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Wind Up Mobile Phone With Solar Booster

Google Energy Man Gives Free Talk

Solar Panels For Homes — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:45:00 +0000

Photo courtesy of Google

If you happen to live in Cazenovia, then pop along to Nottingham High School to hear what Dan Reicher, director of climate change and energy initiatives at Google has to say.

A transcript of an interview with him can be found here, but for the purposes of this post - what has he got to say on solar?

Well, we already reported on Google's work on solar mirrors where they are working on drastically cutting the cost of mirrors for solar thermal power.

As for the rest - at the moment, they are only really using it as a small part of their portfolio - they are doing a lot of R&D, but just see solar as one of the many options available - which is a good thing - they shouldn't be concentrating on just one technology.

Cheers

p.s.It will be interesting to see how long the competition / anti-trust authorities allow Google to continue funding this kind of work before they try and crush it as it doesn't have a whole heap to do with search, even they it is a fantastic investment they are making.

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Google Energy Man Gives Free Talk

Novel method to store solar energy

Solar Panels For Homes — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:12:42 +0000

Hey guys,

Just came across this interesting article over at Alternative Energy. MIT professor - Daniel Nocera has formed a company called Sun Catalytix.

He uses a cobalt phophate catalyst to split water under ambient temperatures. And unlike other tests, the water he used wasn't pure (it worked from river water!).

Nocera is working on efficient and cheap method to divide water molecules to be utilised to store energy. If this can be done with solar energy then it is a brilliant way to help developing nations generate and store power.

Cheers

p.s.Just 3 litres of water in a developed country could power a home for a day - not a huge amount really!!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Novel method to store solar energy

Los Angeles Solar Daisy

Solar Panels For Homes — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:01:54 +0000

I came across this great news article today where as part of the launch of the new Toyota Prius these daisy are part of a campaign to restore the balanace between the needs of man and nature.

These sculptures have solar panels on their petals and seats round the bottom. Access to free wifi and a service to charge laptops and mobile phones.

There are a few other cool solar powered gizmos around town - for example solar powered ventilation systems in bus shelters - designed to show bus riders how the same system works in the Prius - kind of ironic really!

Cheers

p.s. The displays are running from OCtober 3rd to 18th - if you see any of them, drop me a comment

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Los Angeles Solar Daisy

Suntech Completes 10MW PV Solar Panel Farm in China

Solar Panels For Homes — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:37:03 +0000

Suntech, the New York SE listed company has this week announced the completion of the 10MW PV based solar power network in China.

It is the first stage of a 50MW plant due for completion by the end of next year (2011). Powered by 37,000+ suntech solar panels it is estimated that this project will save 20,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

They are working in a strategic partnership on this and other solar power projects with China Energy Conservation Investment Corporation (CECIC) - China's state owned and largest energy company!

Cheers

p.s.Although the 20,000 tonnes saving may not seem like much in the scale of things - all these small(!) savings do add up and before we know it, millions of tonnes are being saved.

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Suntech Completes 10MW PV Solar Panel Farm in China

Shared Items – September 30, 2009

Solar Panels For Homes — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:05:38 +0000

Solar electric BMW Lovos concept makes Chris Bangle look drab September 27, 2009 - Could you imagine a road ull of cars like this - car designers have a really cool job! This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.Shared Items – September 30, 2009 Similar Solar Power [...]

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Shared Items – September 30, 2009

October is the month for the Solar Decathlon

Solar Panels For Homes — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:27:40 +0000

Hi guys, just came across this cool annual event - the Solar decathlon. For three weeks in October (2009), the US Department of Enrgy hosts 20 teams to design, build and run the most energy efficient solar powered house!

The event runs from the 8th to the 21st of October and is in and around teh Washington D.C area. The event is open to students but the public can go and have a nosey around.

They are also running consumer workshops where you can see talks on things like "How can we make the most of our energy" and "solar for the homeowner".

Cheers

p.s.If you manage to get over there - please drop me a comment about it!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

October is the month for the Solar Decathlon

Space based Solar Power

Solar Panels For Homes — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:09:59 +0000

Another company is looking forward to the day when it can launch its technology (literally - 4 launches actually), to beam energy transferred from the sun down to earth in order to capture its power.

S!egfried

The firm - Solaren Space has been around for a few years and is developing its project to use satellites covered in photovoltaic panels and converting the energy to microwaves and in effect beaming this energy back down to a collection point on Earth.

This technology is not really new - satellite TV does something very similar except they don't use the the part of the beam where the energy is located - they just use the signal around the edges.

Some slight problems - mainly around cost as the project is likely to cost a few billion dollars - Solaren Space are looking for private investment.

The other question is - is it safe? A lot of work has been done on this kind of energy and there are loads of safety standards around it. The effect of RF energy on humans is mainly a heating effect - the transmission collection point is massive - several square miles so the energy beam is not concentrated.

Cheers

p.s.If the technology is the same as satellite tv I wonder how long it will be until we can get the power beamed directly to our homes

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Space based Solar Power

Boda Boda Solar Vest

Solar Panels For Homes — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:48:22 +0000

What's a Boda Boda I hear you ask? These are the guys (usually men) that cycle from border to border from one countries immigration point to anothers, generally through no mans land. They keep in contact through their mobile phones and therefore need a method of portable charging for them.
The Boda Boda's take clients this way from 1 site to another via the bicycle - the cheapest method of transportation.

As most of the riding is done in the day time - solar power is the obvious choice - the phone will always be charging; when he gets home, the vest has LEDS as a light source, the panels are difficult to steal and the charging unit could be attached to the clients phone too!

There are obviously loads of different uses for these portable solar panels from council workers to tourists, campers to hikers.

Cheers

p.s.I'm pretty sure these things would work in any country where a portable solar charger was required - I wonder if they are available in the West?

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Boda Boda Solar Vest

Gujarat in India to Build World’s Largest Solar Power Plant

Solar Panels For Homes — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 15:36:49 +0000

Gujarat in India had a small plan - to build a 500MW solar power plant by 2014. This decent sized project now has new ambitions with a 3,000MW plant planned.

With the help of the Clinton Foundation, they will be undertaking this $10billion project to create the world's largest solar power plant. The project has been allotted 10,000 hectares across 3 locations and will develop manufacturing plants close to the sites.

The power generated would go straight into th the national grid and reduce carbon emissions by 5.2 million tonnes per year and also generate 20,000 job opportunities.

Cheers

p.s.Is it just me or are these large solar power projects coming quite often now?

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Gujarat in India to Build World’s Largest Solar Power Plant

Greens against Solar?

Solar Panels For Homes — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:58:05 +0000

You've probably heard in the news recently about an ambitious solar project in California's Mojave Desert being canned. This desert is a vast area of barren land with nothing much living, growing or even moving there - just a lot of sun beating down on a parched earth - so why not pop a solar farm there?

photo credit: JSmith PortfolioWell - this is what a lot of solar power companies thought too, so over the past few years there has been a bit of a land grab with large companies buying up swathes of land. The companies were planning to use solar thermal - using mirrors to direct sunlight to turn water to steam to power turbines. These are the cheapest solar energy generators but only at large scale.

It is these economies of scale that is upsetting the environmental movement - as large scale means large companies and the argument goes that they are trying to create a monopoly.

But in a capitalist environment (which is where we are) - this is how the market works. If we want to have clean energy for the future of the planet - we need to have market economics in place to help build it.

Cheers

p.s.what's the alternative? - let me know!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Greens against Solar?

Saudi Arabia Outlines Solar Future

Solar Panels For Homes — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:46:10 +0000

Saudi Arabia, one of the kings of oil production has begun laying out plans to make solar power a major part of their energy portfolio over the next 5-10 years.

photo credit: World Economic ForumThey are making very big predictions - that they will be able to export as much solar energy as they do energy from oil! How are they going to do this? Well they are investing a shed load of cash into research at the moment in the area of solar power. They are alos looking at cleaning up domestic fuels to reduce emissions, specifically carbon capture and sequestration.

Cheers

p.s.It does seem a bit unfair on the rest of the world that Saudi may be able to maintain its position as a leading supplier of energy - but hey there's plenty more sunshine on this planet for others to be making a similar investment - good for them I say!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Saudi Arabia Outlines Solar Future

SolarCity Vehicle Charging Network

Solar Panels For Homes — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:22:45 +0000

SolarCity have for some reason chosen the sunny city of California to install several quick charging solar powered points along Highway 101.

Currently the charging stations are only compatible with Tesla Roadstars - why? Tesla CEO Elon Musk provided the main part of the funding for SolarCity!

The Santa Maria station is powered by a 30kW solar array and all of the units can recharge a Roadster in about 3.5 hours. Charging for other vehicles will apparently be coming soon!

Cheers

p.s.If you are thinking of buying a roadster, their current list price is a cool $100,000

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

SolarCity Vehicle Charging Network

Shared Items – September 23, 2009

Solar Panels For Homes — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:26:09 +0000

eBay Inc. Commits to 15% Corporate Emissions Reduction Target by 2012

September 22, 2009 - I wonder if ebay will auction off the solar power they produce?

NNEC's new video short tells the story of Habana Outpost, Brooklyn's first solar powered restaurant.

September 17, 2009 - Only salads when its raining? Cool idea though!!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Shared Items – September 23, 2009

Coloured solar panels generate power from indirect sunlight

Solar Panels For Homes — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:36:47 +0000

GreenSun Energy, a Tel-Aviv startup has discovered that coloured panels can generate solar power without direct sunlight. Ok, so they only generate it at about 12 percent the efficiency of a normal solar panel, but even so, it does open up the possibility of having solar panel generation in more places - ie those without direct sunshine.

They only cost about half of a normal solar panel due to the removal of silcon from within. They have found that the nano particles within the cell can take the diffused light and create the power.

Cheers

p.s.I'm sure that there is a lot more science to this than I have mentioned above, but it is a fantastic example of where things are going - imagine if all the windows in your office block were made of this stuff!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Coloured solar panels generate power from indirect sunlight

New Solar Roof Tile

Solar Panels For Homes — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:26:46 +0000

Hi guys,
Just found an interesting bit of news about a new product release from SRS Energy. The Sole Power Tile is a solar panel type tile, but one that looks like a normal barrel style roof tile, rather than a solar panel.

They are lightweight polymer and can generate 500 watts per 100 square feet and the individual tiles are like a plug and play system. Guaranteed to produce 80% capacity for 20 years, these are the types of solar panels that should be used on any new build house.

The tiles themselves are pretty eco-friendly, the energy used to create them is quickly recouped and they use thin film photovoltaics and non toxic componenets.

Cheers

p.s. Just imagine if every new house in Europe and the US was built with a roof incorporating solar tiles like these!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

New Solar Roof Tile

Solar Powered Carports

Solar Panels For Homes — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:23:42 +0000

Japan Based Sankyo Teteyama have just launched a solar panel equipped car port that will generate about 2,200Kw per year from its 5.5 square meters of surface.

They market it is a charger for your full electric cars, but at $40,000 plus installation costs, pay back time is going to be quite long.

The carport is made up of 12 solar panels and they reckon it will be enough to give most households about 50% of their annual power requirements.

Cheers

p.s.If you have one of these cool car chargers - please let us know and send over a photo!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Solar Powered Carports

Solar Company Mildura Collapses

Solar Panels For Homes — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 15:16:47 +0000

It is always a great shame when any company goes into administration, but when something happens on this scale to a solar power company, it is a bit worrying for all the projects it was involved in.

Mildura has closed its doors after its $420 million collapse earlier this week although they are looking to sell the solar power company on as a going concern.

Cheers

p.s.Good luck to the administrators and all the people that worked at Mildura along with all of the solar pwer projects they were working on.

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Solar Company Mildura Collapses

European Cities to Go Energy Smart

Solar Panels For Homes — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:10:35 +0000

It seems that the news from this years Climate Conference (December 2009) is coming out already, even though it is still 2 months away! Apparently the EU is to choose 25-30 cities (presumably in the EU!), where low carbon technologies will be used alongside an intelligent power grid to allow the differing energy sources to be integrated.

Electric cars, trams & buses to get their power from wind and solar are some of the things they are looking at along with residential projects. Many of the Green organisations are a bit disappointed with this announcement though as it appears that the plans also use carbon capture and nuclear technology.

Cheers

p.s.I'll let you know which are the special cities when they are announced!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

European Cities to Go Energy Smart

Habana Outpost eco-eatery

Solar Panels For Homes — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:01:56 +0000

I've just come across the Habana Outpost which is NYC first eco-eatery. That is a restaurant that uses green technologies and practices from conception through all day to day activities.
As you can see by the photo, the awning they have is a big solar panel - as they put it "a lot of photovoltaic cells". They also have a sunlight chandelier which uses the sun to light up fiber optic cables that are then used in a custom made light - I'll have to find out how this works when it is, err dark!

They also allow their customers to charge their cell phones or laptops with solar powered cell phone chargers.

Cheers

p.s. If you've eaten at the Habana Outpost, please let us know by entering a comment below

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Habana Outpost eco-eatery

Podcast Feed

Solar Panels For Homes — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:25:19 +0000

My Podcast Alley feed! {pca-ed37352a628c19c410549481db2d69ae} This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.Podcast Feed Similar Solar Power Posts:Disadvantages of Solar Power Solar Powered Home Brew Largest US Solar Plant Goes Live Soon What is a Photovoltaic Cell? Toyata Auris – Full Hybrid

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Podcast Feed

First Solar Adds another 27MW to its books

Solar Panels For Homes — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:47:18 +0000

Another 27MW has been added to First Solar (FSLR) contracts with Juwi Solar for two US projects.

They will supply 15MW one facility in Jacksonville and the other 12MW Ohio. Work will start this year and be finished by next year (2010).

“We are very encouraged that First Solar is supplying its proven and financeable modules for these initial U.S. utility-scale projects developed by juwi solar. We expect that our strong relationship with First Solar will be an important element toward the expansion of solar power in the United States,” said Michael Martin of juwi solar Inc.

Cheers

p.s. I'm sure there must be other big solar companies doing well at the moment, but it is First Solar that is hitting the news a lot.

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

First Solar Adds another 27MW to its books

Shared Items – September 16, 2009

Solar Panels For Homes — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:09:04 +0000

Frankfurt Preview: Peugeot mixes car with scooter to create the BB1 Concept

September 15, 2009 - Oh my word - that is one ugly car!

Arnie - Renewable Energy Terminator - Or Not?

September 15, 2009 - Arnie has terminated this solar legislation - not because he is a bad egg, but because the legislation was badly written and over complex. Lets see if anything clean and tidy comes from it

Frankfurt Preview: Toyota unleashes the goods on Auris HSD Concept

September 13, 2009 - This sounds like a great step forward in the adding solar panels to cars - just not sure how much energy will be saved?

Solar Powered Hearing Aid

September 13, 2009 - I hope the solar panel for this device doesn't need to be large, otherwise it might look a bit strange!

Google sees cheaper solar in mirrors Silicon Valley / San Jose ... - Bizjournals.com

September 10, 2009 - I wonder how often Google looks in the mirror?

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Shared Items – September 16, 2009

GE to move into Solar Panels

Solar Panels For Homes — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:38:20 +0000

Hi all,

just a quick note today to talk about another massive company that is moving harder into the solar panel arena. GE has decided to ramp up its production of solar panels by early 2010 with a goal of making it a multi billion turnover part of the GE business. This would be a huge leap up from its current annual sales in solar of $200m.

Most recently they increased their share in PrimeStar Solar Inc earlier this year - they make thin-film parts for solar panels.

Oh - and their chief exec said unless they can make it into a "big, multibillion dollar business" - "we shouldn't be doing it"!!!

Cheers

p.s.

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

GE to move into Solar Panels

Toyata Auris – Full Hybrid

Solar Panels For Homes — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:54:55 +0000

Last week saw the public debut for the precursor to Toyota's first full hybrid mainstream European production model. The motor show in Frankfurt saw the launch of the Auris which shares many of the features of the already established Prius.

Full hybrid means that the car can be driven on just petrol, just the electric motor, or a combination of both - most hybrids currently can't do this.

That's great I hear you say, but why mention it here on the blog about solar panels? Well, again taking something from the Prius, the Auris has solar panels covering the roof and on top of the dashboard, providing power for the ventilation system and recharging portable electronic devices.

Cheers

p.s. Apparently they also want to develop this further, to allow these solar panels to recharge the hybrid battery too!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Toyata Auris – Full Hybrid

A Billion Crayons to be Made By Solar Power

Solar Panels For Homes — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:26:41 +0000

Solar Power seems to be everywhere you look these days. Crayola who make childrens art products, has just announced that it will be making 1 billion Crayons with power from the sun.

They recently aanounced that they will be building a 15 acre solar farm in their Forks Township facility in Pennsylvania. They will be partnering with PPL and UGI.

They will build 26,000 fixed solar panels generating 1.5 Megawatts giving them 10percent of their total energy bill. Approximate 2,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions will also be avoided.
Cheers

p.s.I think we'll see more and more companies going down this route, which is fantastic news for everyone on 2 fronts - 1)globally less fossil fuel being used and 2) it will drive down the cost of solar panels for homes.

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

A Billion Crayons to be Made By Solar Power

Solar Powered Hearing Aid

Solar Panels For Homes — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:43:16 +0000

Hi everyone,

It's brilliant when you come across stories like these - Godisa Technologies Trust (Godisa), a non profit org in Botswana has just launched a solar powered hearing aid battery charger for use in developing countries. We always hear so much about the problems of developing countries and it is easy to forget that they ALSO suffer many of the same things that affect us over in the West - such as in this case hearing problems.

I could imagine getting a hearing aid in a country where some of the more basic things are hard to come by, could prove a tad difficult - but then to have to replace the battery every few months! This will be a great addition to help people with hearing problems

Cheers

p.s.if anyone has any other examples of solar being used to power things other than home / business electrics then please get in touch.

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Solar Powered Hearing Aid

Blue Sky Thinking

Solar Panels For Homes — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:43:21 +0000

Ok, so this happened in July - I'm new to this, give me a chance to catch up!

A huge piece of work, led by Germany, resulted in the signing of a document launching Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII) - aiming to grab solar power from the Sahara desert! Also aiming to supply - get this - 15% of Europe's power! And it's only going to cost small change - $557 BILLION! and it will take about 40 years!

The power will be transferred under the Mediterranean into Europe with HVDC (high voltage direct current) cables.

There are many obstacles to this project - not least the cost (just for comparison the cost of the International Space Station is at $143 billion). The countries in the Middle East are growing in population size and energy requirements and are finding it hard to generate enough power - blackouts aren't going to go down too well with the locals if they are exporting huge amounts of power.

Plus there are many countries that will need to work together to make this project a success - in that region, no easy feat.

It will be interesting to see how this develops over the coming years.

Cheers

p.s. There are some very large companies involved in this project including ABB, E.ON, Schott Solar and Siemens so it will be interesting to see how the commercial aspects of this project drive it.

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Blue Sky Thinking

Google in the mirror

Solar Panels For Homes — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:18:03 +0000

Google, in its quest to become more efficient and ultimately Greener, is looking into ways of reducing the cost of solar power by using unique materials to develop mirrors that are used in the solar thermal technology. This is the technology that basically reflects the suns heat to boil water to create steam and then drive a turbine.

They are also looking at reducing the cost of creating these solar mirrors by a factor of to 4 (ie 4 times cheaper) - another example of large technology companies driving down the cost of things through innovation, investment and large scale deployments - another thing that can only be good for the rest of us!

We will have to a while though as they are still several months away from having something to show internally, but knowing Google, if it can be done, they will find a way.

Cheers

p.s.

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Google in the mirror

Solar Panels Made From Human Hair

Solar Panels For Homes — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:08:05 +0000

Milan Karki, a teenager from Nepal has invented a solar panel that uses human hair as the conductor in the workings of the solar panels instead of the usual (and much more expensive) silicon.

He is now trying to see if the production can be made into a commercially viable one. At the moment, the panel produces 9V(18W) of energy and costs around £23 to make.

The pigment in hair called Melanin is light sensitive which is why it will work in a similar way as silicon..

Cheers

p.s. Head lamps would take on a whole new meaning!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Solar Panels Made From Human Hair

Solar Panels Meet the Highway

Solar Panels For Homes — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:07:39 +0000

Following on from a solar power project in Germany where a 2.7km tunnel roof was fitted with solar panels generating 2.8MW, and a project in the US where 594 solar panels were placed at the side of the road to produce 112,000 Kwh annually, a new US project is looking at installing solar panels in the road itself!

Solar Roadways has been awarded a contract to create a prototype with the ultimate goal of replacing the usual petroleum based tarmac road surfaces.

The solar panels will contain LEDS which will display the road markings directly on the road - putting line marking crews out of work if this becomes widespread.

Cheers

p.s. calculations show that if the whole of the road network in the US was replaced by solar panels, it would produce almost enought power for the entire planet!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Solar Panels Meet the Highway

Shared Items – September 9, 2009

Solar Panels For Homes — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:57:09 +0000

Teenager invents £23 solar panel from human hair - CCTV

September 9, 2009 - I hope this isn't still attached to a head - I will find out more and let you know!

Solar road panels may ultimately replace petroleum asphalt ... - Bitumart (registration)

September 9, 2009 - This is a novel idea - although I dread the roadworks caused by the laying of the new panels!!

First Solar to Build World's Largest Solar Power Plant in China - Bloomberg

September 9, 2009 - This is an amazing move forward in solar power and a great forward looking plan for China

'Stick-on' solar cells a ray of light for iPod generation - Brisbane Times

September 8, 2009 - Stick on solar power cells would be great. Not sure about charging up my iPhone though as I keep mine in my back pocket and the sun really doesn't shine out of my......

Solar Energy

September 7, 2009 - Very funny solar power video - I don't have any sound though:(

Jobs In Solar: Solar Sales Consultant (South Jersey)

September 6, 2009 - Fancy working in the solar power industry? This job looks like you would be selling the sun itself!

A Step Closer to Solar Power in Space

September 6, 2009 - Solar Power in space - my wife asked if this would cast a big shadow on the planet!!

How Residential Solar Power Systems Work

September 6, 2009 - Save money or save the planet - this diy solar power report looks at the pros and cons of both.

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Shared Items – September 9, 2009

First Solar – another First in China

Solar Panels For Homes — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:46:23 +0000

Some more news out of the States where First Solar is set to build a new solar power plant in China a massive 30 times larger than any current solar power plant.

They are looking to build a 2,000 megawatt complex in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia in China by 2019, although the development will be phased with the first phase starting next year, and the 25 square mile plant being finished by 2019.

Cheers

p.s. This is fantastic news, not just for the planet generally with all this energy coming from the sun, but also because all of this extra work and effort being put into such a huge project will lead to innovation and hopefully a reduction in cost of solar panel parts across the board, as production is ramped up.

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

First Solar – another First in China

Solar Systems in Administration

Solar Panels For Homes — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:37:56 +0000

A $420 million dollar solar plant in Australia is in jeopardy after the company involved - Solar Systems - went into administration yesterday.

The project would've provided solar energy to 45,000 homes, but fell into difficulties with the firm unable to generate enough financial partners to keep it going.

I guess these kinds of large scale solar power projects are still seen as incredibly risky and with cash generally short at the moment, fewer people / companies want to gamble.

Cheers

p.s. Anybody know of any large state funded solar power companies - not very "capitalist" to do, but to get big projects of the ground, it might make sense!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Solar Systems in Administration

Funny Solar Power Video

Solar Panels For Homes — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:35:42 +0000

Some people just have far too much time on their hands. I just came across this video on You Tube and graphically it is pretty cool!

For some reason there is no sound on it when I listen, so I hope it is nothing offensive when it comes through to you! I particulalry like the old guy waving in happiness as he realises that he is using the sun to gnerate energy. The one problem is what to do with it - hence the empty plug socket on the side of the model - where does all this solar energy go?

Cheers

p.s.Got any other funny videos to share? Send them in through the comments below.

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Funny Solar Power Video

Solar Power in Space

Solar Panels For Homes — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 15:12:46 +0000

Solar Power in space is an incredibly exciting prospect. An incredibly ambitious and expensive ($21bn) project from Mitsubishi Electric and IHI Corporations is looking to put a huge solar power farm in space, generating a massive 1GW of power. The reports are that it will be somewhere in the region of 4 square kilometres 36,000 km above earth.

There are loads of benefits of housing solar power in space, not least of which there is loads more solar energy in space and no bothersome clouds or nights! Also, apart from debris and bits of rock zooming around, there is little in the way of wear and tear like there is on the surface.

They are planning on creating a proof of concept smaller project generating a mere 10MW by 2015 (rather than 2040 for the bigger project).

The biggest issue? Well 1GW can power about 300,000 homes on average - but as of now, none of these are in space and there is no wire between space and the planet surface - so how is the power to be transferred? At the moment they are looking at solutions involving conversion of the energy into radio frequencies before transferring it back to the surface.

Cheers

p.s. I think it will be a case of - watch this space! Either that or the space shuttle is going to be used as a carrier for a lot of rechargeable batteries!!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Solar Power in Space

Solar Powered Music Festival

Solar Panels For Homes — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 13:55:29 +0000

Over in the UK, the DragonGate Music Festival in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, will be running one of its stages through renewable energy sources. Locally installed solar power will be doing some of the work with banks of photovoltaic solar cells located around the stage and the rest of the festival arena.

looking at the weather forecast for the day over in Harrogate, UK, they may have to rely a little more on the second clean energy supply they are using - namely a wind turbine.

Looking at the website above, not only will these sources of renewables be powering this stage, they will actually making some of the music too!

Cheers

p.s.I would be interested to hear if anyone went to this festival (or another that used renewable power) to let us know what it was like!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Solar Powered Music Festival

Evacuated Tube Solar Heating

Solar Panels For Homes — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:15:40 +0000

I keep seeing mention of evacuated tube solar heating, so I thought that I would have a quick review of what it actually is and how it works, with the likelihood of more detailed look in a later post. It appears that evacuated solar water heating systems can offer efficiencies up to 90% while it is running and it is also one of the cheapest methods around for heating water starting from a few pence per Watt compared with the $$££ required for photovoltaic or other forms of renewable.

How do they work? Well the tubes are made from very strong glass with a double wall. Various coatings to absorb or reflect the sunlight. Air is removed from the tubes and a copper heat pipe is located through the centre, and this pipe contains something like anti-freeze.

As heat rises, vapours from the heated up antifreeze, heat the tip of the copper pipe, which heats more anti-freeze which is pumped round a hot water tank, heating the water. Even on a winters day, the water can be heated to 60 degrees Celsius!

Cheers

p.s.Look out for further details of this great use of solar power.

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Evacuated Tube Solar Heating

Passive Solar Heat

Solar Panels For Homes — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:38:35 +0000

Passive solar heat is as old as the sun itself and it accounts for a massive amount of space heating across the globe. What is passive solar heat? - well it happens in most buildings, whether you want it to or not. Ever come into an office in a cold winters day and found the inside to be warm and stuffy even though the heating is switched off? Chances are that this building has lots of windows, letting in loads of sunlight which simply heats up the air - think cut down greenhouse!

Modern architects (as well as ancient ones) will use passive solar heating as a method of cutting down carbon emissions by reducing normal heating. Things they will be thinking about are the orientation of the building, amount of glass used, and even the type of flooring - for example a concrete floor absorbs the heat coming through the windows and stores it, letting it off gradually during the day.

Cheers

p.s. I will be examining passive solar heating in a future article.

photo credit: popaver

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Passive Solar Heat

Build Solar Heating

Solar Panels For Homes — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:27:08 +0000

Although it would be quite difficult to build solar heating panels or systems of the type shown in this photo, building your own solar heating is very possible and becoming more popular.

There is a lot to learn, but increasingly there are lot of people and resources available now to help you to build solar panels and system on your own.

If you do a search on Google there are even ways to build solar heaters that simply heat up the air using a method of convection rather than any fancy photovoltaic stuff - just a couple of bits of wooden boards, a piece of insulation, some plexiglass, nails and paint!

photo credit: jhritz

Cheers

p.s. Has anyone built there own solar heating system? Let me know please!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Build Solar Heating

Shared Items – September 2, 2009

Solar Panels For Homes — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 06:09:15 +0000

Could your home become energy self sufficient using solar power?

September 2, 2009 - Solar power and clouds don't mix but living in a cloudless desert doesn't help much either as you need more energy to power the air con than is generated by the solar panels!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Shared Items – September 2, 2009

Portable Solar Heating

Solar Panels For Homes — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:05:54 +0000

There are several portable solar heating patents registered with the patent office, but relatively few portable devices on the market. There is a new product on the market from US Solar Heating systems that weighs only 10lbs. Designed to be used in an RV, boat, camper van or tent this unit will push out temperatures of about 130 degrees Fahrenheit.

I am waiting for a bit more information on this product - it sounds great, but unless it has a battery, may have a slight flaw - if there is enough sun to charge it up, why would you need a heater? Just a thought - I'll an update when I have one!

Cheers

p.s. Has anyone out there used one of these?

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Portable Solar Heating

Power Units

Solar Panels For Homes — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:40:17 +0000

Hi again,

Another one of my learning posts, to help me understand more about the area of solar power - if you took physics at school then this page is probably covering something you learnt when you were 10!

Units of used when measuring electricity:
The main unit of power in any area of electrical power is the watt(W) - named after James Watt. 1 watt is equivalent to 1 joule(J) of energy per second. Another definition required here is that of the joule. A joule is the energy exerted by a force of one newton acting to move an object through a distance of one metre, where a newton is the amount of force required to accelerate a mass of one kilogram at a rate of one metre per second. There - clear as mud, we all know what a watt is!

Milliwatt - one thousandth of a watt (mW)
Kilowatt - one thousand watts (kW) - average US household uses 8,900 kW per year
Megawatt - one million watts (MW) Sellafield nuclear power station in the UK = 200MW
Gigawatt - one billion watts (GW)
Terawatt - one trillion watts (TW)
Petawatt - one quadrillion watts (PW)

Cheers

p.s. Hope this helps when describing how much output each type of solar power device emits. Remember, any comments or more information, please let me know!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Power Units

General Motors – where the sun does shine!

Solar Panels For Homes — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 15:33:41 +0000

This story is a couple of months old, but as I was reading about the woes of General Motors, I came across this great story about their use of solar power. The monolith that is GM is one of the leading users of renewable energy sources in the US, but just to put this into perspective, this still only accounts for 2.5% of its total energy use in the US.

In Spain, GM has the largest rooftop solar photovoltaic power installation, at their car assembly plant in Zargoza. It covers about 2 million square feet with about 85,000 solar panels.

At its peak it will generate 12MW of power and it generates about 15.1 million kw of power annualy - enough to power about 1500 Spanish homes.

IN the US itself, GM has two of the largest solar power installations on parts of its roof system on the warehouses in Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana in California. The former was the first public solar power system over 1MW when it opened in 2006, and it provides half of the energy required for that facility. The Fontana array is just under 1 megawatt and started up in late 2007. It generates about 1.3 million kwh and it pushes some of this back to the grid.

Cheers

p.s. I wonder how much solar power could be generated if every single GM car had solar panels on its roof!

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

General Motors – where the sun does shine!

What is a Photovoltaic Cell?

Solar Panels For Homes — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 16:35:25 +0000

Hey everyone, in this post I am going to define one of the most commonly thrown around technical terms of solar power - photovoltaics or PV.

Photovoltaics can simply be defined as "the direct conversion of light into electricity". And according to Wikipedia the term "photovoltaic" comes from the Greek word φῶς (phōs) which means "light", and "voltaic", which means electric, from the Italian physicist Volta.

A specific kind of PV Cell is a solar cell which uses the sun as its light source. In solar cells, a thin layer of semiconductor material is used to create an electric field. When light energy hits the solar cell, electrons are knocked loose from atoms in the semiconductor material - in the electric field this causes an electric circuit and if the electrons are captured, an electric current, which can then be used to power something else.

Over the years, the technology has improved in the creation of useful PV units. The first generation technologies used very high energy inputs and were not very efficient. Second generation units used different base materials which dramatically reduced costs. Recently, work onto third generation PV cells has produced excellent results with higher efficiency and lower production costs.

So, in summary - the sun light hits a particular type of material and knocks electrons about as it does so. These electrons are channelled a particular way and a current is generated, which can be used as a power source - simple!

Cheers

p.s. I don't intend this blog to be a science lesson, and in fact the brief summary above will likely be torn apart by anyone who knows a great deal about the science behind it. However, I found writing this article very useful in helping my understanding, at the basic level, about how solar power actually works.

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

What is a Photovoltaic Cell?

Disadvantages of Solar Power

Solar Panels For Homes — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:39:35 +0000

Hi again, ok, to many of you seasoned users or researchers into solar power I'm likely going over stuff you already know, and probably missing out a lot too. Well that's ok, as this blog is representing my journey of understanding in the arena of renewable energy, particularly solar. If you are a newbie too - join in the conversation, we can learn together - if you are an old hand then teach me something new!

Disadvantages of solar power

Upfront investment
- whichever way you look at it, you will have to spend a considerable amount of money (and perhaps time) to get setup to capture the suns rays
- although the sun has been around for much longer than other forms of energy, the commercial use of it as a power source is still in its infancy and thus the cost is still relatively high
The weather
- If you don't live in a cloudless desert, then you are going to have issues around supply being dependent upon decent weather conditions
Day / Night Cycle
- Unless you live in perpetual daytime, then at some point in the daily cycle, the sun is hiding round the other side of the planet and well, its night-time and dark!
- As yet, the light reflected from the sun isn't enough to be captured by solar powered devices!
Required space
- A relatively large area is required for a solar power installation making it impractical for many areas eg inner cities

I've looked all over the web for these answers and this seems to be all there is! Of course each component and aspect of solar power (eg the photovoltaic cell) can have its own advantages and disadvantages, but for the whole, th disadvantages above are all there are.

So as not to leave on a negative note, a future article will be looking into the advantages of solar power in a similar and simple way.

Cheers

p.s. Have any more disadvantages from your own experience or research? - let me know.

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Disadvantages of Solar Power

World’s Second Biggest Solar Farm Opens

Solar Panels For Homes — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:09:29 +0000

World's Second Biggest Solar Farm Opens

Lieberose Solar Farm is Germany's biggest solar farm. It is a joint venture between Germany based juwi Group and the American First Solar inc. The biggest solar farm (as of August 2009, is the Olmedilla Park in Spain with an output of 60 Megawatts per year)

The announcement was after the installation of the 560,000th solar panel. It has an output of 53 megawatts, and is roughly the size of 210 football pitches! It was built on a former military base on contaminated ground, so the actual building of the site created extra clean land at the same time - a double bonus, especially as much of the contamination was old munitions.

This project will apparently save about 35,000 tons of Carbon Dioxide per year, when it comes online by the end of 2009. When it is completed, 700,000 thin film modules, mainly made in First Solar's nearby Frankfurt factory will provide the equivalent electricity of about 15,000 households.

At a glance:
Capacity: approx. 53,000 kilowatts
Area: 162 hectares (over 210 football fields)
Surface area: about. 500,000 m²
Annual yield: around 53 Megawatts (equivalent to about 15,000 households per year)
CO2 saving: about. 35,000 tonnes per year

Cheers

p.s. Let me know what you think of this news below.

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

World’s Second Biggest Solar Farm Opens

History of Solar Power – part 2

Solar Panels For Homes — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:14:09 +0000

History of Solar Power Part 2.....

Bell Labs developed the first silicon solar cell in 1953 - the first to generate measurable electric current. By 1956, this fantastic new technology to generate electricity was costing about $300 per Watt (compared with a rough cost now of $5 per Watt).

It wasn't until the 70s and the Oil Embargo that solar pwer gained more prominence - the West began to realise that their total reliance on solar power wasn't perhaps the best strategic move. The US government invested heavily in the solar cell technology that Bell had developed 20 years before.

Unfortunately, even by the 90s the reality was that solar power still seemed expensive. Yes the cost of generating electricity from the sun had dropped, but so had the cost of fossil fuels, still making solar seem expensive.

The 90s did see a massive growth in the photovoltaic (PV) market in Japan and Germany. By 2002, Japan was installing 25,000 solar rooftops. This economy of scale led to steadily lowering of costs and now sees the PV market growing at a staggering 30% per year.

various other solar driven technologies are also lowering gas and electricity demand, just not at the level anticipated over 50 years ago in those Bell labs!

Cheers

p.s. Drop me a line in the comments section below - I'd really appreciate your input.

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

History of Solar Power – part 2

History of Solar Power – part 1

Solar Panels For Homes — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:38:31 +0000

The title of this post is a little rubbish as obviously, solar power has been around for as long as the sun, and for that matter, if you want to be pedantic, any sun I suppose (although I doubt you'd get much of a charge on your solar heating system from a star several million light years away - so lets keep it to our local sun!).

Solar power has been used by humans in one way or another since humans came into being - for example Romans used glass in houses to trap heat inside. As I don't intend this to be an ancient history lesson, we'll stick to the recent past of say the last 100 years. 100 years ago or in the middle of the industrial revolution, the sun was being used to produce steam to drive machinery. At the time, this wasn't greatly efficient, but hey, once the machinery was built the energy source was free.

In 1767, Horace de Sausseare built the fist solar collector - this enabled him to boil ammonia to power locomotives and refrigerators. Edmond Becquerei observed the "photoelectric effect" in 1839 - the phenomenon that makes solar power what it is and one we will be talking a lot more about.

It was Auguste Mouchout who in 1861 developed a steam engine powered by the sun. Unfortunately for him at that time the cost of coal was plummeting, so no-one had an incentive to use this new technology. It did continue to attract scientists to work on it though, and in the colonial years of France and England, it was at one point thought it could solve energy problems in Africa.

Development was very slow for the next 100 years, although as an interesting point - did you know that a Mr A. Einstein won a Nobel Prize for research into the photoelectric effect in 1921? No, I didn't either!

Part 2 will continue this brief introduction.......

Cheers

p.s. Got anything to add? Pop a comment in below.

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

History of Solar Power – part 1

Solar Panels For Homes – An Introduction

Solar Panels For Homes — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 06:19:15 +0000

Hi there everybody and welcome to my new site, all about Solar Panels For Homes (amongst other places). These pages will document my journey of researching solar power, what's available out there to buy or build yourself, what some of the technology behind solar power is and how we can use it in our homes.

I am hoping to build this site into a great reference library for everything you need to know about solar power, from solar lights to solar heating, to saving the planet, to making a bit of extra cash selling electricity back to the grid.

I would also like to build a new community (you guys), so please feel free to join the conversation, add comments, input and advice. Right now I'm new to all this, so I would really appreciate the input from the people who have done this before or are doing it right now - send me your stories, photos or advice!

Anyway, that's all for now - I'm off to do some more reading, back soon.

Regards

p.s. Drop me a line in the comments section below - I'd really appreciate your input.

This post via the Solar Panels For Homes blog where you can get Solar Power Advantages and Facts.

Solar Panels For Homes – An Introduction