Building Solar Panels To Generate Your Own Power

Posted on 25th February 2011 in solar power

Solar energy is undoubtedly an excellent way to lower electrical bills by making use of an ever-constant power source, the sun. Solar panels are usually costly to purchase, so quite often it is simpler to make them at home. Building solar panels is not easy, so you need to be sure to get the proper equipment and tools essential for the task.solar panels

Solar cells are usually made from silicon, but you can actually also create them from cuprous oxide. This particular substance is one of the first substances that was found to have a photoelectric effect, causing electricity to flow through a material. When building solar panels, you will need a range of different ingredients for this job, including a micro-ammeter, clip leads, copper, and metal snips. These items can be found at many hardware stores. A few home items are necessary also when building solar panels, like an electric stove, tap water, table salt, and sandpaper.

Start by cutting the sheet of copper employing your metal snips. Wash your hands to start with to get rid of any oil or grease. You must additionally wash the copper using a cleanser to eliminate any dirt. Making use of the sandpaper, thoroughly rub down the sheeting to get rid of any kind of corrosion or sulphide accumulation.

Position the dried and thoroughly clean copper onto your electric stove and put it on its highest heat. As the metal starts to heat, you should notice gorgeous shades and rainbow colours starting to form on the metal. Purple, orange, and red designs will start to coat the surface.

When the copper begins to get hotter, the colours disappear and then a black cupric oxide coating replaces them. This burnt layer will eventually flake off however, revealing the colours beneath. Once the burner begins to become red hot, the entire sheet of copper will be coated with a heavy black layer. Let the metal cook for half an hour, because a thicker coating is going to be able to flake off without difficulty.

Lift off the copper sheet and let it cool to room temperature prior to attempting to rub off the black layer. Lightly scrub the metal until all the black color is eliminated. Cut another sheet of copper and bend both pieces into a plastic jar, but keep them from coming in contact with each other. The cooked copper needs to be connected using the negative alligator terminal, even while the new one will need to get the positive terminal.

Combine heated water and table salt into the plastic container. Place this mixture into the sun, and you should see a moderate number of micro-amps in your current meter. Copper is a semiconductor, and that means you essentially have a working solar panel built from scratch.

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A look at Alternative Energy Sources

Posted on 24th February 2011 in Renewable Energy, wind energy

With oil reserves and supplies being rapidly depleted, the search is on for viable alternative energy sources. While numbers of alternative energy solutions have been proposed, there are only a few that actually show much promise. Among the few that have a hope to replace oil and coal electricity are solar, wind, nuclear, and hydroelectricity. We’ll summarize each of these in the next few paragraphs.

One of the most promising and well known alternative energy sources is solar energy. Most of us have played with a solar calculator or perhaps used solar power to charge a phone. Should be easy enough to mass produce these items and apply them on a bigger scale, right? Maybe, maybe not. Solar panels have historically been very expensive, only produce power at night, and require huge and costly batteries to harness their energy. However, over the last few years that has changed significantly. Solar power is becoming more recognized as a viable alternative energy, and vast arrays of solar panels have shown up in places that usually get a ton of sun. You can even produce your own solar panels for a fraction of the cost of even ten years ago.

Another great source of energy from a clean source is windmills. These huge structures have blades that catch the wind and turn them. The wind powers the blades which in turn move huge turbines to create energy. The drawback to windmills is that they have a huge upfront cost and are very weather dependent.

One of the newest forms of experimental clean energy is tidal. Using the naturally occurring rise and fall of the oceans tides, energy is gathered by creating small dams that use the tides.

Another promising source of clean energy is nuclear. Nuclear energy is one of the most long running clean energy sources. However, nuclear waste and the devastation of accidents plague it and have prevented it from becoming a more widely accepted energy alternative.

The above alternative energy sources are several of the ways the world could rid or severely reduce its dependence on polluting oil and natural gas. With advances in technology and funding from many of the worlds superpowers the future looks promising with regards to alternative clean energy.

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What Are Th Advantages of Solar Power for You

Posted on 20th February 2011 in solar, solar panels and solar pv, solar power

One of the main advantages of solar energy is that it’s one of the most abundant sources of energy on this planet. While there is a lot of talk about tapping into this energy source, individually there are many benefits for adopting this technology. The best thing about solar energy is that it can be used for small solutions as well as major ones. So you can start with small and simple solar solutions and then grow to something more robust. You would be surprised to know that the total sunlight that falls on earth is more than enough to satisfy the total energy needs on this planet 35000 times over. Now that is, truly an abundant source of energy.

There are many terms commonly associated with solar energy like renewable source and sustainable energy production. Renewable source of energy, as the name suggests, is one which can replenish itself automatically without human intervention. Solar energy is an abundant source of energy which will last as long as earth lasts, so it is considered renewable.

Sustainable energy production is a process by which we can meet present energy demands without jeopardising our future generations. Solar energy is one source where we can harvest as much as we want without compromising our children’s ability to do the same and survive on this planet. Solar energy is a great way to move towards sustainable development.

However, the reality is that solar energy is not a major fuel source today. Fossil fuels continue to pollute and dominate the power domain. America alone imports 50% of all its fossil fuel needs. This was just 33% some thirty years ago and is predicted to rise to 66% in the coming years. So we are not just polluting, but we’re also becoming indebted to other nations. Using solar energy helps us break out from this cycle. It can be produced within the US without relying on foreign nations. Switching to solar power moves you out of the utility supplier grid and helps bring down your power bills. Besides, a solar home commands a premium price over regular home as well.

You can insulate yourself from the electric power bills by using solar energy. With sun powering your ecofriendly house, you need not worry about hikes in power bills anymore. Regardless of what the local utility company charges, your costs will not change since you are relying on sun for your power. Every house that moves off the grid onto the solar power nets the nation energy savings since there is a lesser need to import fuel. By opting for solar energy you are also reducing your carbon footprint in the world. Given that the average American has an 18 ton/year carbon footprint; this is a lot of pollution for us to bring down.

The use of solar energy is not just talk. In fact, on a clear, sunny day the total sunlight falling on a square meter area is sufficient to generate 1kWh of electric power. Realistically you’ll get about 6 kWh on a good sunny day. Given that an average home requires around 30 kWh, a five square meter solar unit is your answer to all your power needs. With this solution, you know that your energy source will never get exhausted and that your power bills will never fluctuate.

Electric energy is one of the most widely used forms of energy on this planet. This is because most of what we do today is powered by electricity. Fortunately, solar energy can be transformed into electric energy easily. Presently, the majority of electric power is produced is by burning coal. If we switch to solar, we can save on all of that greenhouse gas pollution. Interestingly, solar units function at their best just when the need for electric power is also at its peak – middays; so solar units are great to satisfy peak time power demands in most nations.

If you really want to tap into all these benefits, this is the right time to do so. Government is urging people to adopt such new technologies. There are a lot of incentives, rebates and other attractive options government is offering to people moving to solar energy.

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Reducing Your Energy Bills is Not So Difficult

Posted on 19th February 2011 in energy

Electricity bills are a nightmare for many and some even don’t dare to take a look at it. They frown at the amount of the bill. Some people keep the bill aside to have a look at it later on.

While we keep on grumbling about the rising electricity bill, we seldom take any step to bring it down. There are however many ways in bringing down the electricity consumption and I have listed them below for your perusal.

First off, you must get the other people in your household to see things your way. Showing them that lowering the bill is not as hard as they may think it is, will often be all you need to receive their cooperation. Also, it may be good to offer incentives for the extra effort of lowering the bill when you see that those efforts have resulted in savings. Tell them that sometimes it’s as simple as turning off the lights or TV when they are leaving the room or unplugging things when they are not in use.

People are careless about turning off light and they don’t realize the cost they have to pay for their carelessness. Two places where the lights are on throughout the day are the night lights and the exterior lights. Light is needed of course at night but it doesn’t mean that it should be on throughout the night. As an alternative, you can use motion detector lights for the exterior and only a few lights inside the house. Your electricity bill will be substantially reduced if you follow these simple steps.

One of the least conspicuous ways to save on your electric bill is to replace incandescent bulbs with CFL bulbs. These lights are equal, in quality, to incandescent bulbs and use less energy.

A one time expenditure on power saving gadgets is perfectly okay and should not be minded at all. There are gadgets available in your local hardware stores that can monitor your usage of electricity so that you can keep tabs on the bill and adjust usage accordingly.

Most people think that the number of household electronics we have directly reflects the amount of the electric bill. However, this is not necessarily the case. It really depends on how these items are used. (For example, only washing dishes or clothes when you have full loads is more energy efficient that doing a few measly pieces at a time.) And turning off things when not in use, because it’s not like you can watch that show upstairs when you are downstairs making a sandwich.

If you want to reduce or even eliminate your electricity bill, try to produce your own electricity from renewable sources. In addition to freeing you from the burden of electricity bills, they are environmental friendly too. It will make you self reliant on energy needs.

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Some Simple Basics About Solar Power Panels

Posted on 18th February 2011 in environment, solar, solar panels and solar pv, solar power

By simply converting the sun’s energy into usable electricity, which is then stored in the system’s batteries ,solar power panels work. A “charger regulator”, which is found between the panel and battery, ensures that the battery does not over-charge and protects the battery from draining excessively.

Depending on your required electrical output, the energy from the sun can be converted from 12 or 24 DC volts using a transformer into 220 or 240 volts. An important part of solar-based systems is the control component that shuts down power automatically in order to preserve your battery. Some systems include a display so that you can monitor if the solar power panels and batteries are working properly.

You can choose different solar power panels depending on how you wish to use the solar electricity. If you and your family frequently engage in outdoor activities, such as hiking, camping, trekking or backpacking, you can benefit from foldable solar power panels that are designed to be lightweight, compact and they fold in half. These types of panels adapt perfectly in any kind of requirement and application as portable devices.

How To Choose A Solar Power Panel

Each type of solar panel is rated depending on the output power. Based upon ideal conditions, 75 watts in a solar power panel can produce 75 watts of usable electricity. However, different factors may reduce the electricity production in more than half of the ideal 75 watts.

Be aware that the type of solar panel you choose will depend on what functions you want it to serve. If you want to use to panel for your home, you will need to mount the solar power panel on your roof to receive the energy directly from the sun. The size of the panel will greatly affect the amount of electricity you can use each day.

If you wish to bring a portable panel for your camping trip, a small and low-powered unit will do the trick. On the other hand, if you want the solar power system to power the electrical needs of your vehicle or system 24/7, then you will need larger panels to produce usable electricity continuously.

To determine the size of a particular solar power panel based on your individual needs, you need to estimate a calculation based on the power consumption of all electrical appliances that will be powered by the system. After totaling all electrical consumption of lights, water pumps, entertainment devices and other appliances, then you should estimate the hours you use each item everyday. By simply multiplying the total power consumption by the hours, you can have an estimate of the total electrical requirements you need daily.

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