Tips For Turning On Green Energy

Deciding to install solar power system on your home or commercial building is a concrete way of improving the world we live in. It’s not just enough to “talk the talk” about going green, you need to “walk the walk” with your green initiatives. Installing a solar powered energy system, also known as green power you are making strides in your efforts for a greener world.

With every major decision that you make, of key importance is the research that you do to ensure its ultimate success. Before you make the decision to install a green energy system, you need to educate yourself on a couple of key components: Do solar economic work in my area? If not, are there other reasons to switch to solar? Are there local solar professionals that can help me integrate solar seamlessly in to my home or commercial projects?

In response to the first question, do solar economics work in my area, it is very much dependent on an individual basis. First of your location can make a big difference. Depending on your states demographics will affect the solar energy you will achieve. If you are installing solar MA or installing solar in CA which has more sun light hours will affect the bottom line. Also, if you are contemplating installing a solar powered energy system into your home or your commercial type project, it makes a big difference at what stage you plan to install the system. If you are building a home or a building from scratch then it will be far more economical to structure the solar power installation as part of the plans.

When this is done, the costs associated with the solar power installation are factored into the mortgage, thereby increasing your monthly payments ever so slightly. Plus with the government incentives being offered in so many different states, this will deduct the cost and you may even be making some money right from the start. The government credits being offered is definitely something to do lots of research about. These credits will very possibly make installing a solar powered system very worthwhile.

Another reason to switch to solar energy is because the homes sell at double the rate that another very similar home would sell at. Many builders are now implementing solar powered energy into the homes which they are building because the sale price is increased so drastically that it is a worthwhile investment. Also by installing a solar powered system, you are locking in the price that you pay for energy. Your costs will be the same each year whether or not the price of electricity skyrockets.

Lastly, finding local solar professionals to integrate solar energy seamlessly into your home is the single most important part of the process. Do your homework and find an experienced local installer. Talk to the professionals in your area and see whom they recommend. Using a company who has vast knowledge of the systems will lend you a company that will be able to work with your from start to finish to customize a solar energy system that is right for you. Over the last few years switching to green energy has become an increasingly popular trend. This is of great benefit to you as there are more and more experienced professionals in this industry to assist you in making the switch to green energy.

Lisa Greenwald is a customer care coordinator for Greenpowerdevelopers.com. She has a vast amount of knowledge in alternative energy solutions and has assisted many clients in making the change to a solar power energy system.

The Beginning Of Solar Energy

Solar power has been known about for a long time. Although the capacity of sunlight to generate a charge had been understood since the early 19th century, it took around another 100 years for science to create workable solar panels to harness this power.

The Beginning

Photovoltaic effect, the conductivity resulting from the build-up of charge between two electrodes under direct sunlight, was first noted by French physicist Becquerel in 1839. Although some experiments had attempted to harness the tiny charges that could be harnessed, using primitive strips of selenium bound with gold connectors, they barely produced enough wattage to make the needle move

Albert Einstein

As late as 1905 Albert Einstein had established the physical properties of Photoelectric Effect, but the technology simply did not exist to support his theories. It would take until 1954 for Bell Laboratories to come up with a workable selenium cell designed to produce a constant charge.

Initial Problems

Even then, the reception was lukewarm. The main problem was that 1 watt of power generated through this array cost $250 in manufacturing and production costs; a similar amount of power generated from coal cost around $2. There seemed to be nobody interested in finding a practical use for the technology.

Use in Space

Salvation came from the heavens, and the space race was a great accelerator of events. From 1957 artificial satellites orbited the earth, but their limited battery life meant that they could only effectively transmit for a few days or weeks. In 1958 Bell’s array powered the US Navy satellite Vanguard 1, which allowed it to transmit for 7 years until its transmitter failed; amazingly, it is still in orbit today and shows no signs of stopping.

The Gradual Rise

The success of Vanguard 1 meant the widespread adoption of solar cell technology for space missions. As orbiting spacecraft greeted the sunrise once every 90 minutes, it seemed a perfect solution. By 1973 the solar cell was not only helping probes make the most of every bit of sunlight on their way to the farthest reaches of the solar system, and was powering life support systems on space stations. This also led to new manufacturing techniques and a lower unit cost for the technology. However, even at this point, solar panels on Earth still cost over $100 to produce 1 watt of electricity. Apart from spacecraft and ships, there seemed to be few practical applications for solar panels.

Solar Energy as an Eco Friendly Alternative

The Oil Crisis of 1973 led to renewed efforts to make the technology workable. With Middle Eastern producers snubbing the west, governments realised just how acutely vulnerable their energy supply was and sought alternatives. This led to the development of solar panel companies by the major petroleum producers, and the invention of thin selenium strips sandwiched under sheets of glass. Efficiency also increased, allowing production costs of around $1 per watt – lower than coal. By 1979 a 600 watt array was providing lift for the world’s first solar-powered aircraft – the Gossamer Penguin. Solar power was here to stay.

People like you and I can now take advantage of solar energy by installing solar panels in our home. Solar Contact can provide information on different solutions for solar energy in the home and put you in contact with local solar energy experts.

Compare Solar Water Heating And Solar Air Heating

Solar air heating and solar water heating are perhaps the best improvements you can make to your home, in terms of energy and heat. At a virtually negligible cost, these technologies could save you thousands of dollars, while also doing a great deal of good for the environment, so it’s quite a win-win situation. So let’s look at some of the similarities and differences between them, in order to better understand what each brings to the table.

First of all, both of them require sunlight. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, sunlight must not be confused with heat! You can have a lot of sun on a really cold day, or it could be really hot but cloudy. Both of them rely on a collector which itself relies on sun rays to heat the air or the water, so the bigger the surface and the more solar power, the more heat.

In the red corner, we have solar air heating; the air is heated through an airbox and then reinserted into your home, either actively (through a fan) or passively (by convection). Typically, if done right and in proper areas, it can provide up to 50% of all heating in a certain room or house during the cold season, but all year round, that figure goes closer to 25% rather than 50. It should be very cheap, as it is made from simple, non expensive parts, and realy easy to do yourself, with a minimum investment and it should be fairly sturdy, as non of the parts require particular caring and maintenance.

In the blue corner, solar water heating can account for up to 85% of all water heating, which is much better than solar air heating. Furthermore, in some cases, it is also used to heat the home, though that requires some special technology and is suited only for really cold and sunny areas. What it does is it heats a certain fluid, which can either be the water itself or, even better, a mixture of anti-freeze and anticorrosive, which then in turn heats the water through a heat exchanger. It works complementary with traditional water heating, but it does the job all by itself in most cases, failing only during the night and the cold season.

Now, heating water is expensive, so it can save you a whole bunch of money, but the thing is, it is a little more costly and also requires some maintenance, regarding the fluid, the pipes, and not only. You have to be sure at all times that nothing comes through the water, so it requires much more care.

So, who’s the winner you could ask? Well… both! Both are really great improvements to your house, both will save you a lot of money, and both are really green. Of course, one is more high maintenance but has more potential at the moment (solar water heating). If you plan on going for both of them, you’re definitely doing the right choice, but if you only have to choose one, for different reasons, such as a really harsh lack of money or not enough room for two absorbers, then it’s hard to say which one is better.

Do you use a lot of water? Does heating air cost more than heating water? Do I want to spend more time and money for a better return of my investment? This kind of question will answer your problem; if you’re having a hard time, just keep track of these expenses for a whole month, and decide afterwards.

Solar Energy Has Many Uses

Solar energy is the sunshine and the heat from the sun, is free and is infinite. All living matters on earth depends on it. Solar energy induce no air and water pollution, but there is still some impacts on the environment although indirect.

Photovoltaic cells (solar panels) used to convert sunlight into electricity uses silicon that also produce some waste materials. There are also large solar thermal farms and these farms can also be harmful to the environment and desert ecosystems if not properly managed.

Solar energy has many uses, for example, in agriculture. Greenhouses convert solar light to heat to enhancing the growth of plants and crops. Greenhouses has been around since the Roman times, today’s modern greenhouses were first built in Europe in 16th century. Greenhouses are still an important part of horticulture nowadays,

Daylight systems are being used in homes and businesses to maximize the energy released by the sun. It is used to provide interior illumination replacing the artificial lighting. Daylight systems include sawtooth roofs, light shelf, skylights, and light tube. Daylight systems when they are properly applied can cut down lighting-related energy consumption by as much as 25 percent.

Solar energy can also be formulated into solar thermal technologies which can be used for water heating, space heating, space cooling and process heat generation. Solar energy can also be used to distill water and make saline or brackish water potable or drinkable.

The solar water disinfection or SODIS involves exposing water-filled plastic polyethylene terephthalate or PET bottles. This process takes a long time, since the exposure time varies on the weather conditions. It requires at the least of six hours to two days during days with overcast conditions. Today, there are more than two million people in developing centuries use SODIS for their daily drinking water needs.

As well sunlight can be converted into electricity using photovoltaics or PV. PV has been mainly used to power small electronics like a calculator powered by a single solar cell to homes and businesses using solar panels. Using solar energy for water and space heating is the most widely use application of solar energy. While ventilation and solar air heating is also growing in popularity.

Solar cells, also called photovoltaic or photoelectric cells are use to convert sunlight directly into electricity. Also, solar furnaces use a huge array of mirrors to concentrate on the Sun’s energy into a small space and produced very high temperatures. Solar furnaces are also called “solar cookers”. A solar cooker can be used in hot countries to prepare food.

With all the benefits if using solar energy, there is still a downside for this alternative energy source. It does not work during night time. The cost of setting up solar systems is expensive, but the benefit of using solar energy when cumulated is so much more especially with decreasing prices as more users opting to use this source of renewable energy.