Posts Tagged Solar Cells

A Greener Option in Portable Solar Power Generators

Posted by outside_voices on Sunday, 4 April, 2010

Going green is a word of mouth that passes from one person to another. It may sound easy but it is very difficult to do. After all, we are still very dependent on gas and other fossil fuels when it comes to our lifestyles. Knowing this, it may take some time before we embrace greener options in our lives and in our respective households. As the saying goes great things start from small beginnings and this very same principle will help us with our predicaments. One of the ways you can do your part is to use solar energy whenever possible.

As we all know, this type of energy makes use of the sun as its source (a great source of info on this process is Energy 2 Green Review). The conversion of solar energy to electrical energy happens once the sun’s rays passes through solar panels that makes it possible for our home appliances to do their respective functions. But did you know that solar panels can be portable, as well? You’ve read it right. There is that wide array of opportunities given by a portable solar power generator in terms of providing what you electrically need. One great promise of portable solar power generators is they will give you all the power you need to keep your appliances going whenever, wherever.

The Principles Behind its Functions

Portable solar power generators work by converting the sun’s rays into energy, just like stationary solar cells. The generator then uses a portable solar power supply to convert that energy into electricity. If you have the portable solar power generator with you and the sun is at its extreme best, your electricity will then be charged. And even when the sun goes down, the portable solar power generators have a backup supply that stores energy for when you don’t have the luxury of sunlight. That means that night or day, as long as you have enough energy stored up, you can power whatever you need to for as long as you need to.  This fact makes portable solar power generators a better option than the regular ones that cause too much damage to the environment. Consider the noise and the horrible smell produced by the traditional option as well.

Uses

If application is your concern, a portable solar power generator will surely serve it. These things start with the basics of supplying power to the home when regular power is out to requirements of cooking when you are out to camp with friends or your family. Whenever the sun is up, all you need is to hook up the portable solar power generator and you will be amazed at how it delivers its functions for your endeavor. And even when the sun goes down, you’ll be able to store enough energy to power anything you need to all night long.

If you want to learn all about the different choices in DIY energy-generation plans and how they compare to each other, you ought to have a look at the website www.DIYSolarPanelsWindPower.com, where there are well-informed discussions about build your own wind turbine, Magniwork Review and other relevant subjects. Do yourself a big favor by being informed about the different step-by-step guides that you could learn from to save money on your power bills.

Advantage Of Active Solar Heating

Posted by outside_voices on Friday, 26 February, 2010

There are 3 main drawbacks of active solar heating with the 1st being that the primary costs concerned are on the high side. The second drawback of active solar heating is that use of an active solar heating system is restricted to its location as well as power density while the 3rd most critical downside of active solar heating is that the solar cells can only produce direct current ( DC ) which then should be converted into alternating power ( AC ) before it can be helpful to the patron. During this transformation from DC to AC, there’s loss of energy to the tune of between 4 and 12 %.

More Advantages Than Disadvantages

More and more households in America are being heated by active solar heating systems as there are clearly a load more benefits to such systems that help offset plenty of the drawbacks of active solar heating. The real reason why even more homes have not switched over to use of active solar heating systems are the opening costs concerned as well as saying with the requirement for adequate quantity of daylight to make the active solar heating system advantageous.

If however you are prepared to invest roughly between 6 to 20 thousand bucks to install an active solar heating system then probabilities are that you won’t pay much heed to the drawbacks of active solar heating and will go on and employ this form of solar electricity. In truth, the marketplace for active solar heating systems continues to grow and industries too are expending larger effort in researching and finding less expensive solutions and therefore the future looks bright.

One thing that does help you disregard the disadvantages of active solar heating is that these systems are easy to use and the accompanying DIY instruction manuals make it easy to educate consumers as to how they can install their own active solar heating system and so save on the high costs involved.

The other major downside of active solar heating is that there’s need to install the system where there’s abundant daylight and so in case you should chance to be living in areas like in Alaska, using an active solar heating system may not make much sense.

Also, once you have installed the active solar heating system on your roof it becomes part and parcel of your home and so when selling your home you might have to part with the active solar heating system which is certainly one more of the disadvantages of active solar heating to take into account.

Examples of active solar heating can be seen in the use of such solar heating systems being employed in places such as Fairbanks, Alaska where sunlight is not readily available. Nevertheless, an active solar heating system can still provide good service despite the constraints in regard to sufficient sunlight.

Lowest prices ever on Solar Power Outdoor Lighting, grab yours now while they last at DIY Solar Powered Homes.

Evans D. Smith

The Equipment Needed For Solar Energy

Posted by outside_voices on Friday, 5 February, 2010

Everybody should be exploiting solar power and what it has to give. More people than ever before are using solar electricity to their benefit. Solar power is energy that is taken from the sun, and then which can be employed by changing it into thermal or electric energy. Power solar electricity appliances can be extremely reasonable as long as you look in the right places, but it is first a matter of finding out about what different pieces of kit are required for solar power.

You need to make certain that you’re going to have the right gear required for solar power if you’re going to line up your own solar electricity system and ensure that everything is going to work best here.

Equipment You Will Need

So there are some different items of equipment required for solar energy. First you’re going to require solar energy panels. These are the key part to any solar electricity system, as it is these solar cells which are going to be the main element, which are going to take the energy of the sun so you can then take it and change it into thermal or electric energy.

This is the most significant gear required for solar power, but there are others that you’re going to want also.

You are also going to want a solar module which is going to be critical here, and there are some types to select from and you want to be sure that you select the right one for your system. You’ll need to select a battery also and ensure that you refer to the sizing sheet to see what size of battery you’re going to want, to ensure that you get the right size battery. Otherwise you might essentially finish up blowing a fuse and your system will not work.

Make it Easy

There is a neat way to make this straightforward if you want to get equipment required for solar electricity and that’s to get a solar power system kit, which is going to come with everything included that you’re going to want to start here. For noobs to solar power this is truly the simplest way to go about it.

Anyone can build a solar electricity system if they have all of the elements that they need and a group of instructions to follow.

Above is all I want to share with you about Solar Panels for Home. But for more information, I would strongly recommend you to go to DIY Solar Powered House.

Evans D. Smith

A Brief Look At Solar Energy System Design

Posted by outside_voices on Friday, 29 January, 2010

At present it’s a good time to take a position in a solar electricity system as the costs of the hitherto pricey solar energy panels have come down from the year 2008. Similarly , resources as well as tax motivations are helping to bring down the expenses of a solar power system to cheaper levels and even recovering costs on your solar electricity system only takes between 6 and 8 years. Best of all, the power acquired from a solar power system is almost free that means that it is past time that you actively got curious about installing a good solar electricity system in your house.

Array Orientation

If you are interested in learning about solar energy system designs then the following information can prove to be interesting. The first important aspect to proper solar energy system design is array orientation. It certainly means that you need to first realize that the proper direction in which the solar panel array should be facing is due south, or at 180 degrees. If the panel faces in any other direction then it will not be able to generate maximum possible power.

Secondly, when making the right solar power system design you also must know how much area should be put aside for the solar cells and a rough rule is that about sixteen sq. feet of area helps to create about 200 watts of power. This implies that if you want to generate 4000 watts of power from your solar electricity system you’ve got to have about 300 and twenty sq. feet of space available on your roof and the panels must of course be made to face to the south.

Another important solar energy system design aspect is getting the array tilt angle right. This in turn means that the right angle is when the panels are at 180 degrees angle for the greater part of the day. If the angle gets too oblique less power will be generated. What’s more, you need to also take into account yet another solar energy system design aspect which is to ensure that no shadows fall on the solar panels as this will result in loss of power generating capacity and so it is best that you ensure that your panels get maximum exposure to direct sunlight.

Some people decide to install an active solar power system rather than a passive one. The reason being because they would like to get the power from the sun through use of an active or mechanical or electronic system. Today, a number of new technologies have been developed that are helping to make sure that you get most out of your active solar energy system. So, get active!

If you are interested in Homes Of Solar Power, you will get more information at DIY Solar Powered House.

Evans D. Smith

Solar Panels for Homes

Posted by outside_voices on Wednesday, 13 January, 2010

The rising prices and decreasing supply of fossil fuels are motivating many homeowners to make the switch to solar power systems. The savings characteristic to solar power can be increased even further by building your own homemade solar panel. You can even save a lot of money when installing a solar power system by using a solar panel kit. It provides the instructions needed to build a solar panel at home. More information about this kit can be seen at Solar Panel Kit.

The part of the solar power system that converts sunlight into electricity is the solar cell. If you know what type of power you require, you can proceed, as solar cells, depending on how they’re connected, can provide virtually any amount of voltage and current.

There are two standard types of solar cells available. Monocrystalline solar cells offer the highest level of efficiency currently available. Thanks to its unified structure, a monocrystalline cell will be very durable in addition to generating power at such a high level of efficiency. Of course, this type of cell is also moderately more expensive than the alternative. Polycrystalline cells, which are made up of a collection of small crystals, are the other common type. Polycrystalline cells are more affordable, but they don’t produce as efficiently as monocrystalline cells do.

The next step is to connect the solar cells together, ensuring that it’s done in such a way that the needed voltage and current will be generated. Most DIY solar panel plans will include wiring diagrams. The diagrams should always be followed closely. Mount the individual solar panels on a piece of thick plywood, ensuring that they all face exactly the same direction. You can figure out how big the backing board needs to be by laying out the cells as displayed in the wiring diagram. You can begin soldering wires to the cells once they’ve been mounted. Make sure that the wires are attached neatly to the backing board, and that they don’t block the cells’ access to the sunlight. The next step is to expose the panel to the sun and use a meter to check the voltage to make sure that it’s what you intended. Check your wiring if there are any problems. To complete the solar panel, attach sides and a clear front part to the backing. Use weatherproof caulking so that the enclosure is tight enough to withstand the elements.

The ideal spot for your new solar panel is one with lots of sun exposure. The panel will generate DC electricity, which can be used to charge batteries or power some small appliances. Most devices in the home use AC power; you can get AC power by using an ordinary inverter.

If you would like to know the pros and cons of solar energy, take a look at Solar Energy Advantages Disadvantages.

Can you build a solar panel for under $200? You can get more information by reading this guide Homemade Energy Review. In this guide, you will get specific instructions on what is best to build based on the size of your house and your location. You will also get step-by-step diagrams on how to build your own solar power system.