Carbon Di Oxide Emissions – Some facts and statistics

We have all been talking about solar energy and the various solar energy advantages. But we know that one of the single reasons why many people are looking to switch to solar energy or other renewable sources of energy is because of the heavy carbon di oxide emissions. So here are some facts and statistics about carbon di oxide and why it is needed along with harmful to us human beings and the planet if produced in excess.


The basic physical state of carbon di oxide is as a gas. But, there are also liquid and solid forms of carbon di oxide. Carbon di oxide turns solid when the temperature drops below -78 C. It is also called as "dry ice" in this solid form.


Carbon di oxide emissions are also considered vital for the life cycle as not only human beings but also plants and trees depend heavily on it for respiration and for other purposes such as metabolism.


Human beings do activities that release carbon di oxide in many ways. It can be from something as respiration to soft drinks that humans drink such as coke or beer. The fizz that is produced upon opening a soda bottle is due to the carbon di oxide. Other places where carbon di oxide is used a lot is in fire extinguishers. It is also used a lot in baking powder especially when many baked products are required to be fluffy and tasty to eat.
Carbon di oxide is also used to prepare coffee. The caffeine in coffee is prepared with applications from carbon di oxide. If you have seen many of these performances on stage, you will see the white smoke kind of substances rising at the bottom. That is also with the help of carbon di oxide although from the solid form called as "dry ice".


Now let's get to the carbon di oxide emissions part and how it affects our environment. If you consider the distribution of various gases in our atmosphere, you will notice that Nitrogen gas is way ahead with about 70% in the air and Oxygen comes in at second with around 21%. After that and rising everyday due to various are the carbon di oxide emissions although it does not occupy a significant percentage in the composition of gases. However, carbon di oxide plays an extremely vital role in plants in that they use it for important processes such as photosynthesis and respiration.


Photosynthesis is where solar energy is used as a catalyst in a chemical reaction which is used to convert carbon di oxide and other gases from the atmosphere to glucose which is basically nothing but energy which the plants use to survive.
According to Wikipedia, "the general equation for photosynthesis is 2n CO₂ + 2n H₂O + photons → 2(CH₂O)_n + n O₂ + 2n A"




Carbon dioxide emissions from human activities
As humans have been advancing in technology and other fields of manufacturing over the past couple of centuries starting from the Industrial Revolution in the 18^th Century, there has been a lot of carbon di oxide emissions because of them. This has resulted in the percentage of carbon di oxide emissions in the air increasing at an alarming rate. It has been scientifically proven that the concentration of carbon di oxide has risen from 280 ppm in 1850 to 364 ppm in 1997. This may not sound like much, but it is indeed a huge amount of increase especially when considered from the point of view of a environmentalist. Also, the fact that it has not increased by as much from the past thousands of years as fast as it has been increasing in the past couple of decades shows that it is indeed due to human activities.
Fossil fuels, are a huge contributing factor to carbon di oxide emissions and this has further been affected by other factors such as deforestration and heavy automobile usage by human beings. The production of various factories and other similar factors has made it a very threatening factor for the environment and for the planet as well. More than 1/4^th of the carbon di oxide concentrations today are due to human activities.


The effects of carbon dioxide emissions – The green house effect
Near the troposphere part of our atmosphere, there are greenhouse gases whose main function is to capture the heat from the sun so that the earth is kept warm during the night times. This is called as the greenhouse effect and and an exaggeration results in global warming which as we all know is a serious problem for most humans. It is also important as if not because of the greenhouse effect, we would all be in ice right now i.e. life would not have been possible. The more the gases such as CFC (Chloro Fluoro Carbons) and Carbon Dioxide are emitted, the more it will result in the earth getting unusually warmed up thus causing a huge problem for the planet Earth.

This is the basic summary of what solar energy advantages if properly made use of, can help us humans by helping in getting rid of these harmful gases such as carbon di oxide and other gases such as methane which are equally if not, more harmful. Using renewable energy sources in an efficient manner can significantly help in cutting the costs for purchasing automobiles such as cars and motor vehicles. This is especially important in developing countries such as China and India which are increasing their carbon di oxide emissions at a really alarming rate which does not look healthy as well as the people there are getting richer and are buying more expensive vehicles which emit a lot of greenhouse gases thus contributing in the degradation of the environment. The United States also, of course has the highest per capita carbon di oxide emission which is pretty bad news. So switch to solar energy and make a difference.
To a greener future,
Andy.

 

Solar Power Lights – Natural Lighting to your House

"Solar Powered Lights" are one among the best innovations made in the renewable energy industry. They are extremely effective not only because they are efficient but also because they have very low maintenance and operating costs. So if you are looking for either becoming self-sufficient in energy or to start to use green products, then you have come to the right place. Now is the right time to start taking steps to creating your own renewable energy source that can churn out a lot of energy and power to meet all your energy needs. One of the huge parts of your monthly electricity bill is the part that comes due to lighting. Having Solar Power Lights is a great first step to take to try and save our planet and also save some money in the process.


In this blog post, I will write about the various ways by which you can utilize solar power lights efficiently. I will also tell you about where you can buy new ones or build some Do it Yourself Solar Power Lights using some guides on the internet.


Indoor Solar Power Lights



Now, when many people hear about solar powered lights, they shake their heads and say that these lights cannot be used indoors because they need constant exposure to the sun to produce light. This, however, is far from the truth. Indoor solar power lights work as efficiently as outdoor ones and can even be used during the night when there is no sun shining. Think of all the electrical energy you can save by simply getting one of these.


How do these Solar Power Lights work?


The best part about these lights is that they are like smart gadgets. They can sort of think on their own and as long as you have a place where there is plenty of sunshine. They use the solar energy during the day when the sun is shining and then store it up so that you can have lighting during the night. Neat, isn't it?


Here's what they are made of:

1. A photo resistor – This is what your bed lamp has. It basically detects darkness so that it knows when to start letting out light.
2. Solar Cell – I have talked about how these work and how useful they are in some of my previous posts. They are small and generate just about enough energy to make good lights during the night.
3. NiCad Battery packs – One of these battery sets will definitely come in very handy.
4. Controller boards – A small one will do.
5. LED's – Light Emitting Diodes
6. A design of your own – You can choose to make your own lamp shade kind of thing or whatever design you choose. Put your "creative" cap on!

These are the basic components that you will require to make a small and simple solar power lights.



If you are not very experienced in using electrical equipment such as LED's and photo resistors, then you can consult someone to put all these components together for you. But, regardless of that, here is how solar power lights basically function.


You need to mount the solar cells on top of a plastic case such that it can face the sun during the mornings. You can use a 4 by 4 solar cell array for the most effective use. The photo resistor also goes and sits very close to the solar cells so that the lighting can automatically be activated during the night. The LED's and the NiCad batteries go on the other side of the module as the solar cells. You can check if the LED works before you assemble it. Do this by covering the light sensors. You will see the LED light up.


How do they turn on during the night?


This is a good question and something that you need to properly understand. It is the photo resistor that turns the LED on during the night. It is important to make sure that your whole set up is installed properly and to make sure that the photo resistors work properly.


However, since you are using a single solar cell, you should keep in mind that you cannot expect to generate too much electricity and at most, you can probably get very little lighting. However you can a group of these to generate a kind of trail rather than use them as a single lamp.


Use them inside or outside?


If you used the above guide to set up your own solar powered lights, then it would be ideal for use in your garden or in the yard. Basically, I am not saying that you cannot or should not use them inside. You can definitely use them inside as well. But you would need to keep it outside to let the solar cell do the work and soak up all of the solar power energy and then bring it back inside so that the photo resistor can switch the light on during the night. They would be best used outside in the yard or the garden.


You can also get a little innovative and set up plenty of solar cells together so that you can generate more energy from the sun because of a larger surface area. Furthermore, you can buy your own solar powered lights from various stores available locally and online at various websites. You can also find used solar cells put on sale at eBay for really cheap. This can really eliminate the need for the other traditional garden lighting that you have been using so far and also if you are willing to spend the time, replace your indoor lighting as well, partly at least if not fully.


The best solar energy advantage is that these solar power lights can last for a long time without any problems and also have large warranty periods. So check them out.


Hoping for a greener future,


Andy.

Different ways to Save on Electricity Bills

There are plenty of websites online which offer different guides to cut on your electricity bills and "save on electricity". There have been a lot of people looking for practical solutions to save on electricity. Some of the various solar energy advantages is that you can cut your energy bills every month. In fact, it has become quite a common thing for various businesses to try and cut on their costs. For businesses, this does not only involve making better deals with their buyers and competitors but also making sure that internal costs are also cut upon. It is important to make sure that this happens as internal costs such as cost for maintenance and pay for employees are some of the most significant costs for many large businesses. Also, most people who own swimming pools also try to makes sure that they cut down on those costs as well. If you are looking for online resources where you can get an approximate idea of how much money you can actually "save on electricity", head over to findsolar.com for a free calclulator that even takes into account various tax benefits offered by the government for people who generate their own power with the help of renewable sources of energy such as solar energy.

The calculator is mainly for US and Canadian states. People from other countries can look up on the various benefits provided and manually arrive at how much you they can actually "save on electricity". At the end of the session with the calculator, you will get a full report saying exactly how much electricity you can actually save.
Anyway, there are plenty of ways using solar energy that you can cut on your electricity bills. One such easy way is to cut on your heating. According to statistics provided by the Energy Department in the United States, it has been proved that heating accounts for almost as much as 25% of the total energy needs. So setting up your own solar heating panels is not a very tough job to do. Once you have successfully done that, all you would really have to do is to spend a little bit every now and then on maintenance and that is the only money you will be saving. Although, you may have to shell out a little bit of money initially to spend on these solar panels or photovoltaic cells or whatever that is that you are planning to get, once you have spent a couple of years using these solar energy equipment and solar panels, you will actually save up a lot of money which can be as much as hundreds of dollars every month.
Another way to "save on electricity" would be to get your own small scale version of windmills. This, of course, depends heavily on whether or not you live in a place where there is heavy sunshine and heavy wind. But the latter is extremely important if you are planning to set up a mini-windmill. But the former, that is to save on electricity with solar energy, it is preferred but not completely necessary to have bright and intense sunshine every day. Using other renewable sources of energy also helps. These are some of the short and simple ways that you can save on electricity bills every month.

Solar Hot Water Panels – A brief buying guide

In this blog post, I attempt to make potential buyers understand how "solar hot water panels" can help save you a lot of money on heating systems that otherwise use up tonnes and tonnes of carbon dioxide. Solar hot water panels have been growing in popularity in recent years. The main reason for this is because of the fact that solar hot water panels can help you save a lot of money as traditional heating systems are power hungry and consume a lot of energy. Also explained in this blog post is the technology that is currently used to determine whether or not solar hot water panels are right for you.




The Technology behind solar water heating systems


Since the burning of fossil fuels can be a huge source of pollution, renewable sources of energy can be life saving for so many people and for all the living beings on this planet including human beings. Solar Hot water panels were first developed around the end of the 20^th century when it was used to raise the temperature of the water. They were in the most primitive forms and not as advanced as they are right now. Obviously and logically, the highest efficiency of these solar heating systems is during the summer when the insolation (or solar radiation) is the highest. In places like Canada, the efficiency during winter and other seasons is not so high. A small percentage of the solar rays is converted efficiently.


Where to set up the solar water heating systems?


Now, let's take a look at the various places where you can possibly set up these solar hot water panels in your house. Solar collectors are an integral and important part of solar panels and can be set up or mounted on a roof or on the ground or anywhere on the outside walls. 


One of the most commonly used types of collectors is glazed collectors. The other type is unglazed collectors. I will explain to you what the differences between the two are in some of my future posts. Basically what happens is that the sunlight that passes through the glazed glass hits the silicon plate thus generating a lot of heat. This heat is trapped from escaping by sort of "sandwiching" it and thus the temperature inside increases.



For solar based hot water panels to be used in cold environments, something called anti-freeze systems are used. This makes sure that the heat exchangers get to absorb all the heat because of glycol which is heated inside the piping.




Different types of Solar Collectors


The other type of collectors are the flat plate collectors which are to be used on those days when the temperature in the collector is almost equal to ambient temperatures. Contrary to this, evacuated type collectors perform the better the larger the difference in temperature. Evaporated type collectors are best and designed to be used in colder countries.
Continuously evolving industry



The Soar hot water panels have existed for over a century commercially and there have been constant developments that are taking place in this industry. So this can be considered as a technology with quite a bit of history. Of course, there are different ways that these solar hot water panels work. Starting from DIY (Do it Yourself) kits to large systems that are used in farms and for other similar large scale purposes, they are used for a wide range of applications.


Of course, the traditional heating system also exists in combination with the solar hot water panels in order to make sure that on days with no sun such as cloudy days or during the night, the traditional system exists to provide power that generates heat.

How do you know if solar hot water panels are right for you?


This is a question that many people want to have answered and ask me all the time whenever I tell them about solar water heating systems. Ask yourself this simple question. Does the place where you intend to set up these panels receive sufficient sunlight hours throughout the year? If it does, then probably you should go ahead and start considering installing these solar hot water panels very seriously. In most cases, this is something that need not be debated upon since as long as there is a sufficient amount of sunshine available, it is quite easy to make use of solar water heating systems. This, along with the fact that it is good, clean and renewable source of energy makes it possible to cut on the enormous cost of water heating.


Your solar hot water panels should directly connect to your hot water tank in order to produce a significant amount of good energy. Since heating is almost a quarter of your electricity bill every month, making use of free energy coming from the sun can make sure that you cut down your costs significantly. Also, other factors to keep in mind are things such as the orientation of you panels. It is important to make sure that your solar collectors, whatever types they may be of, face south during the morning when the sun is the most intense. This is usually between 10 in the morning till about 3 in the afternoon and during this time, the orientation of the panels which is situated on either the ground, outside walls or the roof top has to receive an optimum amount of sunshine in order for it to make full use of the solar energy.


You do not have to pay absolutely any taxes whatsoever on the energy that you receive from the sun every day. This makes it a very exciting opportunity for people like who are planning to set up solar hot water panels. So, consult a solar professional if you like or read many of the Do it Yourself guides and free ebooks available on the homepage of this blog to set up your own solar water heating systems in your house and help keep the earth "green".


For a greener earth,


Andy.

Solar Power Electricity – Some other Solar Energy Benefits

I have talked many times previously in this blog about the various "solar energy benefits". One of the biggest solar power electricity advantages is that you get to help the environment a lot. Our planet is suffering a lot in terms of problems such as global warming and other problems such as deforestration etc. Deforestration is indeed a serious problem and is a big problem because trees are cut down to help meet our electricity needs. But of course this problem can be eliminated by using solar energy to meet our electricity needs. Anyway, I will address the issue of deforestration in another post. Of course one of the biggest solar energy advantage is that you get to save a lot of money on this. So anyone looking to save money either on their electricity bills or just on other things such as taxes etc. can benefit tremendously with the usage of renewable sources of energy and taking advantage of natural resources that are abundantly available. Also, it is a really interesting project to work on especially if you are looking to engage in some interesting activities or just do something useful in your spare time or give back to society something useful. Anyway, now that we have addressed the "why" of solar energy, now it is time to address the "how" of solar energy benefits.


The energy that all other energy sources are derived from

Of course, please do not misread the title. When I say "all other energy sources are derived from", I am referring to all the other energy sources that we use on earth. Other stars are self-sufficient and do not depend on the sun to generate energy. Of course, no offense to any of you for underestimating your obvious knowledge about this. J. However, there is indeed one exception to this rule. This exception is geothermal energy. This energy comes from the core of the earth and is independent of solar energy since the planets were formed millions of years ago. All other sources of energy on the earth such as chemical energy, energy in plants, mechanical energy etc. directly or indirectly. For example, all living beings on earth depend on the sun for survival and for satisfying basic living being's needs. The energy that we get for moving our hands and other parts or muscular energy comes from food which indirectly comes from other living beings which in turn make use of solar energy for survival. In this way, every source of energy is in some form or the other dependent on the sun. Another exception to this rule again is nuclear energy which comes from the atoms and is independent of the sun completely. I need to check this up properly before i state anything. So do not cite my source.
One of the most exciting areas of growth in solar energy and a big solar power electricity advantage is the technology of photovoltaic cells. Photovoltaic cells technology has been termed as the fastest growing technology in the whole world. This is great news indeed for all the countries and the governments looking to set up solar power plants or solar power installations utilizing solar energy benefits to meet their electricity needs.
This is very similar to the solar panels that some people have in their houses except that it generates electricity on a much larger scale. But Photovoltaic cells or PV's are used in both cases.
It is a known fact that most people in the united States and other countries in Europe make the most efficient use of solar energy to support more than upto 20% of their energy needs with the help of these solar power installations thus helping by saving a significant amount of money. Therefore, since the sun shines very abundantly in most places in the world, it is not exactly very tough to make use of this energy and convert it to other useful forms of energy. Therefore, anyone looking to cut their electricity bills need to consider solar power electricity very seriously. This makes it a very nice are for research and development as well.

How much money can I save with solar power electricity?

This is one of the most commonly asked questions when it comes to people who are considering whether or not to set up and install solar panels in their houses. But this is sort of a tough question to answer as it depends on a lot of independent factors. One of those factors is how much space you have available to set up these solar panels. Space is important as the more space you have, the more solar panels you can set up and the more electricity you can produce and the more heated water you can have. Of course, the initial payment for these may look a little intimidating. But let me tell you that many people including myself have overcome this initial investment after a couple of years. As a matter of fact, you also start to make money after a certain point of time. You should look at it as an investment rather than as "solar power electricity cost".

The other advantage with solar power electricity is that you use this solar power along with the traditional energy sources that you already have. The way this works is that there are times when you cannot make use of solar energy such as during night times or during cloudy or rainy days. In such cases, you can set it up in such a way that traditional energy sources can be used when there is no opportunity for solar power to be produced. Even something as little as 15% to 20% of savings on your monthly electricity bill can go a long way in saving money for you. So go make the switch to solar by using the various solar power electricity advantages and save money for not only yourself but also help your planet and your future generations.
To a greener future,
Andy.

Solar Power Kits – How to generate your own electricity

Solar Power Kits are basically Do it Yourself kits which could be used to do a lot of things including generating your own electricity using solar energy advantages to power your own house or even for other simpler purposes such as using simple single solar cells instead of a battery for your calculator or your wrist watch. These solar power kits are extremely valuable in today's world where there is an urgent need for people to get away from the rising energy crisis. Also, since in most places bright and intense sunshine is received almost everyday, these solar power kits can make use of these solar energy advantages by getting useful energy for you to use in your house. Unlike popular rumour and talk, solar power kits are not all that tough to build. Even someone who is not all that experienced in building things can get this done really well. All it takes a little bit of time and dedication to the work and you may have solved the problem of energy needs and also saved a lto of money in the process. Read this brief blog post to learn more about how you can do this effectively without complicating things a lot.
There are different types of solar power kits which make use of solar energy advantages in different ways. There are some solar power kits in which all you have to do is utilize the assembled parts to put two and two together to make an effective solar power panel or whatever it is that you are planning to build. There are others where everything is already assembled and you just have to use it. However, these tend to be more expensive and just like in the case of computers, it is better if you assemble your own solar power kits. If you want to make more electricity and use it effectively, it is highly recommended that you use solar power kits that are built by yourself.


Making your own Solar Panels

Solar Power Panels are one of the easiest equipment to design using pre assembled solar power kits. Since Solar Panels are in so much demand today and so many companies prepare solar panels by themselves and sell it commercially to people. This would definitely be a credible option. These are also, however easy to assemble by yourself. All you would have to do is to get small power generating single solar cells and combine them using some sort of soldering process to hold the cells together which would in turn prepare the solar panel that you seek. You can then use some sort of a container to make sure that the cells stay in place and also to serve as a platform at the base. Then you would need to get properly conducting wiring to make sure that electricity flows smoothly and use that to connect your components together. There you go, now you are all set to generate your own electricity with the help of solar panels that you prepared. And guess what, they make use of solar energy advantages and hence you are producing practically pollution free energy which does not release harmful gases that pollute the environment.


How to build the Solar Power Kit

Once you have made your solar panel and prepared it for building as described in the step above, the next step is to assemble it and build it together. Some of the things you would need are silicon PV modules, charge controllers, Sealed batteries, and sine wave inverters. Wiring, hardware for mounting and fusing equipment between the components are some of the other things you would need in addition to the electrical equipment required above. The silicon PV modules can be around 32 Watt amorphous silicon PV module with about 12 Volts and the charge controllers capable of handling current of about 6 amp. The sealed batteries can have a capacity of about 92 Amp-hour and the sine wave inverters about 800 Watts. The wiring is extremely important as it is considered vital for you to determine which parts of your house the wiring goes to in order to power the correct parts of the house.


The Location of Your Solar Power Kit

It is important to remember that the Solar Power kits that you assembled are placed in a location where sufficient sunlight is received. This is the reason why most people decide to put it up in places where the most sunshine is received such as the roof top. Also, it is incredibly advantageous if you can build this at places when you are planning to build your house rather than after, because it will help put the wiring at the right parts of the house. For all practical purposes, this should not take more than a week or so especially if you know what you are doing.


Power Generation

One problem that you may encounter is that you would require inverters to convert the DC power that you get from your solar panels to AC power which your household appliances use. Once you have done that, you can be convinced that your solar power kit is ready and you can start using it effectively to start using solar energy to power your homes. They are helpful in that they help in reducing your electricity bills.


In conclusion, I can say that while solar power kits can be obtained if you are willing to put in the hard work necessary and spend some time on it, the toughest part is connecting it to the household applicances. One problem as I mentioned before is that the electricity produced in "DC" mode and the appliances inside the houses make use of AC. Therefore, it is important to make sure that you plan ahead and use solar power kits to your benefit. Also, consider the help you are offering to society and the environment. You are helping in making a big difference which also makes you feel really good. Feel free to comment below in case you have any questions.


For a greener planet,


Andy.

Photovoltaic cells – The science behind it

Photovoltaic cells or PV's as they are also known are one of the smartest inventions of the 21^st century that has enabled people to make use of solar energy advantages and convert it into electrical energy which can in turn be converted into other sources of energy. Photovoltaic cells basically turn the energy from the sun by receiving the photons (light particles) and converting them into direct current electricity. Many materials go into the preparation of photovoltaic cells and the most common materials that are used include different types of silicon such as monocrystalline silicon and polycrystalline silicon. Other materials included are cadmium telluride and copper indium sulfenide. The research that goes into enhancing the technology for photovoltaic cells has been given a big boost thanks to the increasing demand for solar energy products. Many countries have made solar energy producing power plants an important part of their agenda and has made it an important factor to improve researching facilities that goes into the production of efficient photovoltaic cells.


The production of Photovoltaic cells has been growing at a stunning rate of 20% each year and photovoltaic cells have the privilege have the privilege of being called as the "fastest growing technology of the world". Most solar power stations today have capacities that range from 10-60 MW. Many of the new solar PV's have are expected to have capacities of more than 120 MW. When the technology of photovoltaic cells first came out, the manufacturing costs were incredibly huge. Thanks to the global awareness that has been circulating about the prevention of global warming and other similar problems that the whole world is facing, many countries now offer financial incentives for those who get solar energy panels installed in their houses for generating their own energy to support the needs for various equipment that they use in their homes such as electrical appliances and lighting etc. However, the average American household does tend to use a lot of the solar energy that they get from solar panels that they put up at their house for heating purposes as it is ideal for solar energy to convert cold water into hot water or cold air into hot air thus providing enough heat to keep the house warm or the water warm.


To talk scientifically and technically to explain the phenomena of the photoelectric effect, the various "electrons" get knocked into a higher state thanks to the incoming photons which has energy in it thus resulting in the generation of electricity. This is because electricity is generated by the movement of electrons. Thus the electrons that get pushed into a higher energy state get excited and result in the creation of electricity. Solar photovoltaic cells use sun light to produce direct current which is basically the type of current that is used to power equipment or recharge batteries. These solar photovoltaic cells find their practical usage in plenty of solar cars and other solar powered equipment such as satellites which are located at ideal places to use the solar energy to produce electricity. However, we know that most household appliances use AC to power the equipment used. Therefore, in such cases, inverters can be used to convert the DC produced by the photovoltaic cells into AC thus being able to power the entire house if used in a residential complex.


To enable large scale usage of photovoltaic cells that make use of the various solar energy advantages, many of these single photovoltaic cells can be combined together to form what we know as solar panels or modules. The basic structure consists of these photovoltaic cells being placed behind strong glass sheets in order to protect them from damage.
The worldwide usage of these photovoltaic cells is enormous and was close to 6 Giga Watts Peak in 2009. However, it shows that there is room for improvement in other countries, especially developing countries as 90% of this worldwide usage came from only three countries, namely, USA, Japan and Germany with Germany having the highest number of "solar photovoltaic cells" installation. Germany, so far, holds the record for having the highest electricity generating solar PV installation. It set up a 3,800 MW PV installation in 2009. The United States comes in at a distant second with about 500 MW installed in 2009. The difference, as you can see, is huge.


Another big solar energy advantage is that comes from utilizing these solar energy modules is the fact that it totally boosts the country's economy. This is a result of the enormous number of jobs that the industry can create and has created. Germany is the perfect example for this with over 10,000 jobs generated in the installation and production of these monolithic Solar PV panels. It is also the fastest growing solar energy market in the whole world. This is really great for the country as the amount of fossil fuel reserves are depleting as the years are passing and as opposed to that, the demand for solar energy and other sources of renewable energy is really increasing at a rapid rate.


One of the places where these photovoltaic cells are used a lot is in the power plants. At a close second comes the many buildings that can use anything varying from solar powered roofs to solar installations that are less than a couple of 100 square feet large in area.
Solar PV's are also used a lot in transport although this market is yet to evolve and become more efficient. Since the area required to power a car with the help of solar energy advantages is quite large, the car can become quite bulky which is contradictory to the normal styles of cars these days which are usually found to be tiny, slim, sleek and well, just "modern".


I hope that this "photovoltaic cells" post helped you in understanding more about them and consider getting some for your own house to generate what little electricity you can. Also consider my "solar energy advantages" posts found in this blog to learn more about making your own solar panels.


To a greener future,


Andy.

Different Renewable Energy Sources

I have been writing a lot about solar energy advantages in my previous posts in this blog. We all know that solar energy is one of the best sources of renewable energy available out there. It generates a lot of energy and of course, we know that the sun shines at almost all places on earth except for the poles, of course and hence making it a really attractive source of energy to try and capture to be used efficiently. Unfortunately, one of the solar energy disadvantages is of course, the word "efficiency". Scientists are in a race to try and invent technology that will increase the efficiency of solar energy equipment including photovoltaic cells. But what about the other sources of renewable energy and how well do they convert into electrical energy. What is the availability of these other renewable sources of energy? Is it practical to even consider them as options for converting it into other sources of energy such as electricity? Find out by reading this blog post on the different types of renewable energy.
You may be surprised to know about the extremely high potential of some of the other renewable sources of energy such as Geothermal Energy. I, for one, had always thought that solar energy was, by far, the most practical source of renewable energy that could be converted into other sources of energy such as electrical energy. In one of my previous post, I had written about Mojave Desert, largest solar power installations in the world. The Mojave Desert which uses Solar Energy Generation Systems has a combined electrical capacity of 354 MW (megawatts). This is an immense amount of power and satisfies the energy needs of more than 500,000 people in the United States. If that is not whopping enough to think about, wait till you hear this. The Geysers Geothermal Power plants which has a combined rated capacity of more than 750 MW has more than 22 power plants in it. It is located in California and currently meets the electricity energy needs of more than a thumping 1.1 million people. This is an immense amount of power and is indeed for the environment as all it makes use of is the thermal power or the heat coming out from the core of the earth. However, equipment that makes use of solar energy still remains to be one of the most widely distributed equipment in the world and outcompetes other sources of energy by a pretty big margin. Wind Energy comes at a pretty close second.
One of the countries which meets about 20% of its automotive fuel needs through renewable energy sources is Brazil. It makes use of ethanol that is extracted from sugar canes and other sources and uses the latest technology to generate electricity from that. Ethanol fuel is also used a lot in large powers in the United States.
Let's take a look at what exactly the definition of renewable energy sources is. According to Wikipedia, "Renewable energy is derived from natural processes that are replenished constantly. In its various forms, it derives directly from the sun, or from heat generated deep within the earth. Included in the definition is electricity and heat generated from solar, wind, ocean, hydropower, biomass, geothermal resources, and biofuels and hydrogen derived from renewable resources."
Alright, so lets take a look at each of these renewable energy sources in detail.

1. 
   
   Wind Energy: Although the energy generated from wind may not sound like much because it feels like part of everyday life, (at least that's how I used to think) wind energy is capable of generating immense amounts of power sufficient to meet the energy needs of a lot of people. Wind energy is used to rotate turbines
   which in turn generate electricity with the help of the standard turbine technology used to generate electricity. Wind farms are places where a lot of wind mills are set up to generate electricity. These wind farms are typically located at high altitudes and basically areas such as the prairies where the wind is really strong. Offshore resources are also used a lot for setting up wind farms as they also receive as much as 90% more wind than land. Wind energy is clean, renewable and does not produce harmful gases such as methane or carbon-di-oxide.
   
   
    
   
2. 
   
   Geothermal Energy: I already mentioned this kind of energy when I was talking about the Geysers and how much energy they are capable of producing. This is another popular renewable energy source that basically uses the heat or the thermal power coming from the core of the earth to convert it into electricity. Geothermal energy is generally converted into electricity using 3 types of power plants – dry steam, flash and binary. Although the initial costs for setting up geothermal power plants can be quite high, the operating costs are really low hence resulting in low energy costs.
   
   
    
   
3. 
   
   Hydropower: Typically set up in places where there is a large flow of water such as waterfalls and rivers, hydropower generates huge amounts of power as it makes use of the kinetic energy of water. Hydropower is also available in other forms such as tidal power and ocean energy. Normally, huge hydro power stations are built along with big dams.
   
   
    
   
4. 
   
   Biomass: Biomass is the energy that is derived from plants. Plants use a process called photosynthesis to convert energy from the sun into chemical energy. Thus energy from the sun is stored in plants as chemical energy. This energy gets released when the plants are burned. This is basically, the principle upon which biomass works.
   
   
    
   
5. 
   
   Solar Energy: This is basically what
   this blog is all about and you can find out more information about solar energy by going around in this blog. It is one of the widely used renewable sources of energy all over the world. You too should learn how to make use by browsing through the various solar energy facts available in this blog.
   
   
    
   

The above are basically the different types of renewable energy that are available and are widely used. Other sources include biofuel and using ethanol as fuel etc. Many countries and their governments are making use of these renewable sources of energy by setting up big power plants. Learn how you too can help by building your own solar panels and making use of the various solar energy advantages.

Mojave Desert – Largest Solar Power Installation in the World

Since we have been talking about various solar energy advantages, I thought I would give you a detailed summary about some of the largest solar power installations in the world and how they generate a lot of electricity that is enough to support entire cities. Mojave Desert, which is located in certain parts of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, south western Utah and North western Arizona gets its name after Mohave tribe of native Americans. It is best known because of the large number of solar power plants which generates collectively over 354 megawatts (MW). There are several power plants in the Mojave Desert built from as long back as the 80's. According to Wikipedia, there are currently about nine solar power plants in the Desert. These power plants are also called as SEGS which stands for Solar Energy Generation Systems. The federal government of the United States plans to build more solar power plants in the desert among which is the Nevada Solar One solar plant which is expected to have a capacity of 64 MW. Mojave desert is one of the most ideal places for solar power generation as the solar radiation at this desert is among one of the best that is available in the US.



The south western part of the US receives some of the best amounts of solar radiation in the whole world and hence it is considered to be an ideal location for setting up power plants. It is said that the Mojave Desert receives up to twice the sunlight than other regions of the country. Therefore it is naturally an attractive place for setting up renewable sources of energy such as the solar plant which unlike non renewable sources or traditional sources of energy do not burn and pollute the air and consume only sunlight which is abundantly available unlike other fuels.


There are many incalculable factors when it comes to estimating the uses and benefits of fossil fuels. While the advantages are obvious (can be used to drive cars, and other automobiles), there are other factors such as pollution related health problems, degradation of the environment etc. that cannot be calculated exactly and is therefore, one cannot truly estimate the costs involved when it comes to non- renewable sources of energy. Also coming into the picture is factors related to buying fuel from other countries which can also turn out to be quite expensive. However, this is different with renewable sources of energy, especially solar energy because of the materials that are required to build set up this installation. This is because you are mainly using readily available materials that are available easily. This is indeed a big solar energy advantage.



Solar power towers typically use several tracking mirrors that are positioned at different angles to try and catch the sun's rays from practically any location in the sky it is at. These tracking mirrors are also called as heliostats. An example of such solar power towers is the solar one and solar two. They have the capacity to produce as much as 10 MW of power. One characteristic feature of the Solar Two was that it used molten salt to capture the son's energy and power. The hot salt could be used whenever needed to generate electricity. Astonishingly, it operated through clouds and even throughout the night. Solar two was later used as a telescope by the Californian Government.


Solar Energy Generation Systems (SEGS) – I told you about these earlier. These are the systems that are used primarily in the Mojave Desert. Here's some details regarding what they are used for and the future prospects for these systems. These SEG's were built by a company called as the Liz Industries which hails from Israel and were built in the 1980's. They generate a staggering 350 MW of power and are today used to meet the electricity needs of more than a staggering 500,000 people.


Trough Systems are normally parabolical in shape and this enables them to focus the sun's rays onto the grid or the panel at roughly 60 times the initial intensity of the sun. Now that is one place where you would not want to be standing at as that is an incredible amount of heat. These systems also have another unique feature. They use synthetic oil instead of the normally used water for circulating around the pipes inside the solar panels. This reaches temperatures of almost 750 F and is very hot once it comes out from the pipes. The hot oil is then sent to a generator or a generating station where an exchanger is typically used to convert it into electricity which is produced at the end by using the conventional steam turbines.


The Nellis Solar Power Plant, the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility and the Nevada Solar One are some of the very well known upcoming projects that is being considered by the Us Department of Energy. So now that you have learnt about some of the biggest solar energy advantages which is being utilized on a large scale all over the world. Many countries across the world are starting to utilize the solar energy to produce electricity on a large scale these days. In fact, it is vital that fast developing countries such as India and China make use of renewable sources of energy as they are going to become one of the biggest emitters of carbon di oxide, carbon mono oxide, sulphur di oxide and other similar harmful gases in the future. This could even facilitate the forming of really big holes in the ozone layer as well. This can be a big problem for humanity.


Make use of the solar energy advantages now and build a solar power system in your house immediately to start saving thousands of dollars in the future. Avail of various tax incentives offered by the government and save even more money.


To a greener future,


Andy.

Home Solar Power Systems – Are they easy to build?

There has been a lot of talk about home solar power systems from as the past couple of decades especially after all the growth and development that the solar energy area has been undergoing in the past decade or so. Further, immense advancements in technology has further made it possible for home owners and scientists to look at from a commercial and practical point of view and consider it as a serious competitor for other traditional energy sources. Also, solar energy has also taken big strides in the renewable sources of energy field and is way ahead of other renewable sources of energy when it comes to converting natural sources into useful energy such as electricity. The thing about electricity and the reason why many scientists get excited over converting renewable sources of energy is that it is very versatile and flexible. What I mean to say is that electricity can be converted to almost any other form of energy that we practically use in our day to day life. This is also one of the other solar energy advantages as it makes sure that all the solar energy is being efficiently converted into electrical energy. The other advantage with electricity is that it is efficient. In fact, that is one of its single highest advantages. Because it is efficient, the energy can be used in almost every way without losing a lot of energy. Anyway, now lets move back to the original topic of home solar power systems and look at the options that a prospective buyer has of getting one or buying one or installing everything by himself in his house.



I digressed a bit from the main point that I was going to talk about. This can happen to me from time to time and you may have noticed it if you have been reading the posts in my blog for quite a long time. Anyway, once again, getting back to "home solar power systems"...


Let's look at some of the advantages of home solar power. As each day and each month passes, many governments across the world are realizing the various advantages that generating useful energy out of solar energy has to both the people in the respective countries and to themselves as a huge money saver. Even the private sector is getting very actively involved and is viewing it as a huge money making opportunity. Any time that the private sector gets involved so actively, you know that there are profits involved. Also, with today's energy crisis turning out to be pretty bad, it does not come as a surprise that solar energy and other renewable sources of energy are being looked upon as possible solutions to this problem. Of course, fossil fuels need not be mentioned as being sources of pollution and being perfectly capable of harming the environment and our planet. Here's a fact if you have not heard about it before. Every hour, if all the energy that the earth receives is effectively used, then it will be enough to meet the energy needs of the whole population of the earth for an entire year. For those wanting facts, every day, one square feet of area on the earth receives as much as a thousand watts of energy. Photovoltaic cells or PV's or solar cells as they are known can be used in a large scale to convert this solar energy to electricity. The Mojave Desert is one of the perfect examples of the ways this energy can be used. It is located in California and meets the energy needs of 500,000 people by using solar energy.



Solar panels are basically made up a lot of solar cells and are designed to generate electrical energy from solar energy and are basically made up of a lot of individual solar cells or photovoltaic cells are they are also called. Ideally, they would have to be placed at places where the sun shines all day. Also, it would be even better if it could somehow be made sure that it is angled in such a way that when the sun is the brightest or the most intense, the solar panel receives all of the sun's rays in an efficient manner. As I had described before in one of my previous posts about the working of photovoltaic cells, silicon receives these rays and there are two plates of silicon-phosphorus and phosophorus-born which make sure that the electricity is conducted with a smooth flow of electrons. You have to make sure that you need other essential equipment such as charge controllers preferable around 6 amps and battery tanks to store power. The solar panel is built in such a way that this energy is stored properly when there is excess electrical energy generated.


The best part about home solar power systems is that if you happen to make extra power with the help of your solar panel, you can sell that power to your local utility company for money. This is also called as "net metering" and is basically the process where in government recognize people who generate their own power and seek to reward them by offering various financial incentives and tax incentives. You would have to pay lesser money in taxes than most other people. In "net metering" basically what happens is that your electric meter runs back and forth depending on how much extra energy or power you have generated.


Regarding the costs, the main factor that you would have to be worried about with home solar power systems is that the initial costs can be quite formidable. But it helps if you consult professionals such as solar professionals or professionals from your utility company to see if your house is fit to be used for generating power with solar energy. But, rest assured that you will definitely recover any costs that you may have gone through initially, in the long run when the home solar power system starts churning out some serious power for you sitting on the rooftop of your house.


To a greener future,


Andy.