Most of us intuitively know that there is more sunlight on average in a state like Arizona as opposed to Ohio which has very cold, snowy and overcast winter season. While this does not mean that solar power is impractical in areas with less sun light, it does mean that some careful planning will be required to construct an effective system.
Solar panels are oriented differently depending upon where they are installed. When located in the southern hemispher, solar panels are directed at "solar north." Conversely, panels located in the northern hemisphere the panels are directed at "solar south." The actual angle is dictated by the geographic location and latitude of the installation.
The amount of solar energy that can be captured is measured as the amount of full sunlight per m2 (that is meter squared). The term Peak Sun Hours actually means the average amount of sun light that can is received per day over the course of a year.
Peak sun is defined as 1000W/m2. A watt is a measure of energy. One hour of full sun light produces 1000Wh per m2 which equals 1kWh/m2. Said plainly, this is the amount of solar energy that can be received on a cloudless summer day on a surface that is 1 meter by 1 meter.
In order to plan for an installation you need to find out what the number of peak sun hours are for your location. There are a variety of sources for this information, including the following site:
http://solar4power.com/solar-power-insolation-windo.html
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
How Does Solar Power Work? - A Quick Overview
If you've ever found yourself asking, "How does solar power work," there are really three main concepts you need to understand: how solar power works, how other people use it, and how you can use it in your own home. In this article, I'll touch on each of these concepts and you'll come away with a better understanding of the way solar power is collected and used.
How Does Solar Power Work?
Solar energy is collected by photovoltaic ("photo-vol-tay-ick") cells which are made (partially) of silicone, are installed in panels, and are placed in areas that receive a lot of direct sunshine-- typically, a person's roof. When the sun beats down on these photovoltaic cells, negatively charged neutrons are dislodged from the silicone of each cell. These neutrons are trapped by a magnetic field and then harvested by tiny wires in the silicone to form an electric current, which can then be put to productive use. Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to live in a hot climate to be able to use solar power; you just have to be in an area that receives a good amount of sunshine.
How Do People Use Solar Power?
The same way they use any other electricity! People use solar energy to power their entire homes from running their air conditioners and hot water heaters, to powering their light bulbs and major appliances. If you generate more electricity than you use, you can actually get your electric meter to run backward, and the electric company will send you a check at the end of the month rather than a bill!
How Can You Use Solar Power In Your Own Home?
If you're interested in installing solar panels and running your home on clean energy, you have two options: you can either hire a company to install a commercially made solar system, or you can build your own system. Installing a commercial system is hassle-free-- someone else does it for you!-- and the cost greatly depends on how much electricity your household uses. Typically, a commercial system costs between $5,000 and $25,000. The cost of building your own system is much less-- about $200. The construction and installation of such a system takes about two days.
If you've ever wondered, "how does solar power work," now you know. And now that you understand more clearly how it works and how it's put to use, you're in a much better position to weigh the options available to you and make an informed decision on how to best incorporate it into your own home.
To learn how to build your own solar panels, visit http://www.GetSolarAndWindEnergy.com?q=howsolarworks
Stephanie Ashley is a major proponent of alternative energy and therapies.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephanie_Ashley
Residential Solar Power in the Family Home
A useful discussion on solar power around the family home. Whilst residential solar power in the family home is considered by all as the answer to the worlds energy problems one of the biggest struggles to the family home is the capital cost to be environmentally friendly. Fortunately there are methodologies that are within the family budget.
The concept of residential solar energy is quite simple, harness the suns energy with a solar panel, turn it into electrical power so that it can be utilized by the home user to operate electric appliances. Also available is the opportunity to be connected to the electric power company (the grid) and minimize your electric bill. Electric power companies also allow the consumer to enter into an agreement that can offer a electric power cost rebate.
Some of the positives at the user level for solar energy is that most of the solar equipment such as solar power panels, once installed, are maintenance free and have a very long life span. All of which reduces the overall cost to the user. Probably the simplest implementation of solar energy is stand alone solar powered lighting. These do not require connection to the grid, can have their own built in storage battery and are basically set and forget.
Other simple solar systems for around the home are solar power panels used to operate dedicated equipment, such as phone chargers, iPod's, DVD players etc. This also includes portable backpack type solar power supplies. Meaning we can leave a very small environmental footprint and still be comfortable whilst backpacking. Such wonderful inventions allow many individuals to take up the residential solar energy challenge around the family home at a cost they can afford.
One of the struggles for the family home is to fulfil the needs and wants of a modern society without compromising the world for future generations and at a dollar cost that they can afford.
As the awareness of the finite availability of fossil fuels and energy prices soar, residential solar power as an alternative energy source is increasing dramatically.
The benefits of residential solar power can be purchased very cheaply. Click here now to commence solar journey! http://www.residentialsolarpower21c.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_Guy
Types of Homemade Power Systems
The Sun's energy has been used by man since ages. It has been used to provide natural lighting, for drying various vegetables, spices and herbs and for many other purposes. Today, solar energy is harnessed by various homemade solar power systems to perform different functions.
If you are interested in going "green", you can use any of these four homemade solar power systems:
1. Solar electricity: You can install photovoltaic solar panels at home. These solar panels convert the sun's energy into electricity. Solar electric power is clean, affordable and very easy to implement. Besides, you can build your own solar power systems and save on the cost required to install a commercial system. The electricity produced is DC (Direct current) which has to be converted to AC (Alternating current) before it can be used.
2. Solar water heater: This is a very efficient homemade solar power system. These heating systems are so good that they can replace your geysers or boilers completely. The pipes of a solar water heater collect the sun's energy and use it to warm the water flowing through them.
3. Passive solar design: Passive solar living involves use of sunlight to provide natural ventilation and heating. Strategic placement of mirrors and windows at home can maximize the amount of sunlight that comes in during the day. You can use either a solar attic fan or a solar chimney for natural ventilation. Hot air from home will be replaced by cool air from outside. Employing this homemade power system will help you in cutting down your electricity bill drastically
4. Solar ovens: A solar oven, also known as solar cooker is a very healthy method of cooking food. It has been successfully used in a lot of countries to desalinize water. A solar oven consists of series of reflective panels which focus sunlight on a pot in which the food is to be cooked. You can use it for boiling, baking and roasting.
Homemade solar power systems make your home "greener" and reduce your carbon footprint.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charlie_Conor
Residential Solar Power Systems
Residential solar power systems have demanded attention as one of the real solutions to today's energy crisis. Solar power is clean, abundant, non polluting, and hey, it's free.
Even after traveling 93,000,000 miles through the cold of space and being diffused by the earth's atmosphere, there is still an estimated 120,000 terrawats of energy left to warm the surface of our planet. How much energy is that?
Well, if man could harness all that energy for just one hour, he could provide all the electricity used by the whole world for one year. Now that's what I call it an abundant energy source! And let's not forget that this energy source is constant and always available.
The obvious question is: With such an abundant source of available energy at the best price possible, which is free, why isn't solar energy a major player in the energy game?
Unfortunately some feel that they stand to lose if solar energy becomes more widespread. Think about it: If a millionaire opened up a self service gas station where you could get gasoline for free, who would stand to lose? You guessed it. All the other gas station owners. They would probably do everything they could to keep the free gasoline off the market. Understandable, right?
Likewise the big oil companies do not want to lose their monopoly as a source of world energy and so we have not seen a real push to advance the development of solar energy; that is, until now.
The realization that energy sources such as natural gas and oil will eventually be exhausted (estimates are within the next 65 to 90 years) has forced the major players in the energy game to read the writing on the wall. Something must be done to replace these dwindling sources of energy. Enter solar energy along with wind and thermonuclear power.
While there is very little that we can do to force the oil industry, gas industry, or coal industry to change their ways now, there is much that can be done on an individual level. There are quite a few companies across the country that are developing and promoting residential solar power systems.
Today you can find all the components needed for a residential solar power system at your local hardware store. A basic system would consist of solar panels for collecting the sun's rays, a charge controller to regulate the flow of electricity from the panels to the batteries, storage batteries, and an inverter for changing the DC current from the battery to AC current for use in the home. You can either pay to have the system installed for you or you can install it yourself using one of the many do it yourself kits that are available today.
If you would like to drastically reduce or eliminate your high electric bill, have your own individual source of free energy, and go green, a residential solar power system is for you. Installing your home residential solar power system is not as difficult as you might think. You have been informed. The rest is up to you! Click on the link below for details.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=R._Louis
Do Solar Power Kits Really Work?
In these days of recession and rising power costs, many homeowners are taking a serous look at the possibility of installing a solar power system in their home to cut down on their power bill. Unfortunately, the cost of having such a system professionally installed in prohibitively high. A third option has recent popped up on the internet, however: Do-It-Yourself home built solar power kits. Such websites promise that you can build your own home solar panels for a faction of the cost of a professional installation.
Are their claims serious, or scams? Can you really build solar panels at home using solar power kits? Where can you find the materials and the tools? How long will it take? Is it safe? This article will try to answer your questions.
The Solar Power Kits
Be very careful when buying solar power kits online. As with any product, there is a wide range of quality. Some solar power kits are thrown together at the last minute to make a quick buck. Such kits, although cheap, are usually limited to text instructions filled with technical jargon and confusing illustrations (if they have any at all). Better, higher-quality (although more expensive) solar power kits feature clear step by step instructions for building solar panels, written in plain English, with lots of quality illustrations, blueprints, and schematics, and sometimes even DVD videos demonstrating the more complicated steps.
Before choosing and buying a solar power kit, research your purchase thoroughly online. Check consumer review websites and see what past customers have to say about the product.
The Materials
Believe it or not, almost all of the materials need to construct solar panels can be found at your local home improvement stores (like Home Depot) or electronics stores (like Radio Shack). The deep-cycle batteries for the battery banks may require a bit of searching, and if you live in a small town you may need to make a shopping excursion to a larger city, but they can still be found at a competitive price.
The only materials not easily obtained are the solar cells themselves. These, however, can be ordered off the internet easily and rather cheaply. The price of solar cells has come down dramatically in the last ten years as demand has increased, and today you can buy 36-square-inch solar cells for between six to ten dollars apiece.
The Tools
Once again, all the tools needed to build and install home solar panels are easily found at your local hardware and electronics stores. Purchasing specialized tools (like a voltage meter and a soldering gun) may add to the cost of the project, but you'll almost certainly use them again.
The Time
Websites selling solar power kits promise that you can build it in once weekend. This is a very optimistic estimate, to say the least. Unless you are an experienced tradesmen with a fully-stocked garage workshop, it will probably take longer than two days. Even if the project requires a month of weekends, however, most people find this time commitment acceptable.
Is It Safe?
Whenever you're working with electricity, there is always the possibility of injury from electrical shock. Worse, improper or faulty wiring could burn your house down. Be careful and take every precaution.
You can probably build solar panels and connect the battery banks, voltage regulator, and DC inverter safely, as the amounts of electricity involved at that point are miniscule. The real danger comes, however, when you attempt to connect the solar power system to your home's electrical grid. The amount of electricity in play then is more than enough to shock or start fires.
The safest course of action would be to hire a licensed electrician to connect your solar power kits to your home's electrical grid. Depended on where you live, it might even be required by law. Have the electrician inspect the wiring in the other parts of your solar panels as well, just to be safe.
| Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rafael_Rosario | |
Residential Solar Power - Get Energy From the Sun and Reduce Your Energy Bills!
Residential solar power can be generated by converting solar radiation into electricity. This can in turn by converted to other forms of energy to serve your household needs. As solar power is a type of renewable energy, it is clean and environmentally friendly. More than that, solar energy is available in abundance and will continue to be for another few million years.
Solar radiation can either be converted into electricity or it can be used to heat up air and water. Heat that's absorbed into air can be used to warm your room. Water heated by solar radiation can be used for a hot shower or to fill up your pool. When solar energy is converted to electricity using solar panels, there is no limit to what you can do with it. This is the most common way of tapping solar power for residential use.
A solar (photovoltaic) panel typically consists of sections of inter-connected semi-conductor cells. A cluster of such panels, called an array, adds up the individual power production to form higher energy.
Photovoltaic panels have to be placed in a location exposed to direct sunlight. Very often, your roof is the ideal place for solar panels to rest on. There, panels are kept out of sight. And they are not sheltered by vegetation.
The light collected by photovoltaic panels is transformed into electrical energy with the help of PV cells. Direct current (DC) is generated, which are then converted into AC current with the help of an inverter. When sufficient electricity is generated from the sun, they are fed into the mains to form a grid-tied system.
Homeowners with property in remote locations may often want their solar power generators to be off-grid. As such, they will need a storage bank to store electricity they can tap on during the night.
In recent years, more and more homeowners have turned to solar energy to bring down their ever-increasing electricity bills. A major factor that prevents more homeowners to adopt solar power is its cost. While it's true that photovoltaic panels now cost only a tenth of what is used to, a full setup still sets you back by at least twenty to thirty thousand dollars.
Your dependence on fossil fuel can be reduced if cheaper home solar panels are available. Fortunately, manufacturers also make photovoltaic modules for sale to the public. You can put these together to build your own residential solar power panels at low cost and generate electricity for free! However, there are many potholes on the road to success. Having an expert to guide you along reduce your learning curve and saves you from costly mistakes. Alternatively, books written by experts help you avoid many frustrations too.
John Greenspan is an expert in homemade solar panels and has build several solar power generators in his spare time. Are you interested in building DIY Solar panels? Pick up your FREE "How To Build Solar Panels" eBook at => http://www.diysolarpanelsworld.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Greenspan
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