Posts Tagged ‘solar thermal’

Solar energy means the energy, heat or electricity, produced directly using the energy radiated from the Sun (renewable) toward the Earth.

At any time the Sun transmits on the terrestrial orbit 1367 watts per sq meters. Taking into account the fact that the Earth is a rotating sphere, the average solar radiation at the American latitudes is of about 200 watts / m. Multiplying the average power per square meter for the land surface of the northern hemisphere moment to moment exposed to the sun you get a power greater than 50 million GW.

The amount of solar energy that reaches the Earth’s soil is so huge, approximately ten thousand times greater than all the energy used by humanity as a whole, but not very concentrated in the sense that it is necessary to collect energy from vast areas to have significant quantities. To produce energy a system requires generally high cost products, considerably expensive than other methods of generating energy.

The development of technologies that could make economic use of solar energy is an area of active research but, for now, had no revolutionary results. Solar energy can be used to generate electricity (photovoltaic) or to generate heat (solar thermal).

There are three main technologies to transform energy exploitable in the sun’s energy:

• Solar Water Heater: A solar panel that uses sunlight to heat a liquid with special features, contained in its internal transfers heat through a heat exchanger.
• The concentration solar panel uses a series of parabolic mirrors in a linear structure to focus sunlight on a receiver tube that runs a heat transfer fluid or a series of mirrors which concentrate plans rays at a tower where there is a boiler.
• Photovoltaic Panel: A solar panel that uses the special properties of semiconductor components to produce electricity when requested by the light.

Currently, solar panels are used to provide hot water (solar thermal) and heating to homes and small complexes. The photovoltaic panels are used mainly to feed devices away from electricity grids (space probes, phone repeaters in the high mountains or Traffic signals, parking meters, etc.).

Obviously, these devices must be equipped with batteries that can accumulate the electricity produced in excess during the day to fuel equipment at night and during cloudy periods.

With current technology, photovoltaic panels are also sensitive to infrared radiation (invisible) of sunlight and thus produce current in the event of time clouds and rain. The amount of energy released, however, is variable and difficult to predict, this gap makes it difficult to meet at all times application of current, less than a production with a wide safety margin above the peak annual demand.

So, solar and wind power are intermittent plants that provide energy in constant movement, but is the peak of production for solar energy in summer it can offset the increased domestic demand due to air conditioners.

In Germany, as example, the citizen pays the bill in the difference between what they consume and what they produce. If the balance is positive then they get a credit. Similar legislation was recently introduced in U.S.A with a tax credit to help increase the use of solar powered systems in home energy production.

Valery Forty is the editor of the blog www.12VoltSolarPanels.net, a free online resource to help people get detailed info on solar power and read reviews on the latest products.

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Technorati Tags: photovoltaic, renewable energy, solar energy, solar panels, solar thermal

Installing a home solar power or wind power alternate energy solution saves money and saves our environment. This article summarizes the typical solar power components.

As we all know, the world is currently facing a significant energy crisis. As such, it only makes sense to make the slight up-front investment in an alternate power solution at home. Not only does it help the local energy crisis struggle, but also helps save power for the entire world. Installing a home solar power or wind power alternate energy solution saves money as well saves our environment.

Among the alternate power solutions, the home solar power system and the wind power system are the most popular and are becoming more cost-effective and far less cumbersome than in the past. Wind power is one great solution, just not all of us can deploy it at our homes because of minor requirements. To implement a wind power system, we need a fairly large area and have an average wind speed of the area at least 11 miles per hour. Although these requirements are very easy to meet for most, in comparison, the solar power system is typically easier to implement. The only requirement is an abundance of sunlight.

A complete solar power system can have many different elements. Typically, people implement a few or all of these components, as needed. A few of the most common components are as follows :

Solar Cooker: A solar cooker is one of the most popular solar energy system that is typically used in homes. It has several advantages :

No use of fuel : solar cookers do not use any fuel other than sunlight, which keeps you saving power and decreasing those electric bills.

No polluted emissions : solar cookers do not emit any gases to the atmosphere nor does it produce residue. It makes for the most eco-friendly cooking system.

Variety of cooking : You can roast, boil, and bake, etc!

Healthy cooking : The food prepared by means of a solar cooker is very healthy. You can typically prepare meals for family of about 5 in a small cooking box all at the same time.

Solar thermal system : Installing a solar heating system or solar thermal in your home can provide your home’s temperature requirements. It allows you to maintain a steady temperature in your home without the worry of electric bills. Due to its increasing popularity, heating systems have become not only cost-effective but also aesthetically pleasing.

Solar generator : A solar generator is simply a device that can run all your electrical appliances and more utilizing our earth’s free solar energy. This device can convert solar energy into electrical energy by means of solar cells called photovoltaic cells, storing energy in these cells for later usage. A solar generator is sometimes also referred to as the solar lighting system. Simply put, installing a home solar generator is such a wonderful power-saving and cost-effective idea. Just think of getting all that free electricity!

See his full story at Solar Power System to discover his exact steps you too can easily follow.

Technorati Tags: solar, solar cooker, solar generator, Solar Power, solar thermal