Solar Power Energy for Sustainable Living
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Mon 1 Sep 2008
Solar power energy has been used for centuries to dray laundry, grow crops and sustain life. Increasingly now it is being used to create energy and generate electricity. Solar energy is one of the free gifts of nature. Its biggest advantage is it is renewable, and it is great in areas which receive a lot of sunlight and have poor power generating infrastructure. The disadvantage of this system is that it cannot collect energy in the night, and it requires a number of collectors to generate a little bit of solar power energy.
Benefits of Solar Energy
Solar power energy can be harnessed by using solar cells, also known as Photovoltaic cells, which convert sun’s rays directly into electricity. The power generated from such sources is used in satellites and for electrical appliances used in homes. Solar water heating can be done in many ways. One common method is to heat up solar panels on the roof which in turn heats water for home use. Solar heating is created by heating up cold air through solar collectors and circulating the hot air in the rooms. The hot air is circulated when the hot air rises and the cool air enters the room and is heated through the solar collectors. The air flow continues thus continuing to heat the air and circulate it.
For the average household, the main benefit of harnessing solar power energy is saving on electricity bills and creating an alternative system of power that can sustain during power outage. The other major benefit is the backup heaters that come handy to heat water during cloudy days.
With so many benefits, what is keeping solar power energy to be used in every household? One of the disadvantages is the cost of a complete system. Presently, the system is not cost competitive on a standalone basis. In residential areas where there is a grid tie up connection, solar power energy makes a lot of sense. In off-grid areas, it is more advisable to use solar energy for street and garden lighting, highway call boxes, etc.
The increased usage of solar power energy will depend a lot on government policies and the incentives offered to encourage people to switch to solar energy. A number of countries have established attractive incentives for the development of solar and other renewable energy sources. Direct subsidies to end users to offset costs of solar equipment and installation charges being one of the main incentives.
All About Solar Power Houses
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Sat 30 Aug 2008
With everyone starting to see more and more that we are destroying our planet by making waste, instead of using the natural resources that have always been available to us, it is no wonder there are many groups shouting for a change. In the ideal world we would all take advantage of the sun as people did a long time ago. But the fact is, can there be an efficient houses of solar power that will still allow us to leave like we are today?
Solar power houses have been the envy of a lot of people for some time but it seems that although many people see the benefit of having these, no one is really doing anything about it. And when you do read about someone building solar power houses, they are generally single people who do not watch any television or use the computer. This is not to say that there is anything wrong with their choice because for every person that invests in solar power houses, the world becomes a little greener. But how efficient are these places for your typical family with children and such since it is probably these households using the most electric.
Cost Of It All
When it really comes down to how much it will cost to build or remodel a home to be one of the few solar power houses around, it is going to depend on the work that needs to be done. A lot of people will tell you that it is much cheaper to start from scratch because building a new home to be one of the solar power houses is much cheaper then trying to remodel an existing home to make it all work out properly. The work of remodeling a home to work on solar can be very expensive.
But no matter the cost of the upfront expenses, the cost that you are going to save over a lifetime will far exceed that. And plus, who is to say there should be a price on saving our planet? Maybe more people should start thinking of ways to make solar power houses more efficient for everyone so that not so much damage will continue to be done to our planet. Since we only have one planet to live on at the current moment, it is probably a good idea that everyone come together to help make it a safe place to live.
A Brief Guide to Solar Power for Homes
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Thu 28 Aug 2008
Solar energy was used in ancient times for heating houses. It was after the discovery of the photoelectric effect and the invention of steam engine powered by solar energy that people started thinking about using solar power for running simple domestic machines, besides using it for heating purposes. The need for using solar power for homes was seriously considered in the 20th century when it was realized that fossil fuels (coal, gas, and oil) were not inexhaustible and that electricity will be harder to generate inexpensively in future. Using solar power for homes also offers little serious impact on the environment.
Uses of Solar Power for Homes
Solar energy can be used at homes for serving various purposes. They are primarily used for running small, low-power appliances like radios, lightings, gadgets, small water pumps, and even children’s toys. Solar power can also be stored in batteries and used for lighting the house during an episode of power failure. And of course, solar power is increasingly being used for heating homes during winter.
How Home Solar Power Systems Work?
To use solar power for homes, photovoltaic (PV) panels are attached to the roof of a house such that their expanded surfaces face south for houses located in the northern hemisphere. For those in the southern hemisphere, the panels should face north to gather maximum solar energy. The average power production of a solar cell is about 11 to 22 watt per square foot. The solar energy, when received by the panels, generates electric current in them. This current is stored in a large battery bank that is connected to the PV array through a charger controller. The DC current stored in the battery is converted to AC current (used in homes) by a DC-AC inverter for running home various appliances.
Odds against Using Solar Power for Homes
The major disadvantage that hampers the use of solar power for homes is their high cost of purchase and installation. Depending on the size of the home and the particular solar power system, it costs an average of $20,000 to $40,000 for installing a solar power system at home. The high costs of setting up solar panels at home are due to the requirement of using pure silicon in their manufacture. Recently, however, solar-grade silicon has been derived from metallurgical silicon. This innovation is expected to reduce the costs of installing solar power systems at home to about one-third of the current costs. Besides high costs, solar panels are not very useful in areas of little sunshine and also on cloudy days as well as after sunset.
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Alternative Renewable Energy from Solar Wind Power
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Tue 26 Aug 2008
Besides the cost and environmental benefits of using natural energy provided by the sun and wind, installation of alternative electricity generation system is the only way to power your home. Siting a solar wind power generator is extremely important to the working of the machine. The ideal location for a wind turbine is about twenty feet above any surrounding object with a 250 foot radius. This generally means that the property is at least half an acre or larger in size.
Energy for Free
Installation of a solar wind power energy system has its advantages. The foremost is protection against power failures and clean air quality. The cost of renewable power systems is dropping and the advantages are increasing.
The usage of electricity varies from household to household. The amount of electricity we use has no relation to the space of the house. By adding a couple of solar panels, a solar hot water system or a small wind turbine to the roof of the house can reduce dependence on utility companies supplying electricity. If there is provision of integration to a province-wide grid metering system then the home solar wind power system can be connected to the provincial power grid. The benefits of this system are:
The owner pays the grid utility service only the difference of the solar wind power generated and the amount of power consumed. If however, your system generates more power than you consume, the utility service will not pay the owner for any the excess power generated. Indirectly, this system displaces coal power and helps in keeping the environment clean and the air we breathe safe.
The grid system allows the user to use the solar wind power to meet power needs like electrical lighting of the house and garden, while using the power from the grid to run power guzzling appliances like air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, water pumps, etc.
The net metering system allows the owner to reduce the cost of investment in the solar wind power equipment by doing away with backup batteries. Storage batteries are expensive and cost a reasonable amount to maintain. The grid system helps to do away with batteries. The owner can supply power to the grid when there is excess power generation, or during the day when there is less use of power, and draw from the grid instead of batteries during the night or when the power is low during cloudy days.
Saving Electricity by Solar Thermal Energy
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Sun 24 Aug 2008
Electric water heating accounts for almost one-fourth of the total electricity used in a home. Water heating is probably the main reason for big electricity bills. Solar energy can considerably reduce electricity bills and installation of a renewable energy source can eventually be cash in your pocket once it is put to work and cost recovered by reduced energy bills. One of the best ways to use the sun’s rays as a renewable source is by converting sunlight to solar thermal energy.
Solar Water Heaters
Solar thermal energy is considered as one of the simplest and most economical ways to use solar energy for hot water, pool and space heating applications. This can be done in individual homes by using the sun’s energy collected on solar panels from where the heat is transferred to water flowing in copper tubes. In colder regions, the solar thermal energy system helps to complement an existing gas or electric water heating system to reduce cost. In warmer or not too cold regions, the solar thermal energy system can be directly used for bathing and in swimming pools, reducing costs by hundred percent.
There are two basic solar systems for hot water – passive and active. The passive solar thermal energy system is based on energy which is drawn from the sun and then transferred to heat water for domestic use. This kind of system is only possible to use in warmer climates. The active solar system is suited for colder regions. This system uses a pump to push the water through the solar collector and into the home.
The active solar system can either be an open loop where the water is directly heated by the solar collector or a closed loop system where antifreeze or glycol mixture is heated before transferring its heat to the water by a heat exchanger. The drain back system is a popular closed loop active system. In this system the freeze proof design drains water back into a small holding tank when freezing temperatures occur.
The closed loop system is best suited for colder climates. This solar thermal energy system uses a solar collector, heat transfer liquid, circulating pump, differential temperature controllers, heat exchanger and a storage tank. The sun’s energy is captured by the solar collector which transfers heat to an anti-freezing liquid. The heated fluid is pumped into the home and transferred to the domestic water supply which is stored in a tank for later use.
Using a Solar Heating System for Household Heating
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Fri 22 Aug 2008
A solar heating system is used for heating purposes by using solar energy instead of conventional energy sources like fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas) or electricity. In simple terms, a solar heating system focuses solar heat on a fluid (air or water) held in its collectors. According to the mechanism of driving the fluid through the system, there are two main types of solar heating systems: active systems and passive systems. Active solar heating systems use a pumping mechanism to drive the fluid through the collector while passive systems make use of natural convection in fluids to get them moving through the collectors. Active solar heating systems are more practical to install at home and are thus recommended for household heating purposes. In addition, they are more cost effective than passive systems.
Selecting a Solar Heating System
A number of factors need to be considered while selecting a solar heating system for home use. Some of these include the location of the house, its design, and the heating needs. In addition, the local climate and the type of system collectors determine the production of heat by the system. In general, the customer should select a system that can meet over 40% of the household heating needs. It is both not practical and not cost-effective to purchase a system that would meet all the heating needs. The best strategy is to keep a back-up heating system (fuel or electricity) for use in case the solar heating system fails to serve the purpose or goes out of order.
Cost of an Active Solar Heating System
The cost of an active solar system for heating houses varies, depending on several factors including the taxation rules of the state in which the house is located. Usually, the present cost of an active solar heating system ranges from $30 to $80 for each square foot of the collector area. This is particularly helpful in cutting low the heating costs in winter. Above all, solar heating systems do not pollute the environment with noxious emissions like those produced by fossil fuels.
Installation and Maintenance
Ideally, a solar heating system should be designed and installed by an experienced contractor. The maintenance measures for the system depend on its type, usually averaging between 8 to 16 hours of maintenance each year. In the majority of case, the home insurance policy covers the maintenance costs of solar water heating systems. But home insurance usually does not cover the cost of damage resulting from freezing.
