Archive for September, 2009

I would like to learn about solar energy and how I can make some panels for my home, of course with in a reasonable budget. My goal is to be able to run a refrigerator and fan off of battery. Any ideas out there?

Excellent!!….a fellow enthusiast! What size refridgerator? The fan is no problem. What state are you in?
But here’s the deal: solar panels are rather costly right now and to run what you said whenever you want you will need some serious panels. (6- 150 watt units)
That means under full sun the panels maximum output, wired in parallel would produce 900 watt/hours. Here in florida, we get very good output off a panel, but in seattle it would be essentially useless.
I have a small set-up consisting of 2-150 British Petroleum units hooked together and wired to 2 semi (big truck) batteries wired in parallel. I have a 1200watt power inverter hooked to that. That whole set-up is hooked to a 5000btu window air conditioner that is in my bedroom. When I go to bed (11:30p.m.) I shut off the house a/c and turn on my small a/c. After a sunny day the unit will run three hours and then the 10volt underage signal goes off and it shuts down. But that is enough to keep me more than cool. ( I like my a/c freezing)

A STEAM ENGINE! AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!

Ok, we are considering going Solar at our home. We have a 5400sq home. We have (3) 2.5-3 ton Central Air Units to cool our home. They are 10 SEER. At a worst case senario, we used 3,132kwh of electricity in Aug. We live in Northern Ohio. I have a south facing home with absolutely no trees around us. Full Sun. My elect. bill for Aug. was $411. How do I figure how big of a system I would need to at least, if nothing else, just power the 3 central air units and maybe a couple of appliances. We have already purchased energy star appliances and have the new curlly que lightbulbs installed throughout the house. thanks for any responses. Oh, by the way…..I am considering making the solar panels myself to save money.

Go here. http://davidhaydnjones.com/earth4energy

You can find out how to make solar panels yourself for the size of your home. It’s easy and step by step.

Well, I am looking for a cheap way on building a solar panel, instead of buying by the manufacturing stores. I would like to stay in the budget up to 1,000 dollars. I want to have solar energy for my house because the sun is always shining. Is there a way I can make the Light power some of my house? What would I need? How much time would it take?
Where can I get the items I need?

You have a couple of options.

The first option is to put together a flat plate collector to generate hot water. If you live in a cold climate, you might have to use evacuated tubes and this will probably blow your budget. The hot water could be used as a pre-heater for your existing hot water system. Complete systems for domestic hot water will not likely fit into your budget.

The second option is a small solar panel to generate electricity. In order to fit into you thousand dollar budget, you will need something like this:
1) an 80W panel. This will set you back about $400. You can’t make the solar cells yourself, so it is just as well to buy a complete panel.

2) A small solar charge controller for about $100. This will take the power from the panel and make sure your storage battery is properly charged.

3) An inverter. This will take power from the battery and generate 120 volt AC power (like your wall sockets). A 120W unit will be less than $200.

4) A 12 volt deep cycle battery, perhaps $120.

5) A transfer switch to cut the power when the battery gets discharged and transfer to 120 volt utility power.

I came accross a new, proven and tested home made wind power system and solar power system which eliminates our electricity bills. It was written by a Renewable energy enthusiasts Michael Harvey the diy called Earth4energy. You can get your copy to save energy and help environment while eliminating your power bills. Get it from here:

http://how-to-build-cheap-solar-energy.blogspot.com/

i need a website that has statistics about solar panels and just basic info for a school project. any help is appreciated

http://www.powernaturally.org/programs/Solar/default.asp?i=1 this website helped me out a little 4 my project

CAN U CITE EXAMPLES OF alternative energy AND THEIR USES PLEASE????????????

Solar (Sun), Eolic (Wind), Geothermal (hot springs & vulcanic), Effluid (Animal waste) Tides (Movement of water on the coast); Night & Day Pumping (pump up at night & flow down in the day), there are lot’s more, but the biggest source is "Saving Energy", our society wastes so much in terms of energy (, utensils, apparatus, E.lines, vehicles) we would need half the energy we consume if we didn’t waste.
I didn’t mention Nuclear, because it is already -in, not -alternative.

I need some information for my negative debate speech. The subject is "Should the American goverment support solar energy?" If you could help it would greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Keep in mind I like solar energy, but I’ll give you some points.

1) It costs more
2) panels degrade faster than other energy sources equipment
3) They consume arable land
4) they consume natural habitat to set up
5) They can be unsightly (visual pollution)
6) Higher upkeep costs
7) Can be a hazard in high winds
transimssion issues getting energy from collection point to use point
9) energy only available in good weather
10) seasonality to its generation makes it an irregular energy source

There are good arguments in reply to all these points, but you wanted some negative debate points.

I came accross a new, proven and tested home made wind power system and solar power system which eliminates our electricity bills. It was written by a Renewable energy enthusiasts Michael Harvey the diy called Earth4energy. You can get your copy to save energy and help environment while eliminating your power bills. Get it from here:

http://how-to-build-cheap-solar-energy.blogspot.com/

3 Examples of how solar energy is used.

Solar energy is used as follows:

It heats and lights the earth, without it we would all die on a very cold rock with no plant life.

Photo voltaic cells can collect solar energy and produce an electric current.

Solar collectors, usually roof mounted, are used domestically to heat water in homes.

Some desert areas use an array of mirrors to heat water in a central tower to produce steam to turn a generator and produce electricity.

We’ve heard CFL or other ways a light bulb can maximize its effeciency with least energy.

We’ve also heard solar panels improving on harnessing sun light.

BUT, are there products that directly harness solar power for the sole purpose of using the power for lighting?
(collect light during day, make light during night)

spam links will be reported.
flourescent materials? sounds fun, but how long do they last?

Hybrid Solar Lighting is one technology that is used for direct solar lighting, it does not store the light but uses fiber optics to distribute the natural sunlight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ5MiLqb5VE

Also check out: http://www.sunlight-direct.com/

I am interested in working in the field of alternative energy and maybe being in research and development. Currently, I’m a little confused as to which bachelor’s degree I should pursue. A little advice would be much appreciated!

Maybe engineering?

How much less solar energy is received at 60 degrees latitude than that received at the Equator?

At 60 degrees latitude (north or south), and averaged over a year, the solar energy level is about 50% to 55% of the level at the equator. That’s not counting the effects of clouds.

A lot of the thermal energy at high latitudes comes in on wind and water movement; I guess you could say that is also a very indirect solar energy.