When you use a particular thing you may find some good and bad attributes about it. Every thing has a positive and negative aspect on our life. The same way solar energy also has its few advantages and disadvantages. Though it is thought to be a life saving energy, it does have a few negative aspects to it, which if carefully tackled, can be easily diminished. As it is the  disadvantages of  solar energy is greatly shadowed by its advantages, but that still doesn’t mean we lend a deaf ear to its problems, in pursuance of its goodness.

Below are some advantages and disadvantages of solar energy.

Advantages of Solar Energy:

Below can will find the advantages of solar energy.

Read the full story

Of course, it is a known fact that in order to start anything we have to take into considerations the laws and regulations that follow it. There are certain laws that are bound to particular things you need to start. However, talking about laws of solar system, installing a solar system, they are flexible. In most areas of the US, solar system installation laws are permitted whereas in some areas, they require strict permission.

Code Requirements

The National Electrical Code’s Article 690, which was set forth in the 1990′s talks and informs about the the basic local laws and permits that are required in the building of electrical inspections. Read the full story

We all know that today’s world is a recession stricken world and there are less opportunities in the available market. In such a period of time, we must try to make use of natural resources that abundant. Considering the high expenses and shortage of things, electricity is one of the basic needs of human being. It is not required in one country or one city but the need of electricity is everywhere.

Electricity today is being consumed from limited resources, this makes it limited and also expensive for many. For this reason scientists are looking for ideas to generate electrical energy from solar energy. The good thing about this is that the solar energy is the energy gained from the sun and the suns heat is never going to go short. Scientists and people from the private sector are trying hard to make electricity work through solar energy and why shouldn’t they, it is a great, clean, useful and economical action.

Therefore, in order to make everyone aware of the conversion steps of solar energy to electrical energy we need to know the following steps.

First step

The first step to convert solar energy into electrical energy requires gathering of  solar power through photovoltaic cells. With the help of these, the energy attained from the sun (solar energy) will directly be converted into electricity. The format of this electricity would be DC format or direct current.

Second step

The solar energy gathered in the direct current format is then to be stored into storage batteries. Here, the enrgy type takes a change and the direct current format is changed into Alternating energy AC. Alternating energy or AC is used for common appliances such as operating lights. This is not impossible infact it is very easy and highly used in more than ten thousand homes in the US, powered totally by solar energy.

If you are wondering where these applications of solar energy are used then consider the usage of your garden hose. Yes it works much in the same way. Hot water comes out of it after it has been laid in the sun for a whole day. This is used to heat water in swimming pools and ponds. With the help of this, water is moved into large containers that are full of the sun’s heat from all day. The water is then moved back into the pool or pond and the water reaches a certain temperature which helps to heat the rest of the water. Not only is this method used domestically but it is also being used commercially. Do you know that the energy produced from burning five hundred thousand tons of coal is less than what can be produced from silicon with just one ton of sand used in photovoltaic cells. Just imagine the benefit of solar energy.

Therefore, solar energy can be changed into electrical energy in places where there is more sunshine and this way each place will be utilized with it’s own resource. What can be better than producing power from solar energy which is at times available, clean and effective.

1. The largest solar power plant is in California. Located in the Mojave desert, the solar energy generating system produces ample energy to meet the electricity needs of half a million people. This amount of electricity is enough to light up the entire city of Sacremento.

2. Japan consumes about half of the world’s solar panel used for collecting and converting solar energy into power. There solar panels in Japan are used to provide power to the residential sector of the country connected to the grid.

3. Solar energy are divided into two types. Firstly, passive solar energy, this converts sunlight into reusable energy without the help of other energy sources. Secondly active solar energy which harnesses the suns energy with a mechanical or electrical system which converts it into usable energy like electricity.

4. The used the concept of burning mirrors to ignite fire in the 700 B.C. From this the concept of harnessing the solar energy came in. In the 15th century burning mirrors were used to solder copper sections of the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral in Florence. Also the Leonardo da Vinci’s notebook, from the same era, contains designs for solar concentrators which were used to heat water.

5. The amount of energy which the sun exhibits every hour is more than enough to power the earth for an entire year.

Read the full story

Amongst many ways of making solar power accessible is one way that has been researched by the researchers at Wake Forest University’s Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials. Through this they are trying to gain green and clean power with the help of pokeberries. What the scientists have done to achieve this is paint their low cost and efficient fiber-based solar cells with the red dye that is extracted from pokeberries. The result was that the red dye acted as an absorber by helping the solar cell’s tiny fibers to entrap more sunlight in them. This was converted to power later on.

Getting used to this process is also not a bad or expensive idea. The good thing about taking pokeberries in use is that there will hardly be any shortage of it. This is because pokeberries grow in infertile rocky soil and the users do not even need to worry during drought. This makes it an advantage for the Africans who can also grow them in their rural areas in their climate. Read the full story

Most countries of the world are trying to lessen or completely end their dependency on fossil fuel; this is because of the rising prices of fossil fuel and its pollution effects on our environment and our health, which is also contributing a great deal in the climate change and global warming. The use of natural energy for heating, electricity production and fueling purposes is gaining in popularity day by day. By investing in natural and alternative sources of energy can help reduce the burden of fossil fuel on our country’s economy. Anyone can contribute to improve the current condition of our environment by switching to an alternative or natural energy sources. Some natural energy sources are wind energy, solar energy, tidal energy. There are other renewable energy like hydrogen fuel and biomass also.

Solar energy:

Solar energy is the energy which the sun produces in the form of solar radiation. Through the use of solar panels or solar cells, the photons in the solar radiation are converted into electricity. However one disadvantage going with this form of energy is the high prices of solar panels. Large numbers of solar panels are necessary to produce a substantial amount of electricity. Read the full story

Let us start learning about solar energy facts by recalling our childhood memories when you might have had the experience of taking a magnifying glass outside and then spend a lot of time to focus the sun’s rays through the lens to concentrate on it’s energy. This was a great experience for us when we were inquisitive kids.

Today we have more understood the real power of sun and now we use a Fresnel lens or the 5X magnifying mirror. Using these we are able to develop concentrated energy close to 3000 degrees Fahrenheit. That is a great demonstration of the power of solar energy. Per day we can harness 51% of this energy.

Facts about Solar Energy Budget

Our earth can receive around 51% of the Sun’s solar energy, according to the Energy Budget. The rest of the energy is either absorbed by clouds and the atmosphere or radiated back into space.

But the 51% we receive, if utilized with the right methods can be used to fulfill our energy needs to great extent.

Every day we have this 51% of the sun’s rays that fall on us. It’s true that it gives us sunlight and heat, but we avail this energy for a lot more purposes by taking advantage of these practical resources. Basically, we can harness the Sun’s energy by using three methods.

1. 1. Solar Energy Cell
2. 2. Solar Energy Collectors
3. 3. Solar Energy Concentrators

Here I am briefly explaining the facts about all the 3 methods.

Facts about Solar Energy Cells

Sunlight is directly converted into electricity by Solar Cells or photovoltaic cells. When energy from the sun falls on the cell, energy is absorbed by the electrons in the two different semiconductors and then this energy is used to move around, creating an electrical current.

Photovoltaic cells that are linked together in order to create a useful energy flow are referred to as modules and they are capable of holding about 40 cells. In order to form a large array About 10 of these modules can be mounted together. We then can use arrays in order to generate electricity for a single building or, in large numbers, for a power plant.

Facts about Solar Energy Collectors

This method of using solar energy to generate electricity is probably the most affordable and practical use of solar energy. Basically, in this method solar panels are installed on roof that heat water pipes and these water pipes are then carried through the house to heat water and to heat the house in the winter.

The energy that we get from the sun is used to heat water.

Solar water heating systems

There are two main parts of solar water heating systems for buildings have two main parts

1. A solar collector
2. A storage tank.

Typically, a flat-plate collector – which comprises of a thin, flat, rectangular box with a transparent cover – is mounted on the roof, and this collector faces the sun. An absorber plate in the collector is heat up by the sun, which, in turn, heats the water running through tubes within the collector.

Facts about Solar Energy Concentrator

By this method solar electric power is produced from solar energy by concentrating solar power plants. These plants convert the sun’s energy into high-temperature heat using mirror configurations. The sunlight is concentrated by parabolically curved mirrors onto a receiver pipe. This pipe runs along the inside of the curved surface.

Sun’s reflected energy heats oil flowing through the pipe and then the heat energy is used to generate electricity in a conventional generator. A collector field consists of many troughs in parallel rows that are all aligned on a north-south axis to track the sun from east to west during the day. Individual at present trough systems can generate about 80 megawatts of electricity.

In this world of high consumption, all nations depend upon heavy, toxic energy for electrical energy and other kinds of energy. Coal, oil, fossil fuels and gas are highly toxic forms of energy that we all are using. These are derived from underground finite resources that could with time diminish. On the other hand they are also not renewable, plus they are damaging our planet at an alarming rate.

It is because the Earth is facing severe global warming due to these substances that scientists are now looking for alternatives to these forms of energy. There are three main natural, infinite source of energy that has emerged. The sun’s powerful energy known as SOLAR ENERGY, the Earth’s internal heat known as GEOTHERMAL ENERGY and finally the power generated from the mighty seas and oceans of the earth known as TIDAL/OCEAN ENERGY. We will discuss and elaborate of these briefly.

Solar Energy

Solar Energy doesn’t need much of an introduction as everyone by now probably knows what is is and what are its excellent usage benefits. However what most people would not be knowing is that solar energy is used to derive another energy known as wind energy. This energy is captured with wind turbines and the water is evaporated through the heat of the sun. When the water is evaporated it turns into rain and this water is stored for use or for hydroelectric  power ( power gained from water).

Read the full story

Solar thermal power is a technology of harnessing solar energy for thermal energy. Solar thermal power is one of the expensive ways to generate renewable energy. Solar power used to heat water has amazingly innovated countless homes and commercial buildings and have already implemented.

But now all attention is towards photovoltaic power because they last for several decades, emit no pollution and require no maintenance. Photovoltaic systems convert solar energy directly into electricity. Photovoltaic power is so inexpensive that they can change the world. By using solar concentrators where the reflective solar collectors are used are many times the size of the heat absorber area and transfer fluids are super heated to drive turbines to generate electricity.

The designs used are three basic which includes a power tower, a parabolic reflector and a parabolic trough. On “power tower” there are mirrors tracking the sun surround an absorber tank on the tower in the middle of the array, a “parabolic reflector” tracks the sun with its own absorber tank at the focal point of the dish, and “parabolic trough” collectors, where stationary curved mirror extends in a straight line which have an absorber tubes that runs along the focal point of the trough’s curved surface. The most expensive way to generate electricity using solar thermal power is with the parabolic trough design. This design is not as efficient as other systems are.

The amount of land requires to produce meaningful amount of electricity in solar thermal power systems is not that great. These systems can produce over 64 megawatt years of electricity per square mile per year. And large scale photovoltaic systems can produce about 93 megawatt years per square mile per year.

It would take about 670 square feet of surface for each person on earth allocated to photovoltaic arrays to replace 100% of the energy that is worldwide consumed. And by solar thermal systems it would take about 950 square feet per person to replace 100% of the energy that is currently consumed worldwide. Only 600 megawatts of solar thermal power is up and running worldwide.

Photovoltaic and solar thermal powers both have more potential to replace conventional sources of energy than known any other clean renewable sources. There is not any thing problematic about their operations and impact like wind power, nuclear power or hydroelectric power. And neither will they compete for land with agriculture like bio fuels.