Tuesday, December 4, 2012

What you need to know about Solar Power

Solar power is everywhere because it comes from the sun.  Solar power can be used to power electricity, pump water, to heat your home or office and power vehicles.  With all that we can do with solar power you have to wonder why we don't do enough to conserve the solar power.  We could use it for almost anything and it would cost a fraction of what we are paying now.  You can make a difference by doing your part is making solar power something you can use.

In order to power energy with solar power you need to know the basics of solar power and how it works.  It takes a long time for heat from the sunlight to reach the earth.  Unless it is concentrated into a particular area the heat from the sun will be distributed evenly over the earth's surface where the sun is shining.  When you want to use the natural sun light to power your electricity, heat or water you need to know the process to it.

You need to direct the sunlight to a concentrated area in order to have enough energy to power your source.  Some of the biggest solar power towers are set up around the world.  Solar power is not something that a few people are trying but solar power is about the future, everyone's future.  When you use a light in your home you may not realize the process that brings that energy to that switch so when you flip it on you will have lights.  The energy that it takes to run power to our homes are not a natural way of energy.  Conserving the energy that comes from the sun is the most natural way to equip our homes with energy, heat and more. When we use natural resources we save in several ways; by preserving the earth, cutting down on monthly and over all costs, and no inconvenient power outages. 

Preserving the earth helps when you use natural resources that don't hurt the earths atmosphere and everything in it.  If we continue to use the power that we use today we may pollute the atmosphere so much that the right amount of sun will not be able to make it down to the earth's surface in the future.  Then we will have no other choice but to rely on our man made abilities to produce something that will cost us more than what it already does now.  Pollutants will also harm life on earth as it starts to close in and start to harm us.  Cutting down on monthly and over all costs can save you a lot of money in the future.
In the beginning you may pay a minimal amount to be solar power efficient by purchasing a solar source.  You can buy indoor and outdoor lighting, solar power windows and insulated doors in order to make your home more solar efficient.  After that initial expense you don't have the expense of paying a monthly bill to keep your service on.  This also promotes others to use solar power to be more efficient. 

When a storm blows through we are sometimes left without power for at least a day but sometimes more.  When this happens we are so use to our conveniences that we have a hard time adjusting to going back to the basics when we are use to flipping on a light switch, using the microwave, taking a shower or bath assuming that the water can be pumped and heated the same as it always is.  Loading the dishwasher or washing the dishes, washing and drying clothes. All of these services require the power to be on and when it is off is when you miss the services.  When you use solar power you are less likely to experience these down times because your power is generated by natural energy.

Why you should choose to use Solar Power

Life on earth is fueled by the light and heat from the sun. Approximately, 3850 Zettajoules (ZJ) per year is the total amount of solar energy available to the earth. The suns energy travels to the earth by way of electromagnetic radiation like radio waves but the frequency range is different. Some of this energy is absorbed as it comes thru the atmosphere. Heat and light are the primary forms of solar energy.
Solar energy has many advantages over conventional energy. The energy from the sun is free the only expense is from recovering the energy. The cost of recovering the suns energy is recovered faster than with conventional energy. The recovering units don't have to be connected to natural gas or power grids, they stand alone. The supply of solar energy is limitless. It has no emission gases to harm the earth's atmosphere.

There are several ways to recover solar energy:

Focusing collectors: This has a movable mirror, known as heliostats, is pointed to the sun and can provide a temperature around 4000 degrees C. This degree temperature is used for a solar furnace in industries and research. These solar furnaces don't contaminate our environment. The heliostats can focus the energy to a boiler that turns water into steam. To generate solar electricity, focusing collectors can be used.

Flat plate collectors: These collectors can be used in schools and homes to provide heat using water that is heated in pipes. They cannot provide as much heat as the focusing collectors because they are smaller.
Solar distillation: Solar distillation is about the same as flat plate collectors but provides distilled water instead of heat. Sea water is put in tanks or ditches on the roof of a house and the heat from the sun heats and evaporates the water and turns the water vapor into liquid water that is distilled.

Solar electricity: By using focusing collectors and Photovoltaic cells, made of thin pieces of semiconductors, convert radiation from the sun into electricity.

Solar energy would not be affected by the supply and demand of fuel for it is free and it doesn't polute the atmosphere. It is natural and pure. It would provide us with better health.

There are several ways that we can work together in order to get the best of natural and renewable resources.  Using solar power is not only helpful but it is inspiring to others.  The expenses to using the solar energy are less than the cost of using other resources for heat, including electricity and gas. When you use electricity and gas you may have a low cost up front but in the end you end up paying for it from now on.  With solar power you may have an initial investment to turning your home into solar power but after that you have no reason to pay for it any further, unless you use electric or gas for a back up heating source. Solar power was available yesterday, it's available today and hopefully it will be available for us in the future.

What is Solar Energy?

In order to know where to find solar energy you must first know what solar energy is. Solar energy is energy from the sun. When the sun is shining solar energy is being produced as it sends the heat radiating to the earth. You can find solar energy anywhere or anything that the sun can shine on.  There is a way that you can save the sunlight in order to provide heat during the cold, which is what millions of people have done throughout the years.  It started thousands of years ago when people where able to use a thick lens or magnifying glass on an object that would attract the sun rays on that particular object and could get so hot it would catch fire.  This gave a new prospective on how strong the heat from the sun really was.

The problem with capturing the suns heat is the fact that when it reaches the earths surface it does not go to one particular spot.  It is spread evenly over the earth where the sunlight is able to reach.  When this happens you may find it difficult to heat something using only the sunlight.  Although the area or object may be hot if left in the sun too long it will not reach the full heating potential of the sun's light.

In order to use the heat efficiently to heat a room after the sun goes down or when the sun is unable to shine because of clouds you will need to use a source that will attract the heat to one particular area.  This source is called a solar collector.  The solar collector attracts a lot of sunlight to one particular area allowing the sun to pass through the source and into the space.  The objects in the space absorb and hold the heat from the sunlight and trapping it so it will not get back out with the help of the source. Glass is a great solar collector because it allows the sun to pass through it and into the space but the heat from the sun can rarely escape leaving the space under the glass to become warm or hot from the heat. The objects in the space help to hold the heat as it comes in so that the space will stay warmer longer.  This allows the area to be heated using solar power.

Because glass is a natural solar collector it makes it great to put into a greenhouse or a sun room.  The glass attracts the sunlight and traps the heat inside so that they temperature in the greenhouse or sun room remain warm even at night when the temperature outside may be cold.

Solar energy can be found anywhere the sun shines but in order to fill the heat you must have direct sunlight for an extended period of time.  If you just use the morning sun to heat your home your house may not stay warm through the night. 

Heating Your Home With Solar Energy

It doesn't matter if you are building your home or remodeling, you can turn it into a solar energy home by making a few simple changes to your plan.  If electric and gas become hard to manage you may want to consider heating your home with the sun.  Solar energy is the heat that comes from the sun down to the earth.  When it reaches the earth it spreads evenly but you may need it to go to a certain area like your home.  How do you get that much sunlight to heat a home? It's easy to do and takes a few extra steps to help get it started. 

Building or Remodeling your Home

If you are building your home you have several choices to choose from regarding your heating source.  If you choose to heat from the sun you need to build your home facing in the direction that the sun rise's.  This allows your home to get the most sunshine during the hottest part of the day. Buying solar powered glass windows allow the sun to come through and stay in the home without escaping back out.  After the sun goes down your home is kept warm by the sunlight that came into the home during the day.  You need to keep the door shut in order to keep the heat in and you also need to use insulated curtains on the windows at night so that the heat will not escape at night while you sleep. Make sure you don't allow too many windows on the side of the house that faces the evening sun as it may cause the home to cool down quickly.

Remodeling your home to use the sun as a natural heating source is fairly easy to do.  Although you can't change the direction that your home is built in to face the morning sun you can still trap the sunlight that shines through and reduce the amount of time that you use another source of heat.  You may want to consider building a sun room onto the side that catches the morning sun allowing it to heat up naturally and then install ceiling fans that will circulate the air into the parts of the house.  During the day this may provide enough heat to maintain the warmth in your home. When remodeling your home, it will help to install solar power windows that are specially designed to attract the sunlight and allow it to come into the house but not let it escape.  This is a natural way to heat your home.

Using sunlight to heat your home is an excellent way to safe money on your heating bill and also to improve the environment.  You can install a backup heating source incase the sunlight does not heat your home efficiently during the day because of clouds.  Your back up system can be used to assist the solar energy which will also cut down on the use of electric or gas.

Make Your Own Solar Power Source

Solar power can be found in several different places on the earth.  You can find solar power in a parked car, in a building with no air circulating, in a home without windows opened or fans circulating the air.  When you step into any of these places that have been in the sunlight for a while you soon become overpowered by the amount and the intensity of the heat.  This kind of heat can be taken and converted into heat that can heat your home, your water, an outbuilding, or any other building you would like to have heat in.

Heating by solar power is a free way of heating.  When you heat using solar power you use a source that will direct the heat from the sunlight during the daytime to your solar source.  A solar source is a device that you use to attract and trap the heat from the sun.  Just like a car out in the parking lot gets hot when it faces the midday sun and the windows are rolled up.  The seats can become very hot, too hot to sit on.  These seats are a solar source because they trapped the heat inside and didn't want to let them go. When this happens the seats will still be warm long after the sun quits shining directly on that car.

Creating a solar source can be easy to do with a little thought put into it.  With a solar source you need to think about all the things that attract the sun, such as metal, the color black, glass that is tinted or clear, mirrors and more. There is an endless supply of idea to signal the heat your way and trap it for your use.  To get the heat to benefit your water system or even your heat, you need to come up with a way that you can circulate a liquid that when it passes by your solar source it will heat the water naturally because of the concentrated amount of heat that was trapped inside your solar source that day. 

When the liquid carries through the solar source and travels into the home it can go directly to the water source where it can be kept warm, like a hot water tank, but naturally without using gas and electricity to keep it warm. This solar source can be a great challenge to create but you will enjoy the rewards for years to come.  You can also find solar sources in stores as well as online.  Shopping for solar power items has never been easier and it is not expensive.

Coming up with a solution that will carry the heat into the home is simple and practical.  If your idea is successful you will have heat during the winter and warm water all year around. The main goal is not only to preserve the natural resources and the environment but it is cost effective when you can use something that is natural that you need to use.

Passive Solar Power

It is a well known fact that the sun is the strongest from the south. People who want to conserve solar power uses this theory in order to get the most sun into their houses with minimal expense.  If you are building a home that you want to be solar power, it is best to put the most windows facing the south side. Although it is not always true, depending on where you live, it is a general rule to go by. Passive technology turns sunlight into heat that can be used for several things, including ventilation and cooling.  You can heat homes and businesses with passive solar. Passive solar systems depend on gravity fed and natural resources in order to make passive solar work.  If it uses a pump or fan to force the liquid through, than it is an active solar.

Passive solar technology offers direct and indirect gain for heating spaces, water heating systems, use of thermal mass and also phase change materials which helps to regulate the temperature indoors. There is also the solar cooking equipment, the solar chimney which allows for ventilation and earth sheltering. Passive solar can also be found in a solar furnace and solar forge, although these are a little more complicated. Sun rooms are another example of passive solar power as it lets the sun come into the room without allowing it to escape.  There is no mechanism or no engine to power just the clear panes of glass attracting the sun and trapping it within. 

Solar gain is referring to the increase in temperature in an area, an object or a structure that is a result of solar radiation. The stronger the sun the more solar gain you have.  A solar furnace is any huge object that is created in order to channel the heat directly to one place.  The heat can be unbearable but it does produce a lot of electricity from it. Temperatures can reach up to 3,000 degrees.  When you compare the expenses associated with passive solar you realize that the cost of passive solar is minimal when you compare it to active wear.

Because there is no mechanism to power it makes it more affordable.  With active solar you must have a device that can power the heat that you take in and used it. Passive solar is the most popular with those who are experimenting with the conception of solar power and may find that they like it enough to stick to it.  When you are ready for an upgrade it is easy to move up to active power.  Adding a mechanism that will easily and conveniently pump the water on through the source is an effective way of combining today's technology with conservation and preservation that we have access to.

Passive solar power is something that we will be seeing a lot of in the future as the need for solar power becomes more in demand.  There will come a time when even those who depend on active solar may have to switch to passive solar.

The Benefits Of Solar Power

The sun produces massive amounts of heat that are transmitted down to the earth's surface.  When the sun's rays reach the earth's surface the intensity of the heat directly from the sun is not as hot because some of the heat is rerouted before it reaches the earth's atmosphere.  When the sun is hot and it is summer time we think that it couldn't get much hotter as the mid day sun makes your run for shade, but it can get hotter if it wasn't rerouted.

Solar power can be hot enough to power machinery and that is exactly what was discovered over one hundred years ago when a man working on machinery wondered if steam from the heat of the day could be used to power machinery. He was right and thus began a new form of production, heat and electricity.  Today solar power is being used all around the world.  The solar power is being concentrated into a solar source where the heat is used in a variety of ways.  We still rely on our way of heating and powering our homes but in the future it may all be powered by the sun.  It is cost effective to use solar power as the only expense you have is in your solar source.

In order to use solar power you will need to have something that can attract the sun and allow the heat to be concentrated where it can stay warm for a long period of time.  This is fairly easy when you consider all the knowledge and resources that we already have access to.  When you use solar power for heating and power electricity you cannot go wrong.

Solar power is entrusted in space shuttles as they know that this will help produce the most efficient energy with the least amount of complications.  The solar panels are faced toward the sun at all times in order to be able to power the shuttle efficiently. There are fewer problems from solar power than with other methods.  Even though there are days that there are clouds in the sky and rain, snow or other weather, it is still possible to produce enough heat in your solar source to create enough energy to last until the sun can come back down.  Solar power is in our future we need to be ready for it.  Right now solar power is only being used by those who are more aware and worried about our earth's atmosphere when it is a concern that we should all be worried about.

We can learn a lot from the past and the way that solar power was used.  Every minute of the sunlight was used doing everything that needed done because after the sun went down there was no more light.  I don't think we could do that now.  Solar power has so many benefits for us that we don't realize all of them and how it is more efficient to use the solar power than other ways.

Why Are Solar Panels Important?

Solar panels convert the suns energy into usable forms. Solar panels can be a certain kind of device that attracts the sun to use the sun to power machinery that can transfer the heat from the sun into whatever they need.  We could use solar panels to convert the heat from the sun into the energy we need to power things that run.  Solar panels are common and can be seen in a lot of different products, such as calculators, satellites, or even space ships.  Solar panels are an effective way to redirect the sunlight and use it for electricity.

It all starts over one hundred years ago when a man got the idea to use the heat from the sun to power his machinery. The main focus was to use the steam from the hot sun light in order to start and maintain their machines.  This new revelation peaked the interest of several scientists who did not waste any time traveling to see how this discovery worked.  Since then, there have been groundbreaking products that have increased the convenience and the need to use a natural resource such as the sun in order to work machinery.

Solar panels can be different shapes and sizes but their main purpose is to convert the light in order to make electricity. Photovoltaic, or PV, is the process of converting the light into electricity. Photovoltaic cells are self generating and consist of a very thing film made of silver.  This film is placed on a semiconductor layer that can be found on an iron substrate. The photovoltaic cells are very important in producing enough sunlight and heat in order to successfully produce the energy that is needed in order to heat up water, heat homes and power electricity.

Solar panels can be found in all different shapes and sizes including round, square, and rectangle.  You can see them on top of buildings and houses or standing alone in fields.  Solar panels are in hand held devices and they are in energy efficient appliances.  The sun is a wonderful natural resource and can greatly cater to our way of life.  The study of natural resources like the sun is ongoing and the improvement that can be made in the future is anyone's guess but you can't go wrong when you use natural resources.

Because this new way of production was in trial and error stage, it was somewhat expensive to turn your home or business into a natural way to heat and power.  But since things have changed and newer material has surfaced and since we know more about the solar panels the cost is not as high, although it is still higher than using man made methods of producing heat and electricity.  In the long run using solar panels for all your electric needs will save you money in the long run because you won't have to worry about paying for your power.  As long as the sun shines you will have power.  On days that are too cloudy for the sun to break through to the earth, your system should still be adequate enough to carry the electricity through another day.