solar panels

Your Questions About Solar Energy For Kids

Carol asks…

Pl. send any social org.Who can privide fin. support for my project of use of solar energy in automobile?

I am trying to use solar energy in four wheeler.###Trying to mount solar pannel on carrier of 4 wheeler and providing solar power to a/c,lighting and music system.This has been sent to govt. since one month ,But I hope nobody will take care of it as my experience says.

admin answers:

Our company took one of those 12 volt John Deere Gator toys that kids ride on, and mounted solar panels on the roof, and it would have to sit in the sun two solid days to charge the battery to where the kid could actually drive it.

It’s only a working idea that they take to schools for energy fairs, and it’s only to inspire. So I know if you are looking to actually power a real car, not even a golf cart (NEV) with solar panels hanging off everywhere, you are going to need to find the latest technology and even then there will likely be a lot of shade with panels hanging way over the roof and hood nearly like an airplane to get it to where you could drive on the generation. It kind of sounds like the National Lampoon’s Vacation Family Truckster, ‘If you think it looks bad, just wait until you drive it…’

Ken asks…

What does mechanical and thermal energy have to do with Global Warming?

I am doing a project about the conversion that take place in Global Warming. I need to figure how heat, mechanical energy, and thermal energy is converted.

admin answers:

Global warming is the theory that the earth is warming. There is little accurate data to support this, but historically we are very cold, almost as cold as the ice ages. So, likely we are warming. Anthropomorphic global warming is theory that man’s activities contribute significantly or mostly to global warming. No evidence for that, but many people fervently believe in it anyway.

Not clear what energy conversion you are talking about. Energy can have different forms. Two basic catagories are potential energy and kinetic energy. Potential energy is stored energy that can do work; kinetic energy is energy stored in the motion of an object. Classical examples are kid on a swing or roller coaster. As the kid or coaster reaches the top, speed slows as potenial energy (height of weight) increases, and kinetic energy, sort of like momentum, decreases.

Other distinctions are things like chemical, mechanical, thermal, electrical energy. For example, coal or oil are chemical energy (also potential energy). A moving machine represents mechanical energy.

If you are talking about electrical power generation, this doesn’t have much to do with global warming, but it sounds as if your teacher may think it does.

To make electricity, the most efficient and cheapest was to make it is generally to burn coal. The coal fired plants work by burning the coal to generate heat or thermal energy (same thing). This is used to boil stream inside a huge “tank” called a boiler, and to pressurize the steam to very high pressures and temperatures. This steam goes through a turbine, similar to a big jet engine on an airplane, where it forces the turbine to turn. This is the mechanical energy form. Mechanical energy is nice partly because it is easily converted to electricity. This is done by turning the crank of a generator, which looks pretty much like an electric motor.

Alternative energies can work a little differently. For example, in wind power a propeller (called a wind turbine) is turned by the wine, making mechanical power. This then turns a generator that makes electrical energy. Solar power can use small cells (like a battery) that make a little electricity. Large solar plants use the sun’s heat by focussing in onto a boiler that makes steam and runs it through a turbine to make electricity. Water turbines convert kinetic and potential energy in water to mechanical energy, which again drives generators. This could be considered solar power, since the water gets above the dam via solar energy evaporating it, then rain from the clouds.

Google things like power plants or coal power to get more info.

Good luck.

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Your Questions About Solar Energy Generators For Home

Donald asks…

Is there a way that a wind mill can generate enough electricity to turn the lights on in a house?

I am writing an essay for school and it has to be on everyday life and how you can use alternative fossil fuels to do the same things. So if they are other things you can think of that i can use (wind energy, solar energy, hydroelectric energy, etc), to put in my essay that would be extremely helpful. Thanks!

admin answers:

A good way to discuss it would be to think about using Alternative energy to supplement fossil fuel energy. Aside from hydropower, alternative energy is not consistent enough to be used on a small scale to power a home (like if clouds cover your solar panels, you’re screwed).

If you used all kinds of alternative energy and then supplemented with a generator, then you’d have a really good, and consistent source of energy.

Mandy asks…

how car batterie to for solar system of 5kw and how much roughly cost?

i am planing to have independent solar system at home 5 kwh capacity , how many car size batteries do i need for this system.
with thanks for the answer.

admin answers:

Batteries are only 50% efficient at charging and lose 1% per day. If you can, use net metering and just sell your excess power to the utilities and buy the power you need back from them. How many batteries you need depends on your energy usage ( a figure of 5 kwh is meaningless without the period of time that is over ) and how long you want to run without solar power. Most people design just for diurnal use and fill in with a generator for back up power in an off grid home. But it is possible to consult the weather office and determine how many days in a row you can expect to be without productive sunshine and how many days you can expect to be able to recharge your batteries over. Note that the average North American home uses 950 kwh per month.

You also have to take into account that most systems are designed for just the bulk charge to 80% capacity.

If you are saying that you use 5 kwh evenly over a day and you can expect 8 hours of useful sunshine then considering the 50% charging efficiency of lead acid batteries you would be looking at storing 5 kwh * ( 2 * 16 / 24 ) = 6.7 kwh. A typical car battery is 12 V at 65 AH so it would hold 780 WH, at 80% capacity that would mean you would need 10.73 batteries and you would need 2,504 watts to provide for the 1/3 of the 5 kwh that you use when the Sun is out plus the recharging of the batteries, that would be about 25 of those 100 watt two foot by four foot solar panels which sell for about $250 so with a charge controller you would be talking about a $13,000 system. However, this assumes you have DC appliances. If you toss in an inverter, those can be as bad as 65% efficient so you would have to increase everything by about 54%.

Of course, power usage isn’t even though the day so you should characterize your power use better plus 5 kwh per day amounts to 150 kwh per month which is only 1/6th of typical usage so it may be an unrealistic value.

I would strongly advise that you characterize your power use carefully, consider net metering as that would mean you only have the inverter inefficiency to worry about and not the battery inefficiency. If you must go off the grid, consider DC appliances to remove the inverter inefficiency and consider an absorption refrigerator which could run off a propane tank buried in the yard as food storage can not risk possible daily outages, plus you can run a gas stove top off the propane. Gas ovens are a problem as many have glow plugs which consume 300 watts constantly but if you can find one with piezoelectric lighters or one of the old outlawed ones with a pilot light then a gas powered oven becomes possible. You can also run your backup generator off the propane.

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Your Questions About Solar Energy Generators For Sale

Chris asks…

how much solor energy would be needed to run a air conditioner?

admin answers:

Far more than you can afford.

A 3 ton central air conditioner draws about 7,500 watts. The sun doesn’t shine all the time, indeed you typically get less than 8 hours of usable sunshine for photovoltaics so you have to generate three times the power that you need in order to run the air conditioner around the clock so that’s 22,500 watts. Inverters are inefficient and are more inefficient the bigger they get to the point where motor generators are used with large sale DC to AC conversion, however most solar systems use an inverter so you’ll likely to have 60% efficiency therefore it’s 37,500 watts that’s needed. Air conditioners are ideally sized to meet the cooling demands as closely as possible as a short duty cycle results in high humidity so let’s say it has an 80% duty cycle, that brings the requirements to 30,000 watts. A solar cell costs $1.20 a watt to manufacture in China and $2 a watt to manufacture in the US but by the time a system is installed, it would likely be $5 per watt so your solar panels would cost $150,000. Oh, and you won’t have enough roof space facing the Sun.

If you do want solar powered air conditioning, your best bet would be evacuated tube solar thermal panels running an absorption air conditioner. But this won’t be cheap either and it will probably still require natural gas as a backup source of heat and it would mean completely replacing your air-conditioner.

Sandy asks…

Advice for building a solar generator?

We are moving to a remote location without any electricity, and would like to produce our own. We have read that it is pretty easy to set up solar power, and there are ready-made solar generators for sale. If we build our own, how many solar panels would we need to comfortably power a small cabin, and what other materials will we need to set it up? About how much will this all cost?

admin answers:

A solar electric system consist of in simplest terms a panel, charge controller, battery, and a load “lights, radio, etc”. This system can be expanded on.
The first item you need to consider is the loads, what do you want them to be. How much energy do they consume per hour and how many hours a day are they used. The next is the voltage of the items 12volt dc, 24 volts dc, 120 volts ac. In general 120 volt ac itmes are easier to obtain but in general less effeciant but also have longer life spans then the 12 and 24 volt dc versions.
Example we use 1 light bulb that consumes 20 watts at 12 volt for 4 hours a day. This buld would need 20*4=80 watts of energy per day. Next lets say you had 5 of these light bulbs and they were all used the same amount every day, you would need 80*5=400 watts to run these lights. Next lets say you want 2 days of reserve enegy incase it rains or something 400 *2=800 watts.
These 2 figures help give us the panel and battery size. Lets look at the panels first. We determind we needed 400 watts per day. Look around on the interent and you will find a chart with hours a day of sun light for your area. Lets say your area get 2.5 hours of direct sun per day in the worst time of year you would need 400/2.5=160 watts of panels.
The next figure is the 800 watts of battery. You never want to discharge your battery more than 40% this will reduce your battery life. So lets do the math again. (800/40)*100=2000
Now lets assume your battery back is 12 volts 2000/12=167 amp hour back.
So your system would consist now of 160 watts of solar panels 167 amp 12 volt battery bank a charge controller mounting system for the panels, box for the batteries, and an small fuse or breaker panel to protect all the equipment.
This would be a very simple system but if you wanted to add tv’s radios computer etc. You need to do the load calcs on them add them all together and do the math. Don’t just go out and buy a system someone off the internet sales you it may not be right for what you need.
Something else you will need to see the sun most of the day no shading of the panels. Good luck solar is great.

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Your Questions About Solar Generators Lowes

William asks…

I have a 110 volt refrigerator that i would like to power with solar panels..?

I have a cabin up in the woods and i just bought a little fridge.. http://www.lowes.com/pd_61493-47224-FRC445GB_?PL=1&productId=1190667&cm_mmc=search_gps-_-gps-_-gps-_-Frigidaire%204.4%20Cu.%20Ft.%20Compact%20Refrigerator%20(Color:%20Black) … thing is its too much to have the generator on all the time so i would like to put in some solar panels…im just confused on how to calculate it all and what kind of batteries i would need and anything else…If you could help me out i would appreciate it.

admin answers:

It would probably be a whole lot cheaper to have a super insulated box and haul some ice to your cabin.

Ken asks…

zombie survival?

what would you do if the world was taken over by zombies, and why?

admin answers:

Gather up people and fortify a position in orange county.

About 2-3 years into zpaw we move north to Idaho or something, a climate more suitable for farming and a area more remote.

I’ll distribute my guns (there’s 3)- my dad will take my shotgun, I’ll take the SKS and my bro will take the .22lr. I have at least 1000 rounds of each, so there should be no problem defending ourselves.

We group at Irvine High School, a small task force will weld all exterior doors shut, another force will weld bars over every window. The third will block all gated entrances by first chaining them shut, except for the back one.

Once this is done, I take 5 people with me, the SKS and shotgun. The rest will remain at the citadel with the .22lr, where they are very safe.

My little group will go into the chaos and get food, water, and some very nesscary supplies. Guns are needed because by this point people will be fighting over food and water. We pull up in front of Ralphs, One remains in the van with a bat and a machete. I lead with the shotgun hidden under my jacket (stock cut off), three people behind me grab shopping carts to fill up, the bring up the rear is another friend with the SKS in plain sight.

If we meet armed resistance, we open fire and leave trail of dead bodies. First is to grab is fresh produce and food, then bottled water.

We go back to the citadel to off load our supplies, then head off o big 5 sporting goods. Its a sporting store with guns, we break the crappy wooden lock bar with a crowbar and grab all the guns, ammo, and camping supplies, head back to the van, drive forward some and take some more food from the nearby albertsons.

Again, off load at the citadel and give out our newly acquired long guns to everyone. I trade in my shotgun for a 10/22 rifle, and off we go, another trip to the gun store. We head up Tustin Ave, now packed with cars, so we drive on the sidewalk. First to a storage place, we we trade in the van for a large truck. Then up to Fowler’s guns, which should be empty of people and very well locked up. We borrow a car someone’s car left on the road and drive it into the store front, go inside and grab every gun, ammo, and cleaning/reloading they got. Same for Turner’s outdoorsman. At Army-Navy We take all the camping things they have.

And on the way back take a second truck and go to home deport / lowes (whatever it is) and get some building materials, generators, fuel, BBq machines, solar panels, tools and more stuff. Then we head back to the citadel.

With our newly acquired weapons, ammo, tools and materials, we first park the truck in the gated autoshop area, Which we first reinforce with additional barricades and steel. Then we offload everything. Everyone can now get their gun or choice, plenty of ammo, take a room to sleep in.

During week 1 we set up patrols, which will patrol the roof tops and shoot any zombies we see, we set up the kitchen, the BBq machines we picked up cooks the meat we got form stores (packed in dry ice), bread, fresh produce and milk is also around to consume first.
The generators and lugged to the amphitheater area, set up.
The locker rooms are ventilated and cleaned, prepped to store the guns and ammo we have, including any fuel and dangerous things.
The aquatics center has the pools drained and filled with fresh water (thats 4 Olympic pools)

Week 2
we break up the cement in the quad to make room form farmland
we clear surrounding neighborhoods and salvage for additional supplies, tools, or materials.

After that, we continue living for a couple years, get good at farming and independence, then move to Idaho with electric cars (no gas worries) and set up a new walled city there.

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Your Questions About Solar Energy Environments

Donna asks…

What are engineering challenges to develop solar energy for comfort/home uses?

What are engineering challenges to develop solar energy for comfort/home uses?

admin answers:

Solar is an old technology now and is fairly developed. Cost is a bit of a barrier but that is coming down quickly. Production scale could also be considered a barrier, as the industry can’t yet make enough solar panels to satisfy demand. The panels themselves are limited in how much energy they can take out of the sun’s rays, but they are getting better at this. Materials are a big thing now, mostly in trying out different materials and structures in the cells to bring down the cost and boost the efficiency.
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://buildyourownhomeenergy.blogspot.com/

Ken asks…

What are the democratic and republican views on solar energy?

What are the democratic and republican views on solar energy?
what are the views, and how do they affect america?
i need both sides, democratic, and reublican views

admin answers:

In reality – Solar Farms are not practical or cost effective – YET!
They need to be subsidized by government. Solar panels only have a 10-20 year life.
When solar panels go below the 8 cent per watt cost – then they will be more cost effective.

Some Democrats don’t want their development or wind Farms.
Http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/business/energy-environment/22solar.html
“AMBOY, Calif. — Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation in Congress on Monday to protect a million acres of the Mojave Desert in California by scuttling some 13 big solar plants and wind farms planned for the region.” – – Plus the Kennedy’s stopped a wind farm in Massachusetts.

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Your Questions About Solar Generators For Sale

Richard asks…

What would you do if society colapsed end every one was on their own?

no cooperation between anyone, not even families

no utilities or power, unless you can provide it for yourself like your own well or generator and if you can you have to protect it from any one else who might want to steal it for them selves.

no sale or trade between people you just have what you own and what you can take or steal from others.

how long do you think you could last? Where would you go? What’s your plan?

admin answers:

Regenerate society among my family and our neighbors (we already have that planned)

We have wind / solar powering our ranch, and diesel back up… We also raise 80% of our own veggies and 95% of our meat / dairy… We have a 1 year stock of grain, coffee, sugar, etc.

I won’t mention our weapons… Or our security arrangements other than to say that a few Marine Gunny Sergeants and SEALs (friends) have been up here and approved / and improved.

We live 20 miles from town and 90 miles from the city… We have our own valley and access to another four via neighbors… Time to start a tribal / feudal system !!

James asks…

How much does a tie to grid battery bank cost per KWH?

A power company has a sales thing where for an 18 month contract, you can get free power from 10pm to 6 am. I would like to get a solar setup eventualy, and think this would be a great stepping stone.

I would need to be able to charge the battery from the grid or from panels eventualy. What would be the cost to setup a 10kwh bank tied to the grid (using 6v batteries or whatever)? Ball park? 500? 2k? 5k?

admin answers:

Solar panels would be your best bet as generators are expensive when you factor in the (rising) fuel costs.

Find a local solar installer here: http://www.installeco.com/find/solar-installers/

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Your Questions About Solar Energy Generator Companies

Linda asks…

solar energy used in a real life for what ? and is it successful?

1.successful example of solar power in use of the real life .where in the world it’s successful and why can all sources be used in any country?
2.why not success economically?what improvement have been made ?

admin answers:

You are asking a big question so I advise you to do some research. I will offer some of what I’ve learned.

Solar is getting cheaper at a rapid rate. The solar industry was one of the hotter sectors in the stock market in the last year. Prices are expected to reach grid parity over the next ten years, depending on where you live.
Grid parity means solar is competitive in price without subsidies. Till then we have subsidies.
Some photovoltaic panel makers are saying they may be at grid parity in two to five years.

In sunny areas like California, which also have high electricity prices, prices are already competitive.
In California, the three power companies have already signed on for solar power plants totaling 3 gigawatts. One gigawatt would power San Francisco, for comparison.
These are both photovoltaic and solar thermal power plants.
They are hundreds of megawatts each, and plants as big as 900 megawatts have been proposed. That’s 9/10 of a gigawatt.

Solar thermal power plants use the heat from the sun to generate electricity, usually by boiling water to drive a steam turbine generator. The heat from these plants can be stored and electricity generated at night. Solar thermal plants also won’t fade when a cloud goes over them.
They are fairly competitive now, with claims of 8-12 cents per kilowatt hour.

There is also concentrating solar photovoltaic power plants.
Both these and solar thermal plants, use parabolic mirrors, mirrors that track the sun, or fresnel lenses to concentrate sunlight up to 1000 fold onto a receiver, either thermal, or photovoltaic.

Using less than 1% of our southwest desert lands, solar power plants could power the whole country. This is an area 92 miles by 92 miles, an area which is less than the land now used for coal mining. The January 08 issue of Scientific American featured an article called “A Solar Grand Plan”, a proposal, which you can read online, to do just that.
It proposes building solar thermal and concentrating photovoltaic power plants and a network of high voltage DC transmission lines to distribute the power to other parts of the country. This HVDC distribution system is the same thing that T Boone Pickens is recommending to move wind generated power from Texas to the rest of the country. This will have the added benefit of beefing up the grid, something that is needed anyway.
There is no shortage of good ideas out there. At setamericafree.org, you will find another plan called “A Blueprint for U.S. Energy Security”. This plan shows how we can achieve energy security and meet the goals of reducing the threat of global warming, using current technology. It calls for plug in hybrid cars, which would achieve an overall 100 mpg for the average driver. Once the grid is clean energy, it can power much of our transportation as well.
At that point, electric cars will make perfect sense and will have had more time to perfect the technology.
If you study these two plans and that of T Boone Pickens, you will see they have much in common. By combining the best ideas of these and other similar plans, we can get the job done. For instance, Pickens wants to use natural gas as a cleaner alternative to gasoline in cars. How about plug in hybrid natural gas powered cars? Plug in Partners website has good information on plug in hybrids.
Pickins’ argument for natural gas for cars is a good one, it’s cheap, it’s abundant, it’s cleaner than gasoline, and it’s ours.
And he’s right about something else, we can’t drill our way out of it, and oil is killing our economy.

Those in power want you to believe that these solutions will be too expensive. Nothing could be further from the truth. For example, the solar proposal published by SciAm calls for spending about $400 billion in public money, over a period of about 40 years. This is less public money, than we spent to build the high speed information highway over the last 35 years. And that is about how much we give to oil companies, in the form of tax credits and subsidies, every five years. So by spending about 1/8 of what we now give away to oil companies, we could power the entire nation with solar energy in the southwest.

Add to this solar panels on rooftops, large scale arrays on the ground and such all over the country, and you have both distributed energy and centralized energy, all from solar.

Wind has huge potential too and is cheap.
Both wind and solar large projects are quicker to get up and running than nuclear or coal plants. Cheaper too!

Http://greenwombat.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/
Green Wombat has lots of articles on related issues, with several stories about solar power plants in the southwest.

One thing that is helping is power purchase agreements and other financing designed so that a homeowner, for instance, could install solar panels with no money down. This is also being done in larger commercial installations and utility scale installations.
Berkeley California just voted to finance solar for homeowners. They will sell bonds to finance solar panels for any homeowner that wants them, with no money down. Each year, along with your property tax, you will pay down part of the loan. If you sell your house you can pass on the solar and the debt. It’s a win win.

It no longer will take 20 years to pay off a solar system as someone else said.

There is much dis information out there. Big powers are trying to convince us that renewable energy can’t power the country. It is not true.
All we lack is the political will.

Nancy asks…

how do ordinary people buy and install green technology such as solar and wind in Michigan?

I know these things are MADE in Michigan and TV shows people doing this, but when I search all I get are companies looking to do business with other companies or sites that have no buying info just product info. I don’t understand why there is this disconnect with TV and the Internet. TV pushes the new technology while the internet seems to just now be admitting it exists.

admin answers:

Let me start off by saying we (my family and I) live completely, 100% “off of the grid and are completely self sufficient”

The house is built utilizing natures natural elements, in the shape of an octagon with 8ft wide arch doors on every wall to catch every angle of wind (typical 4 sided homes have half the chance as one with 8 sides. A circle being the most efficient design). Woodburning stoves, solar chimney, solar AC, solar heating, solar water heating (pool and home), solar stove, solar power, wind power, hydrogen powered back up generator, hydrogen back up water heater, hydrogen stove, 2 hydrogen powered trucks, 1 EV (electric vehicle) and satellite internet.

There are no utility lines, no water lines, no roads, tv, cell service, etc. On our ranch. EVERYTHING needed is produced here. All electricity comes from 27 solar panels, 2 main wind gens and a back hydrogen generator if needed (typically we can last 9 days with all luxuries of sunless windless weather, hasn’t happened yet). Water is caught and storaged from the rain. Hot water is made with solar batch water heaters with an on-demand hydrogen hot water heater as backup. Even our vehicles use alternative energy (2 hydrogen trucks, 1 EV electric vehicle converted). Because of this we have no bills, no debt and no mortgage.

The fallowing steps were taking directly out of a DIY guide I offer to those who would like to run their homes on solar power safely, reducing their monthly utility bills or even selling power back the the electrical companies. The entire guide is available at www agua-luna com. Its pretty simple but if you have any problems feel free to contact me directly I can walk you threw the process.

Materials you will need
A sheet of copper flashing from the hardware store. This normally costs about $5.00 per square foot. We will need about half a square foot.
Two alligator clip leads.
A sensitive micro-ammeter that can read currents between 10 and 50 microamperes. Radio Shack sells small LCD multimeters that will do, but I used a small surplus meter with a needle.
An electric stove. My kitchen stove is gas, so I bought a small one-burner electric hotplate for about $25. The little 700 watt burners probably won’t work — mine is 1100 watts, so the burner gets red hot.
A large clear plastic bottle off of which you can cut the top. I used a 2 liter spring water bottle. A large mouth glass jar will also work.
Table salt. We will want a couple tablespoons of salt.
Tap water.
Sand paper or a wire brush on an electric drill.
Sheet metal shears for cutting the copper sheet.

The first step is to cut a piece of the copper sheeting that is about the size of the burner on the stove. Wash your hands so they don’t have any grease or oil on them. Then wash the copper sheet with soap or cleanser to get any oil or grease off of it. Use the sandpaper or wire brush to thoroughly clean the copper sheeting, so that any sulphide or other light corrosion is removed.
Next, place the cleaned and dried copper sheet on the burner and turn the burner to its highest setting.
As the copper starts to heat up, you will see beautiful oxidation patterns begin to form. Oranges, purples, and reds will cover the copper.
As the copper gets hotter, the colors are replaced with a black coating of cupric oxide. This is not the oxide we want, but it will flake off later, showing the reds, oranges, pinks, and purples of the cuprous oxide layer underneath.
The last bits of color disappear as the burner starts to glow red.
When the burner is glowing red-hot, the sheet of copper will be coated with a black cupric oxide coat. Let it cook for a half an hour, so the black coating will be thick. This is important, since a thick coating will flake off nicely, while a thin coat will stay stuck to the copper.
After the half hour of cooking, turn off the burner. Leave the hot copper on the burner to cool slowly. If you cool it too quickly, the black oxide will stay stuck to the copper.
As the copper cools, it shrinks. The black cupric oxide also shrinks. But they shrink at different rates, which makes the black cupric oxide flake off.
The little black flakes pop off the copper with enough force to make them fly a few inches. This means a little more cleaning effort around the stove, but it is fun to watch.
When the copper has cooled to room temperature (this takes about 20 minutes), most of the black oxide will be gone. A light scrubbing with your hands under running water will remove most of the small bits. Resist the temptation to remove all of the black spots by hard scrubbing or by flexing the soft copper. This might damage the delicate red cuprous oxide layer we need to make to solar cell work.
Cut another sheet of copper about the same size as the first one. Bend both pieces gently, so they will fit into the plastic bottle or jar without touching one another. The cuprous oxide coating that was facing up on the burner is usually the best side to face outwards in the jar, because it has the smoothest, cleanest surface.
Attach the two alligator clip leads, one to the new copper plate, and one to the cuprous oxide coated plate. Connect the lead from the clean copper plate to the positive terminal of the meter. Connect the lead from the cuprous oxide plate to the negative terminal of the meter.
Now mix a couple tablespoons of salt into some hot tap water. Stir the saltwater until all the salt is dissolved. Then carefully pour the saltwater into the jar, being careful not to get the clip leads wet. The saltwater should not completely cover the plates — you should leave about an inch of plate above the water, so you can move the solar cell around without getting the clip leads wet.
Now place in the sun with the magnefied on top.
The solar cell is a battery, even in the dark, and will usually show a few microamps of current.
That’s it it’s that simple. If you’d a more detailed process and some pics (ouldn’t put them here) it’s available along with some other DIY alternative energy projects at www agua-luna com

Hope this helped, feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions if you’d like assistance in making your first self sufficient steps, I’m willing to walk you step by step threw the process. I’ve written several how-to DIY guides available at www agua-luna com on the subject. I also offer online and on-site workshops, seminars and internships to help others help the environment.

Dan Martin
Alterative Energy / Sustainable Consultant, Living 100% on Alternative & Author of How One Simple Yet Incredibly Powerful Resource Is Transforming The Lives of Regular People From All Over The World… Instantly Elevating Their Income & Lowering Their Debt, While Saving The Environment by Using FREE ENERGY… All With Just One Click of A Mouse…For more info Visit:

www AGUA-LUNA com
Stop Global Warming, Receive a FREE Solar Panels Now!!!

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Your Questions About Solar Energy Generator Price

Jenny asks…

I wan to install solar panels in all my windows. Any help and can I get enough energy?

I am living in a high rise apartment. I have heard of solar panels use for all sorts of things but I have not heard of solar panels being install in any window. Windows are normally inserted vertically. If it can be done, I would save a lot of money on my electrical bills on all electrical ancillary items. It is so scary to have electrical bills going up everyday with the increase onwards of fuel prices.

admin answers:

Solar power windows can save you a lot of money on your energy bill. This type of window actually doubles as a solar panel for the home. The are generally designed to keep cold air out of the home. If you’re looking to improve your home and to make it a green home, then purchasing solar panel windows and installing them is a project you will want to do. Follow this guide to install your new solar power windows.

Step 1 – Understand What the Window Is

Before you install the new windows, you should understand what they do. Solar power windows are made with solar panels. The solar panels allow the passage of light through the window into the home. In addition, it also produces energy for the home. In 2008, scientists created a much more powerful solar paneled window for home use. Some research shows that these newer panels are 10 times more effective in drawing out energy for the home. If the home has a generator that can connect the solar power to produce energy, it will become much more efficient in energy production and less dependent upon traditional energy resources.

Step 2 – Remove Old Windows

Remove the old windows from the home. Tape up the hole that you just created, especially if you don’t plan on installing the new windows just yet. You can usually pull out the old window by removing the window framing and the window sill. The window should just pop out.

Step 3 – Add the New Solar Window

Installing solar powered windows is similar to installing a regular window. It comes with a frame and a sash, a sill and any necessary hardware. Install the window from the outside of the home to the inside. It will usually pop into place. Be careful not to scratch the surface of the window, as the solar properties will reduce if the window is damaged. Add the sash, the sill and the frame. Nail into place.

Step 4 – Connect to the Generator

Follow the directions on your solar powered window. There will be instructions on how to appropriately connect the window to the solar generator. If you don’t have a solar generator, you can skip this step. Understand that in order to harness the solar effects the windows create, you will need to have a generator or power pack that can change this energy from solar into usable energy for your home.

Step 5 – Clean the Window

Using a non-abrasive solution, clean your window. Usually water and newspaper works the best. Don’t use razors or any other types of sharp objects on your window, because you will ruin the solar properties.

Good luck!

Sandra asks…

Why should people use solar panels more for houses?

I need to write a pressuasive essay on why we should use solar panels more than we do. and convince people that their good and stuff.. if u guys could give me some good key reasons why..that would be great.

admin answers:

Hey Dave. There are lots of good reasons why we should use more solar panels. To set one thing straight, panels do not have toxins in their manufacture. Photovoltiac panels, the ones that produce electricity are made up almost entirely of silicone, aluminum and acrylic. The other type, that heat water and air from the sun are made primarily of sheet metal, copper and glass, and have a type of alcohol called glycol running through them. It’s the same type that we use to deice aircraft in the winter.

Whsgreen is quite right on the payback. If you invest properly in solar power today and take advantage of any grants and tax incentives, even if your electric rates do not go up as they are forecast too, you will get your money back over time, well within the lifetime of the equipment, and sooner if there is a rate increase in the future. There are also enviromental benefits. At one time there was an argument that a solar panel will never produce as much power as was used to manufacture it. First of all, this is not correct. The, “Embodied Energy,” in a solar panel is earned back in 2 – 6 years, depending on the type panel, where the raw materials were shipped from, and how it was installed and used in the end. Most panels are warrantied to last at least 25 years, and most last much longer than that. But the argument is not important anyway. We have been living with electricity for over a century now, so it isn’t going away anytime soon. The question is, “What is the best way to produce it?” If you build a panel, and put it along side a similar sized natural gas fired turbine generator for example, which earns back its embodied energy sooner? The answer is the gas turbine never does, because once you build it, ship it and install it, you now have to feed it natural gas for the rest of its life, so it keeps on digging itself a deeper and deeper embodied energy hole that it can never crawl out of. At least the panel has a chance to get even environmentally. So manufacturing and using solar panels in the end releases less pollution into our environment.

There are also mechanical and political benefits. We all know after the oil embargo of 1973, and the gulf war what it means for our country to rely on foreign oil. Wouldn’t it be nice if we only shipped in 20% of our energy instead of 60% the next time something like that happens? Our home has been powered by the wind and sun for years now, but we still remain connected to the electric grid. Last year alone there were two power failures in our county that lasted about a half day each. In both cases, we were not aware of them because our solar array kept on feeding the house. It’s difficult to put a price tag on something like that.

Beyond the mechanical, political and environmental benefits however, lies a less obvious benefit, the social benefit. Right now we pump oil out of the ground, and mine for coal. The process of getting those materials to market involves shipping, military escorts and other activities that use up a good portion of that energy as well as putting lives at risk. Jobs in solar power are higher tech than jobs in coal mining, oil drilling and shipping, and there are more of them. Using more solar power would require us to put more people to work, and increase our education base because the work involved requires certain skills. I would personally like to take all those people out of the coal mines, send them to school and put them to work building solar panels. Nobody would have to die again in one orf those dark holes in the ground trying to find food for our hungry power plants. They could work on a factory floor where they would not be exposed to coal dust, radon and other toxins and dangers. Most of our solar and wind resources are spread pretty evenly over the middle half of our globe, so everyone has access. This puts people in Bogota on a more equal footing with people in Boca Raton by giving them access to electricity, heat and clean water, and the education to use the solar resources that provide those things. Oil, coal and natural gas is generally piled up in a few places, such as Russia and the Middle East. This gives those countries and the richer governments that rule them more horse power in bargaining for the other resources of our planet. These are the things that wars are made of.

So there are lots of good reason to use more solar in our everyday life. Here are some resources to look up and do some of your own reading. Good luck Dave, and take care. Rudydoo

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Your Questions About Solar Generators Portable

Sandy asks…

What is the best way to power my refrigerator in my rv when not plugged in?

I have the original generator that came with the rv but it does need some work. I don’t really want to have to run the generator just to power fridge while between places. The fridge is an electric fridge. I had thought about a solar panel or maybe just a smaller portable generator. Any ideas? What do people do when they are between places for 8 hours or so and don’t want food to spoil?

admin answers:

Newer RV refrigerators have a variety of of ways to operate now; propane, 12 volt, and 110 volt power. You can purchase a newer one online. I would recommend a 110 volt or propane combo refer. That way when you are using shore power you can use the 110 volt to power the refer or when you are dry camping you can use the propane feature which is very efficient. Or option b: you can purchase a generator (2800 watt or larger) to power it on 110 volt. Option C opower your 110 volt refrigerator with solar panels would require an invertor (2000 watt or higher) as well as a large array of solar panels drilled into the roof accompanied by allot of 6 Volt (golf cart batteries).

Sandra asks…

Is their a generator small enough that will work with wii?

Is their a generator small enough that is at least 50 watts no more thatn 70watts taht fits a standard size house plug. I will go on a coach bus and i want to bring wii with me but i need a small generator. any ideas where i can get one.

admin answers:

I’m not sure what you mean by generator.. You maybe need a battery system.. But you would need to power a television along with it.. The Wii isn’t really set up as a portable system..

Check the link below.. Some people set up a solar power generator for their Wii..

Good luck..

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Your Questions About Solar Energy Jobs

Ken asks…

What are possible positions (jobs) in solar energy?

I want to work in something that has to do with alternative energy sources such as solar energy hydroelectricity etc. To what type of program i would need to applay and what are the requirements?

admin answers:

I’m just finishing a physics masters in CdTe solar cells. If I wanted to I could go into solar research from here, or get a job with a renewable energy company. A first class (or in some cases upper second) physics degree is sufficient in the UK.

Particularly well paid jobs will generally require a degree. Physics for research and possibly for planning, engineering for designing installations and possibly planning. Mathematicians or other physical scientists may be able to get involved in the actual planning. Non-scientists may be able to get jobs in solar companies in marketing, human resources etc. Physics or electrical engineering would be my recommendation.

If you don’t particularly want to go to university and/or you don’t particularly like maths, then many countries now run practical courses which teach you how to install solar systems in houses and you can get on one of those and be fully qualified to work in installing solar panels.

Carol asks…

what is the best way to break into the solar energy industry?

what is the best way to break into the solar energy industry is still by way of a thorough solar education as provided?

admin answers:

Start by building your own solar cell from recycled materials, but don’t give up your day job. Experiment in your spare time and also take all the solar education courses that are available in your area. Solar energy will definitely be the power of the future as fossil fuels are exhausted.

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Your Questions About Solar Generators For Home Use

Joseph asks…

Anyone have any ideas for electricity in woods?

I know this sounds stupid, but I am building a cabin in the woods over a very small stream. I need electricity out there to power some lights and maybe a radio with some speakers. The stream isn’t big enough for hydroelectric power and I was wondering if anybody had any ideas to get electricity out there. Extension cords would be too long, solar maybe if it is cheap, a rechargeable car battery would be too heavy to carry up to charge each time. If you guys have any ideas, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

admin answers:

I don’t think it is stupid. I would check out solar, but if not, have you thought about wind? Otherwise maybe a power inverter? I don’t know if they are much lighter than a car battery but they are made for things like this. All I know about them is what I have heard on QVC, but I am sure they are available at home improvement or hardware stores. You could of course get a generator and haul gas, but I wouldn’t, too noisy and pollutes. Keep the radio down and enjoy the woodland creatures.

William asks…

How much (estimate) would it cost to get septic/power/gas installed in a rural area?

Curious how much people think it would cost to get not only a septic system set-up but also some kind of power and gas supply in a rural field in colorado? Assume a trailer home is on the land for a house. (If that matters) 10 acres of land.

admin answers:

Ideally a pond with reed beds is best,this makes a bio-diverse pond the bacteria in the pond eat the sewage,pond about 50-100metres away from property.pond details on net? Solar panels are great for electricity,and are better and cheaper now,some on net from 250,Windmills also good make one via car generator,run cable from alternator to one -way diode to battery, use inverter from battery. Or use gas in a tank, delivered by lorry. Pond 100+ power50+ gas tank usually cheap as you buy gas from them.sy.

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Your Questions About Solar Energy Generators

Thomas asks…

Is there a solar electric generator? I heard a company in Chicago has manufactured an electric generator that?

I am looking for a company that manufactures electric generators that uses solar energy.

admin answers:

Erm – that would be a electric solar cell then.

James asks…

is there an alternative for solar panels that can collect and convert solar energy into electricity?

A solar panel is a device that collects and converts solar energy into electricity or heat which can be used by (for example) nearby buildings. But is there any device that acts like a solar panel?

admin answers:

Besides the silicon type, there are a couple of types:

1. The reflector type of solar power, which uses a mirrored dish to focus sunlight to boil water to drive a generator.
2. Using sunlight to heat a thermocouple which drives a current.

Both of these are larger than your typical solar cell and are not really that efficient – yet.

A solar cell is the only thing that converts photonic energy into electricity, although they can be made of silicon and other materials.

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Your Questions About Solar Energy Pros And Cons

Betty asks…

Pros and Cons of using nuclear energy to produce electricity?

Please give me some pros and cons of using nuclear energy for producing electricity! List as many as you know.

admin answers:

Pros:
Cheaper per kW-hr than gas, coal, petroleum, and solar energy production.
Zero carbon emissions power production
Higher output than any other energy source for a given area
High paying jobs stimulate local economy more than other forms of energy production
More jobs created than from gas, coal or petroleum production
With reprocessing, nuclear energy could provide a nearly endless supply of power at current demands.

Cons:
Re-Processing of commercial fuels currently creates issues with waste volume in the United States, leading to storage and disposal issues.
Wastes are highly radioactive and must be handles carefully and dealt with using engineered safety features.
Public opinion of nuclear power presents a “not in my back yard” mentality, even with US plant design being some of the safest plants in the world to operate.
Plants must be built in geologically stable area, or engineered to withstand geological events to prevent the release of contamination.
The approval and construction process for new nuclear plants is quite costly, making it difficult to build new facilities.

Lizzie asks…

What are Problems of Fossil Fuels and the Advantages of Solar Energy.?

What are the pros and cons of Solar Energy with respect to cost, impact on the environment, availability etc.

admin answers:

There are several problems with fossil fuels. They are a limited commodity, they cause pollution when burned, and they are destructive to drill for or mine.

Solar energy is a growing technology right now. People who have solar panels on their houses often generate more electricity than they can even use, and in some places they can sell it back to the power companies and make a profit while not paying for electricity.

At present, solar panels are expensive to buy, but this will change as more people buy them, just like any other technology.

For the environment, I would guess that solar energy is almost completely harmless. I don’t know what kind of chemicals that are required for making solar panels, but once they are produced, solar energy uses a virtually unlimited energy source that is clean to harvest and gives off no emissions.

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Your Questions About Solar Energy Generator Price

Joseph asks…

How can people say that green energy is inefficient when the lack of investment causes it’s inefficiency?

The financial elite (the 5% of Americans who own 75% of America or the 1% of the world who own 40% of the world, whichever way you want to look at it) invested a lot in the coal and oil energy business because they controlled the coal and oil mines.

They could invest in solar, tide, wind, geothermal etc energy but they can’t sell us any of those things, so even though it would make very positive change for everyone, they aren’t doing it, which is WHY the technologies are still inefficient.

admin answers:

Some of it is inefficient. For example, solar panels can only capture about 20-40% of energy. For the price of the item, no one wants to take that chance. All the investments in the world won’t change the fact that you’re not getting most of it. There is a reason only businesses and celebrities have solar panels. Also, the world tends to get dark from time to time, making it unreliable.

I agree that we should have them. It’s not like surfers and fishermen need the oceans to be pretty and not have wave generators five miles from the coast. It is free and everywhere. But the fact still remains that it isn’t prestigious or cheap enough.

Mark asks…

Solar energy: How to get more wattage from several solar panels?

Here’s the thing. I have this little farm in a far far place where there’s no electrical power. I only have a generator that I can’t afford to have on all day… I have this chickens I need to keep warm at night among other things, like turning on light bulbs (both old and energy saving ones), tv, radio, etc for a few hours.
Here’s the thing, I was looking online and I found a descent price on a 130 watts solar panel, 12 volts output so I was thinking of buying it.
I’ll explain what I know so far so you can maybe help me out with my doubts:
I am supposed to sum up the amount of watts consumed by the devices connected to my panels right ? for instance, if I have three 40 watts bulbs that would mean 120 watts per hour, which means the panel would do the job right ? Let’s assume for a second we have ideal weather conditions. So that would mean that if I need the bulbs on for 4 hours that’s “120*4= 480 watts hour” .. the panels would need to be working under ideal conditions 4 hours as well right ? That would mean “130*4=520 watts hours” so I should be fine, right ? No energy storage involve so far. Just direct energy consumption right?

Now, here’s one of my main question. I couldn’t fine panels that could provide more than 130 watts, so what do I do when I need more energy than that ? am I supposed to connect several panels in parallel to keep the same voltage or am I supposed to connect them in series and deal later with the voltage increase ? My “common sense” tells me that I should connect them in parallel (assuming I’m buying the same panel several times), so I get the same voltage output, to them connect them to a power inverter. But, will I get a wattage increase, will it just keep adding up ? For instance if I have four 130 watts panels in parallel will I get total of 520 watts ? *Crucial question*

Also, among all the doubts I have, I would also like to ask how to select my system. Like I said before, my main issue is to keep the chicken warm. I would like to light up say, 6 old light bulbs just so I can heat up the room for the chickens. Let’s say 60 watts (maybe?). According to my logic that would mean 360 watts so one panel wouldn’t be enough, so how to I get more wattage ? How to I get enough wattage to light up these light bulbs plus a couple other energy saving ones for the surroundings of the farm, and old small tv and maybe a small fan ? The “warming bulbs” would be on all night, that’s the goal.. the other things I intend to power would be on for 4 hours average.

Last but not least, actually this is quite important… how to I store enough energy to keep this things going on once the sun is gone. As you may have figured out already I need energy at night, once the sun is gone, to keep the chicken warm at night an to light up the patio I guess. I’m gonna need an arrangement of batteries for this.. but which ones ? How many ? in parallel (of course?) ? How much time will they need to charge before I need to use them again ? Remember I plan to use them on a daily basis.

So as you can see I’m pretty much an ignorant when it comes to this, but I’m really trying to figure it out. I know this sounds a bit nuts but I’m basically asking you to teach me to set up a whole systems for my needs. Is it even possible ? Given the case that I can’t keep the “warming bulbs” on, I would still like to set up a system to light up the patio with energy saving bulbs, to turn on a small tv and perhaps a fan, that would still help a lot.

Even if what I’m asking is too crazy, do you know of any other affordable way to produce or store enough energy for any of this things ? Like maybe wind energy? or (I don’t know) is there a way to charge an arrangement of batteries with my generator and then use these batteries with an inverter to keep the rest of the things on at night ? Because I don’t keep the generator on all night, it would probably break after a while. Sounds like waste to have such a huge thing on for hours every night just to keep a few bulbs and a small tv on.

Well anyway, thanks for your time. I hope this doesn’t sound too crazy and I hope you can help me out or maybe guide me in the right direction.
ROWLFE: Please, I hope you read this. You seem to be well informed, more than just well. Thanks by the way.. but I need to flood you with a bunch of other questions if that’s alright. So I assuming I have a established storage battery system (which I don’t, I don’t even know where to start, but let’s just assume I have it) would it matter if I have a 130 watts panel or a bazillion watts panel ? What I mean is, since I’m using the power almost strictly when the sun is gone, then I can’t consider the panel a “battery” as you said. I absolutely need the so said storage unit… so if I had this unit, any panel would do the trick to charge it ?
I don’t know if I’m explaining myself well, what I’m trying to say is that my energy consumption will be strictly supplied by my batteries, the solar panel in this case is just one of the many ways to charge those batteries. If I could charge the batteries with anything else then I would.. but I need pow
but I need power at night to light up incandescent light bulbs. So would I need an specific solar panel to charge an ARRANGEMENT OF BATTERIES THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN DESIGNED TO POWER MY NEEDS ? or any panel/wattage would do the job since I would not be feeding directly from it ?

By the way, since I have no clue where to start, do you think you could maybe recommend some panels/wattage for what I need ? and batteries, specially batteries. I know I can’t use just regular car batteries since they are not designed to be charged and discharged so often. I heard something about golf car batteries, I don’t know. Man if you could maybe show some quick schematics/designs of a system that might work for my needs, that would help me out a lot. Even if its just a block diagram… I’m sorry to sound so stupid but this is the first time I try to do something like this so I’m still on the trial and error stage. I promise I’m a bit smarter than this. Thanks for your help!

admin answers:

To keep a 12v system, mount multiple panels in parallel. That increases available watts leaving volts constant.

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Your Questions About Solar Generators Home Depot

Maria asks…

Who knows of a honest Company that sells wind generators and solar panels for a decent price?

admin answers:

Try Northern Arizona Wind and Sun. Their prices are decent, not always the lowest, but decent. Service is good, and the forum they sponsor has helped many.

Another company, partsonsale.com, has good prices, but you need to wade through the hype. Know what you want, and don’t believe everything you read.

On occasion, some Home Depot stores actually stock the large 165 and 175-watt Mitsubishi panels.

John asks…

How to build your own wind or solar power!?

I am really looking for Ebooks that are FREE, not the kits where you spent $1000 to build the darn thing but books on how to use common items in building a wind or solar power kind of stuff. My father is REALLY wanting to build a wind turbine, and maybe even a solar panel. The problem is that all the books we find require you either buy a kit or go to some special hardware store to get this or that. I have talked to a man that has a solar panel he built himself not spending over $200 and got all the stuff from home depot! This is what I am looking for if ANYONE can point me in the right direction PLEASE PLEASE do so!!

admin answers:

You Can Build A Wind Generator from you home as little as $100
just click on the link or copy and paste in your browers for more info on wind generator

http://rbagent.windplans.hop.clickbank.net?tid=wind1&gid=&yid=&ex=

hope this helps you in your matter

richard

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Your Questions About Solar Energy Calculator

George asks…

Q. How the electricity is produced by using solar energy?

Please describe in details how do the whole mechanisms work? How it is developed? What apparatus is required? How the solar panel is constructed and how it works? Explain me all questions by using 3d figures or images or video if available. I have no prior knowledge about solar electricity so; please guide me in the easiest way as much as possible; I want to make electricity for my home by using solar energy what should I do? How can I achieve or construct it myself?

admin answers:

Solar electric panels are made up of something called silicon, the same thing that makes up sand. There is more silicon on the planet than almost anything else. Even though you can find silicon almost everywhere, making a solar panel is difficult and expensive. The silicon has to be heated to super high temperatures in a big factory, and then formed into very thin wafers.

When sunlight hits a solar panel, it makes electrons in the silicon move around. (Electrons are teeny tiny specks–they?re way too small for us to see, even under a microscope.) The electrons flow through wires that were built into the solar panel. And presto! We have electricity! We can do whatever we want with this electricity, run a calculator, a CD player, or, if we have big enough solar panels, a satellite! [Solar panels are also called photovoltaic panels. “Photo” means light and “voltaic” means electricity.]

http://www.windandsolar.com/nss-folder/pictures/Solar%20Panels%20S%20Wind%20machines%208319%20W%20Sunset%20005.jpg

Before installing solar panels, make sure you are wearing safety goggles. Make sure you have read and understand the manuals for your installation equipment.

Mandy asks…

How do solar powered calculators work?

Explain how a solar powered calculator works. My solar powered calculator also works with, light from a light bulb, how is this?

admin answers:

A solar powered calculator uses a photovoltaic cell to convert light energy (photons) into electric current to power it. Any source of visible light should work, including a light bulb.

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Your Questions About Solar Generators For The Home

Robert asks…

Build a solar or wind propelled generator?

I want to know how to make a solar or wind propelled generator? First if i can make a solar and wind propelled generator and combine them to work at the same time. The solar panel can be around 12 volts. I just want to do this as a home project. I don’t want extreme power out of this. I am young but have a lot of experience with building electronics so keep it simple enough for me to do it.

admin answers:

Well i dont know much but i hope this will help, i whould imagine for the wind power you whould need the light propeler to be somehow conected to a magnetic generater. And for the solar power, well i dont know much about that but i hope to find out soon.

Sharon asks…

How many solar panels does it take to run an A/C unit? Also, How many batteries in an array?

I was wondering how many 700 W solar panels it would take to run a household A/C unit. Also curious how many batteries it would take to keep A/C running in inhospitable environments. Would a 3500 W inverter be enough if it were to run 220 AC?

admin answers:

Here we are doing the math of two facts to multiply or divide, to find the third, and you don’t give enough to make up the equation!

My 2.5 ton unit needs 220 VAC at 5 KW for the heater coils, and 3.5 KW for the cooling and fans, but, in electricity, we are always having to discriminate between inductive loads (transformers, oven coils, heater coils) and other uses, like lncandescent lighting.

To run my HVAC unit, in my 1,000 square foot home, would demand a10KW unit, and the 5200 watt (5500 watt Surge rated)
would not work. A generator simply stalls out under load, possibly smokes the generator electrics, while a solar unit and batteries can reverse potential under severe load, and explode!
The surge rating for my HVAC unit is 3X higher, (the Switching Load), for either heating or cooling. When figuring out the generator load for an emergency generator, for warranty purposes, they demand we install a generator with a ‘surge’ power rating triple the start-up load of our equipment, and that is the way to try to load your Solar panel, also!

Now, go to the hardware store, and get a booklet or pamphlet about emergency power generation, and look at the descriptions of the generator start up power capabilities for the ‘switching loads’!

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Your Questions About Solar Generators Lowes

Maria asks…

where can i buy solar power products?

Is there a store I can see and buy solar power products like lights and generators.

admin answers:

Lowes and Walmart both offer solar powered lights.

Chris asks…

how easy, or hard, is solar panneling to install?

where im staying at the mo is plagued by power cuts normally twice a day, which makes things like cooking a real b*tch,
i’ve thought about a generator but petrol/diesel is also a problem here prices are on par with UK for fuel which is ridiculous, i already have an inverter for AC to DC to power battery’s for an elctric fence and a gate, also is it temperature or sunlight that the solar cells work from? because sunlight here is strong all year round but temperature in winter is quite low?

admin answers:

It not hard to install, but, may be expensive from what you mention in your comment. Solar Panels produce DC (Direct Current) Electricity. A house uses AC (Alternating Current).
Also remember that the Voltage and Amps produced are low.
You can buy Inverters that change DC to AC but for the power you looking for could get real expensive. What I am thinking of is this. May need to change to Propane/Natural Gas for Cooking and Hot Water. OR. You could get an Electric Generator, but, even this may not have the Amps you need for a Cook Stove, or, even a Refrigerator, you would need a large one capable of running what you want, and again, this could get Expensive.
The link a place you may be able to get an idea of Solar Costs; http://www.mrsolar.com/
These two links help you understand Generators and costs;
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=BuyGuide/SelectGenerator.html
http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/

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What A Solar Power Panel Is And Where You Can Find One

What Is A Solar Power Panel?

A solar power panel is a semiconductor device which converts photons from the sun into electricity. A solar power panel has many applications and uses, and is considered as being particularly used in situations where electrical power from a grid is unavailable, and they are often electrically connected and encapsulated as a module, thereby termed as a photovoltaic array or solar power panel.

A solar power panel uses semiconductors which are made from silicon, and the generating of useable electrical energy that a solar power panel creates is considered to be the photovoltaic effect.

What Is The Photovoltaic Effect?

The photovoltaic effect consists basically of the fulfilling of two functions: photogeneration of charge carriers in a light-absorbing material, and separation of the charge carriers to a conductive contact that will transmit the electricity. It is actually the conversion of this which is titled the photovoltaic effect. In other words, the photovoltaic effect is the basic physical process through which a solar cell coverts sunlight into electricity the energy of a photon is transferred to an electron in an atom of the semiconductor device.

A photovoltaic cell is principally made from doped silicon, and when a cell such as this is exposed to the sun’s electromagnetic rays, the photons in light transmit their energy to atoms in the connection. Basically, the photovoltaic effect is the phenomenon in which the incidence of light or other electromagnetic radiation upon the junction of two dissimilar materials, as a metal and a semiconductor, induces the generation of an electromotive force.

Where To Find A Solar Panel

There are many different locations that offer solar panels for the public to purchase, and if you are going to buy solar panels, you should remember to compare them by dollars per watt. Used solar panels are the best idea, and can be considered as bargains in several different ways. However, used solar panels produce less power per square foot than do new panels. As well, a modern solar panel might produce twice as much power as an old one of the exact same size however it will also cost you about twice as much.

Solar panels are obviously essential to the process of solar power, and are an incredibly important matter to thoroughly understand if you are hoping to actually learn anything about the solar power process.

The Benefits Of Having A Solar Power Home

The issue of having a solar power home has become one of incredible popularity, especially as of recently. This is due to many reasons, especially the fact that so many people are becoming more considerate of the environment and the world as a whole, and are taking time to consider other options that save and protect the earth’s fossil-fuels as best they can.

What Is A Solar Power Home?

A solar power home is a home which has all its forms of electricity run by solar powered mechanisms, rather than the conventional form of electricity. There are many myths, advantages, and disadvantages that surround the matter of a solar power home, and all of these should be carefully and thoroughly considered and discussed in order to be able to gain a proper and correctly knowledgeable viewpoint on the subject matter.

For example, a few of the common misconceptions surrounding a solar power home are: too expensive, won’t provide enough power for large applications, won’t work during the winter, only provides power when it is sunny or windy, too difficult to install and maintain, only last for a short length of time, unreliable, useless at night, inefficient, and not worth it or simply not profitable.

Although there are, of course, certain disadvantages with a solar power home, as with anything else, most of the myths and discussed disadvantages are simply not true. For instance, solar power is actually quite cheap and, as well, solar panels in fact work better in winter, because of the huge temperature change in the weather. It does not need to be sunny outside for solar power to work efficiently, as solar panels use the changes in temperature in order to provide electricity.

As well, the modern solar panels that are available today are heavy duty, reliable, and usually come with lengthy warranties. In the event of a black out, a home that is powered by solar power will thus remain unaffected, with a battery supply and also a constant supply of wind and solar power in order to keep the battery system full.

An interesting fact is that the government in some areas is actually considering a new law that will make all new homes and buildings required to have solar panels on them. Not only could these solar panels provide extra power to the electrical grid, but also to that of emergency power for owners, and even dramatically decrease the electricity shortage.