Hawaii is the first state to stand up to big oil and say, “I’ve had enough!” This past June, Governor Linda Lingle passed into law a bill stating that starting in 2010 every new home built will require a solar powered water heater. With the cost of oil going well over $120 a barrel recently, it’s easy to see why this decision was finally made. Read the full story here…
What do you think? Should other states follow suit?
GILBERT, Ariz., Sep 09, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Robert Kaapke, CEO of Evolution Solar Corp. (EVSO), releases briefs focused on the inaugural groundbreaking COPENMIND Conference and Exhibit in Copenhagen, Denmark. COPENMIND enables an intellectual match-making between more than 100 university exhibitors and 4,000 company representatives on a scale that has never been seen before.
“The value of COPENMIND is the unique combination of academia and business,” stated Robert Kaapke, CEO of Evolution Solar. “COPENMIND creates a cutting-edge platform for partnerships creating the world’s first truly global marketplace for university-industry interaction in relation to technology transfer and research partnerships.”
Keynote speakers included: Michael L. Goguen, Managing Partner of Sequoia Capital, an original Investor in Google (GOOG), Cisco, Oracle and Apple Computer (AAPL); Masatami Takimoto, Executive VP, Technology Development, Toyota Motor Corp (TM); and Julia Hamm, Director of Solar Electric Power Association, SEPA.
Read the full story here…
Atlantis Energy Systems, Inc. has come up with an amazing idea and actually put it into good use. It’s called the Sunslate. What they’ve done is to eliminate the need for the large, obvious and bulky panels mounted on your roof and instead replace them with subtle, unassuming solar panels that double as roof shingles. How cool is that?
Sunslates™
Sunslates™ are an advanced photovoltaic product . Sunslates™ allow the roof of your home to serve as both a roof and a power plant simultaneously. A typical installation of 216 Sunslates™ (about 300 square feet / 28 square meters) will cover from 60 to 80% of your power needs, depending on location. The roof is installed by an Atlantis certified installer.
Sunslate
A company out in Berkeley, CA has these great hand-held solar powered battery chargers that work with just about any portable electronic device. It’s called Solio and there are three different models available. The kick is, whereever you are in the world, you’ve got battery power. Prices range from $80USD to $170USD depending on the model you choose. Plug into the Sun! Visit the Solio Store here today!
A Solar Panel that works at night and it’s rated at 80% efficiency? Science fiction or fact? Check out the article here. Idaho National Laboratory has apparently developed a material using nano-technology to harvest infra-red solar radiation, even at night. The material is even flexible to be able to cover just about any surface. Just think of the applications!
For those of you that live in the southern California area, you’ll be happy to know that Sam’s Club will market solar panels at nine Southern California Clubs– Corona, Murrieta, Glendora, Ontario, La Habra, Chino, Long Beach, Fountain Valley and Torrance– where Home Efficiency Centers have been created to show case eco-friendly products and appliances. They plan on carrying the Borrego Solar Systems and BP Solar brands. Read more about it here. Good idea?
Ok, so you want to install some solar panels on your home to provide electricity in some way, but you don’t know where to start. Ironically, you have to think backwards to come up with your solution. By this, I mean first you have to determine the purpose behind using the solar power in your home/RV/Boat. What is it that you want to power? Is it just the kitchen appliances, or your home computer, or maybe just the outdoor equipment such as your pool or sprinkler system?
Once you quantify this, you do the calculations to determine the power requirements in Watts. Yes, you have to do a little math, but don’t worry, it’s very easy. Here’s the one formula you need to know:
Watts = Volts X Amps
Said another way: Volts = Watts / Amps or: Amps = Watts / Volts
Later on we’ll go through some examples in suing these formulas.
Another question you’ll have to ask yourself too is this; do you want a constant, steady supply of power or will you just need the short time use of the system? This will determine if you need to charge one or more batteries or if you can simply plug the solar panel directly into your appliance. Making use of batteries will cost you more obviously, but it is the most practical way to use solar power which obviously can only be harvested during the day.
If you use a battery bank there are some other pieces of equipment you’ll need of course. The solar panel(s) will connect to your battery. To better take care of your battery and prolong its life, it’s a good idea to install a charging unit between the solar panel and the battery. The battery will output an average of 12VDC, but you may need to convert this to 110V AC for your needs. To do this you need something called a power inverter. This converts DC power to AC and you can usually plug your appliances or extension cords directly into them. The small ones start out cheap, about $35 or so and go on up in price from there.
Depending on the size of your power grid you may want to install some safeguards such as those in your home now…fuses and breakers that work to protect your appliances from burning up. Finally you’ll need to run the power cables wherever necessary. Make sure you get the right size cable for the job. Grab your tape measure and start determining in feet/yards how much cable you’ll need.
Whether or not you end up doing the work here yourself to install your system, at least you will understand how it works, its limitations and what it will cost. In the next article we’ll go through a couple of examples to determine the right equipment for you and then figure out its cost.
There are so many websites and blogs popping up now in the area of solar power. Energy shortages have really started to push this technology forward into mainstream thinking. That’s why you’re here, right? You want to know more about solar power, how to use it and what it costs. Is it even possible to install a solar system on your home, and if so, will it provide any cost savings? The answers to these questions and more are here.
