Today is Sunday, 20th May 2012

Solar Home Strategies: Passive, Active or Grid?

The Industries Association guesses that over 200,000 U.S. Homes will be powered off-grid by alternative by the end of 2010. While the production of solar equipment requires some inputs of capital, and materials, the resultant system will supply power for a few years with very little cost or upkeep. Home solar electricity systems, and homes that depend on solar power stations ‘on-the-grid ‘ are becoming more popular as many governments offer motivations to home owners to join the solar revolution. A great opening for your next home remodeling project.

There are 3 other ways of capturing for home use: passively, concentrating heat and light, or by photovoltaic power cells. Passive solar is the easiest and most economical, where there is no mechanical action and the heating properties are simply a matter of good design suited to your local climate. Homes can be designed to capture or reflect heat thru placement, ventilation and materials, maximizing summer cooling and winter heating. The “One Tonne Home” in Sweden (designed by Gert Wingrdh) is a nice example of passive solar in action for a cool climate: with a large surface area of walls and darkened windows for heat storage and, and high thermal mass in the walls that maintain an even internal temperature. The home also features a solar system, so effective it can charge the family electric automobile!

Solar hot water systems employ passive solar and can cut your electricity charges by 30% dependent on your location. Solar hot water systems are inexpensive to run, and in clouded weather can be supplemented with and electrical backup if you run out of hot water. They work simply by soaking up heat thru a collection of water filled pipes and then storing that heated water in a well insulated tank.

Photovoltaics convert light into electricity which is either used straight away or stored in batteries. Power from photovoltaic cells can scaled to your needs. You might simply wish to install solar lights for your garden, or go further and power your complete house with a total system. The size and price of your off-grid system will depend on your requirements, however a 10kWh system is mostly adequate for the standard family of four, and will cost about $US40,000 for a soundly installed system. The genuine cost perhaps a lot less when you apply central authority inducements supplied in several states. Motivations to buy solar systems exist in numerous U.S. States and in California a ‘feed-in price list ‘ means you can sell your power back to the grid. Many new solar system lease programs like that offered by USA Solar Electricity, Solar Town and Lease The Sun to help folks take advantage of the emissions and savings reductions of endless in their homes.

Concentrating solar collectors are the method employed by solar electricity stations. Mirrors reflect and concentrate sunlight onto a central location that heats water to turn turbines. Many home made and tiny scale version are being developed for home water heating such as these ones at Build It Solar. This principle is what powers the simple handcrafted parabolic or flat reflecting solar stove, but on a much more serious scale like that of the 354 MW SEGS thermal power plant, in California and the just approved Blythe solar collector plant that is mooted to power at least 300,000 homes in the area when in open s in 2013.

Following installation home systems can supply limitless electrical power at a fraction of the cost of conventional grid connected power, with the added feel good of knowing you do your bit to reduce carbon emissions and make the future a cleaner, greener place.

Are you planning to need put in your 1? Visit Archidwell, for great solar tips. Also if you want kitchen, bath or basement remodeling ideas, we can help. We can lead you through your next home refurbishment with our home remodeling software.

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Is Going Green The Sole Answer For Our Environmental Crisis?

Written by Rachel Alvarado Monday, 26 September 2011 12:59

The primary culprit triggering the present ecological problem is man. There are two main views, the one being that it’s because of the ignorance of the masses, the other that we’ve been bamboozled by major corporations. At the end of the day, Joe Soap is accountable for most of the irresponsible and wasteful use of our natural resources. The masses are, of course, reliant for their information on the major corporations, and what they say more often than not goes unchallenged. It is nonetheless possible for the masses by their actions to counter several of the global ecological imbalance resulting from global warming.

There is much to be attained from implementing solutions endorsed by the green movement. There is no plausible cure for the ills of the environment other than adopting a green lifestyle. Unfortunately, all the present damage cannot be overturned, but at least further damage can be stopped and the impending tragedy largely averted. If individuals adopt the use of earth-friendly products and green ways of doing things, they can stop the environmental situation from deteriorating further. There are a number of things that are needed for making the environment greener and cleaner too.

Rejecting the use of expendable materials, buying local produce to shorten the supply chain, adopting a meat-free diet and discovering ways to re-use green waste are but a few of these things. Nearly everyone could do all of those things by simply choosing to do them. Moreover, balancing the ecological system can be carried out by taking the right steps to wisely consuming water and electricity. The rising level of CO2 in the atmosphere has been the cause of the ecological crisis. The situation is exacerbated by the latest proliferation of mechanized means of production, in manufacturing plants and on farms, all dependent on fuel or electrical and adding to the carbon emissions problem.

Due to this crisis, there are shortages of both food and water, extreme weathers, and also other natural disasters. The problem has developed to the extent where only decisive, strong steps can be helpful. One of the most important things for today is to convince the masses to live green. The focus needs to be on starting the process, getting more and more folks started on the green path, with easy steps, which will build the required momentum. The media is apparently best-placed to take on the job of persuading the public that any step towards greener living is noteworthy and will make an impact.

If people do not respond appropriately, it may well be that we find that we have run out of alternatives. In order to stop the slide towards desperation and misery, we should develop moral sense regarding the effect our actions have on the earth. If individuals are unwilling to face facts and do their part in helping the environment, how much longer does the world have? Unless there is a radical deviation from the present ways of man, there is no hope for the succeeding generation.

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Solar Water Heating Panels

Written by Harvey Knight Monday, 26 September 2011 10:45

There’s two ways that you can use , either to create electricity with PV solar panels, or else for a hot water system with . They are both good ways of saving , and hence money on bills.

Savings

To find out exactly how much you can expect to save with a solar hot water system you will have to contact an expert who will be able to survey your property. They’ll have to take in to account things like the sort of system you have now, the direction your roof points in, and what sort of weather you get in that area.

When it comes to the question of the weather though, it’s not the case that you have to be in a hot climate for to work well. If that was the case, they wouldn’t be much good in the UK! They do work better with direct sunlight, but they also work if there’s cloud cover or it’s a cold day.

In general, with solar thermal panels, you will be able to get 70% of your heating needs taken care of. Depending on what sort of central heating system you have, the hot water can be used for that as well as for your hot water taps of course. So that’s a significant amount of heating that you can get from renewable means.

Types Of Solar Thermal Panels

There are two kinds of , flat-panels and evacuated-tubes. The best kind to use are the evacuated-tubes, they’re the most efficient. However they are also the ones that are more expensive, so it will depend on your budget as to which will actually be the better ones to get.

The way that they work is pretty much the same, at least in terms of the basic principles. They’ve both got absorber plates which are used to absorb the heat that comes from the sun. The heat that is absorbed is then transferred to the water, either directly or if a heat transfer substance is being used, via that instead. More on this below in the “circulation system” section.

As to why the evacuated-tubes are actually more efficient, that’s because their absorber plates are running round the circumference of the tubes. This means that it has the advantage at multiple angles that the sun is shining from, and it also means that the surface area of them is larger.

Circulation Systems

You have four different options when it comes to the circulation of systems. They come in two main categories though, so you only really have two choices to make. One choice is between a circulation system that uses pumps and one that uses gravity and heat convection. The other choice is between a system that heats the water directly, and one that does so indirectly with the use of a heat transfer substance.

To remove the suspense, the best choice, usually, is to go for active and indirect circulation systems. The reason that it’s better that pumps are used is because it is simply more efficient that way. The reason that it’s better to use a heat transfer system is that this removes the possibility of the water freezing in the panels.

However if you happen to live in a climate where it rarely or ever freezes, then there shouldn’t be an issue with using a direct system instead. Although having said that, there are other reasons that the water could stagnate and if that happens then getting the water out of the solar panels will be troublesome.

A passive system might be better for you if you don’t want to worry about maintenance at all. With pumps being involved in an active system, sometimes they are going to require maintenance. That should not be a concern with a passive system as there are no moving parts. Also, the passive system tends to be cheaper so that’s another reason you might go for that kind as well.

Author Matthew Owen writes more information about at Solar Water Heating Panels. Discover the amount of money it’s possible to save, and the way all of it works. If you’re interested, you can also get a free solarinstallation quotation.

Geothermal Power: Financial Benefits

Written by Thomas Ellis Monday, 26 September 2011 10:42

When you’re looking in to , you’ll find that there are many different kinds available. There’s solar for example, as well as wind and many more. Another example of course is geothermal power, and this is one of the ones that ordinary people can make use of. In this case, with a ground source heat pump.

Geothermal Power Uses

Two ways exist to use geothermal power. One is to create electricity through a power station. In that case they work in much the same way as a conventional power station, heating the water to create steam to turn the turbines. They are not used very much though because there aren’t many locations where they are efficient enough.

When it comes to though, they are much more common. They can be used anywhere, as you do not need a large amount of heat. Any heating that the heat pump does not perform can be taken on by the boiler, but as it already has warm water to deal with a lot less heating is required.

Efficiency

From now on we will be focusing attention on the use of , as this is the only kind of geothermal which people can actually use. The question then, is how efficient is a heat pump of this sort? Well actually that is not the best question, because efficiency takes in to account all , not just how much we put in.

So what we really want to look at is the coefficient of performance of the . This is a measurement of how much comes out of a system in comparison with how much we have to put in. A certain amount of electrical does have to be provided to get the pumps to work, but all of the heat comes from the ground, which we do not input.

So when we look at the coefficient of performance, that has a value of 3-5 with . That means for every unit of electrical put in, you get to 3-5 times more heat out. If we were to translate that in to efficiency, it would mean it was 300-500% efficient.

Environmental Benefits

What this means for the environment is that you have to use a lot less in terms of conventional to provide your heating needs. This means that you will be reducing your carbon footprint by a significant amount.

The reason that the carbon footprint is so important of course is because of global warming. Man-made global warming is caused by the dumping of thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide in to the atmosphere. CO2 is a greenhouse gas, so this leads to warming. By reducing the amount emitted, we lessen the effects of global warming.

Financial Advantages

Of course by demanding less from your conventional supplier, you are also naturally reducing your bills. If it weren’t for the cost of the installation then, this is something that everybody would be doing. But the installation costs cannot be ignored of course.

If cost is a particular concern, then it might not be that you want at all though. Air source are a cheaper option, although not quite as effective. The most effective option is to get a vertical ground source heat pump installation, as that gets you the most amount of heat. A cheaper alternative is a horizontal installation.

In order to make more financially attractive though, the UK government is about to introduce the renewable heat incentive. This will apply to geothermal power, and means that you get money for each unit of heat you create with a ground source heat pump.

If you’d like to find out more regarding , it is possible to do so at geothermal power, which is where author Jack Shaw has written more on this subject. This site also happens to be the place to visit if you are interested in getting a free estimate for an installation.

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