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Healthier World: and Solar Designs

Nov 2

Posted by solarabodes in Alternative Energy

 

Solar energy happens to be designed to be used as a comfortable way of getting the right temperatures and light levels through an active solar design. You will find that the passive solar design is where the sunlight is entered into cold conditions and it then is maximized and enters hot weather to be reduced. The use of solar panels and the passive solar energy is where you are able to get natural sunlight to interact or become generated with energy without the use of mechanical systems doing all the work.

Passive solar design generally focuses on managing heat gains through the sun’s daily and annual cycles to reduce the operational energy and costs of heating and cooling the air in the building. Human thermal comfort is similar, however, it is one part of a thermally efficient building design, but passive solar design is not related to factors of ventilation and other building concepts that is usually taken into consideration.

When it comes to passive solar design, there are many systematic ways. The first is simply pragmatic thinking. A house can easily achieve 30 percent or better cost reductions in heating expense without making obvious changes to its appearance, comfort or usability. This can be achieved using good sitting and window positioning, small amounts of thermal mass with good but conventional insulation, and occasional extra heat from a central radiator connected to a water heater. You will find that the sunray that touches the walls of your home during the day will help you to generate heat in the evening.

Another passive solar design is known as annualized passive solar. Recent research has developed techniques that capture warm-season solar heat, convey it to storage mass and still have heat available six months later, during the colder seasons. There are possible ways for you to use the technique; however, you will find that if you bury waterproof insulation near the foundation of your home, you will then burry loops of ducts or pipes under the foundation slabs. The insulation will help prevent you from heat leaks when it comes to the weather or water.

You will find that passive solar technology, right now, cannot run your home entirely. You will see that the system will help you to create a better way of living in an environment conscious. When it comes to the green house you will find that it is needed to the alternative energy production. Passive solar design is a great place for you to start thinking about these types of technologies and if they are right for you and your home. This is the time where you will want to do further research on a topic. This is going to take a lot of work and time, but there are benefits that you will find from passive solar design in the home. You will find that the benefits will not pollute the environment and making it a better place for your family, yourself, and the future of society.

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Solar Energy – New Discoveries

Nov 2

Posted by solarabodes in solar power

The day may not be far off when the use of solar power becomes a norm. There is now a deep conviction among experts that given a few years time, solar power will be in high demand that the cost will go down, inexpensive enough to undercut the prices of oil-generated electricity.

Previous predictions that it will still happen in a decade may no longer be true. The anger generated by the recent prices in oil and its vulnerability to market forces and other events may have already been enough to polarized people, governments and scientific communities into seriously considering a reliable alternative energy source.

You can not get a source more reliable than the sun. Even today homes that uses its power does not only benefit from the silent, energy generating, inexhaustible power of the sun, it also spikes up the prices of their homes. Those that have solar powered homes are even reimbursed for the surplus power that they supply to the power grid.

Presently, heliostats, photovoltaic cells and plate collectors are being used to collect the energy by focusing these panels towards the sun or constructing and installing the panel’s on spots where the sun shines most. Development in technology as we all know often has a snowball effect. It never stops rediscovering and reinventing that the speed of development could often be surprisingly fast.

Today, a polymer foil, thin as a sheet of paper and lighter by 200 times when compared to the regular glass collecting plates, are being developed. Chances are, these new inventions and discoveries could very well have a great potential for mass production. Previously, the glass-based materials used for heat collection need expensive substrates and require additional support for mounting due to its weight. The polymer foil, being very light could now be attached even to the walls of a structure.

So confident are scientists in the development of this technology that while the polymer foil is being developed, a plastic solar cell, based on nano technology is gaining breakthroughs. This plastic material can collect the power of the sun even on a cloudy day through harnessing the infrared rays is believed to be five times more efficient than the current technology.

While plastic materials for harnessing the power of the sun are not new, it is only recently that this plastic composite could harvest the infrared portion. Previously, only the visible rays are generated, the infrared part, which is half of the power of the sun, is invisible.

Currently, the best plastic solar cells could only harness 6% of the suns energy, with further study and development, this new plastic solar cells are expected to harness 30% of the suns solar power.

Scientists and researchers alike agree that ultimately, solar farms will be harnessing all our energy requirements and costs of power will drop. Today the price of solar powered energy is about 3 to 4 times per kilowatt hour compared with conventional electricity. That could change dramatically though the development of the existing technology and recent discoveries.

The roller pressed flexible plastic materials and the polymer foil are only two of the best hopes in arriving at a cleaner, greener and safer environment that could ultimately free the planet from its dependency on the depleting supply of oil.

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Wind Power as a Viable Solution to Meeting Alternative Energy Needs

Aug 15

Posted by solarabodes in Wind Power

Although it is much less expensive to initially get hooked into the local electric company’s grid than it is to set up and hook into wind turbines, in the long run one saves money by utilizing the wind for one’s energy needs—while also becoming more independent. Not receiving an electric bill while enjoying the advantages of the modern electrically-driven lifestyle is a wondrous feeling.

Electric bills and fuel bills are rising steadily—but the cost of wind turbine energy is zero, and the cost of installing and hooking up a turbine is steadily coming down as demand rises and more commercial success is realized by various companies producing the turbines and researching technologies to make them ever more efficient. In addition, people are moving away from the traditional electric grids and the fossil fuels for personal reasons including desire for greater independence, the desire to live remotely or rurally without having to “go primitive”, political concerns such as fears of terrorist strikes on oil fields or power grids, or concerns about the environment. Again, this motivation to get away from the traditional energy sources is the same one that causes people to seek the power of the wind for their energy, giving more business opportunities to profit from wind turbine production and maintenance, which drives their costs down for the consumers. In nearly thirty states at the time of this writing, homeowners who remain on the grid but who still choose to use wind energy (or other alternative forms) are eligible for rebates or tax breaks from the state governments that end up paying for as much as 50% of their total “green” energy systems’ costs. In addition, there are 35 states at the time of this writing where these homeowners are allowed to sell their excess energy back to the power company under what are called “net metering laws”. The rates that they are being paid by the local power companies for this energy are standard retail rates—in other words, the homeowners are actually profiting from their own energy production.

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Tax Incentives for Residential Solar Projects

Aug 3

Posted by solarabodes in Alternative Energy

Federal and state governments now offer tax breaks to help defer the cost of residential solar projects. They, too, are looking into new ways to expand the use of solar energy for energy consumption and recognize people who are also working towards that end. Here is some information about those tax incentives if you are thinking about using residential solar power.

With any tax incentive you come across, be sure to read it first. Some tax incentives only apply to commercial solar projects. What you want is tax information for residential solar projects.

The federal government has a form, 5695 where you can enter the costs that you have paid for your residential solar power system. Consumers can get a tax credit for up to thirty percent of their total costs up to $1,500 for existing homes through 2010 for home improvements. You can also claim a credit for a solar hot water heater if that is in your residential solar plans. The maximum credit amount of that is also $2,000.

Recently, the $2,000 cap was removed for solar hot water heaters. Consumers who use solar hot water heating can claim the full thirty percent of the cost of the system as a tax credit. This unlimited amount also applies to solar panels systems as long as they comply with electrical and fire safety codes.

Qualified costs for this tax credit include the money you spent on the solar system and the hardware. Most residential solar kits include the equipment and the hardware you will need to build a complete system. For a DIY residential solar power system, the costs can be less if you know where you shop for your components. You will reap more of the benefit of this tax credit.

Each state also has its own set of tax credits and incentives for residents who invest in solar electricity projects. A database was set up to catalog these incentives for renewable energy sources. It is called DSIRE (Database for State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency). Check it out at www.dsireusa.org.

Let’s take the state of California for instance. Sacramento has implemented a residential energy efficiency loan program to help district residents defer the costs of their home improvements that use renewable energy sources. If you own your own property, you can qualify for one of these loans with an interest rate of 8.5 percent.

It doesn’t hurt to look and see what your state and federal government is willing to do for you when it comes to saving the planet. Use tax incentives to turn your residential solar power system into an affordable proposition.

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The Cost Of Solar Power Is Going Down!

Aug 1

Posted by solarabodes in solar power

Solar power cost trends for the initial installation are going down. Most states now give tax breaks or tax refunds to any homeowner converting to solar energy. Solar power cost is going down for a variety of reasons. One of these reasons is the level of technology that is put into a solar power system is becoming more available

Solar power can save you money. What was once a fad has taken off in a big way as government scientists look for ways to break our dependence on the dwindling supply of fossil fuels. Now that you have the opportunity, can you afford to use solar power?

For those who are ambitious and like DIY projects, you can create your own residential solar power system. Choose  DIY home solar power kits like earth4energy that give you all the information and blueprints for the system. They may even suggest where you can find the component parts for a lower cost such as eBay or your local hardware store.

The key to success with   DIY home solar power kits is planning, planning and more planning. If you are not committed to the task it can get pretty grueling pretty quickly. But, it does keep you from paying such a high price upfront for the benefits of residential solar power.

The federal government and state governments applaud those who are committed to saving energy and reducing their dependence on fossil fuels. You can look into government tax incentives and grants to defray a portion of the overall cost.

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