Adityakiran

HOW DO SOLAR PANELS GET ENERGY FROM THE SUN?

admin — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 11:23:32 +0000

Solar energy is renewable, environmentally friendly and, by itself, free. However, modern technology is required to convert the sun’s energy, but no fossil fuels are needed to create a sustainable source of electricity. The sun produces about 1,300 watts of energy per square meter. The surface of the earth receives close to 1,000 watts per square meter, at the high point of the sun with no clouds. On average, every square meter of the earth receives 4.2 kilowatts of energy per day.

This energy from the sun must be collected and converted to electricity for use. Because the amount of sunlight hitting a specific area is subject to change, a storage device must be used to provide a consistent source of power, if conversion to electricity is desired. Finally, the direct current (DC) electricity from the sun must be converted to alternating current (AC) for regular household or commercial use.

SOLAR ENERGY AND ITS USES IN DOMESTIC SECTOR

admin — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 09:42:51 +0000

Three Ways to be More Eco Friendly

More and more people are wondering about solar energy and its uses these days. That is because the economy has gone down and people have a lot less money than they did a few years ago. Naturally, most are looking for ways to cut expenses, especially their electric bills. This is where solar energy comes into play. Sun is a free source of energy and the energy from the sun is called solar energy. It is available in abundance during the day time and can be best utilized for its potential in various forms for domestic as well as industrial purposes.

One thing to know about solar energy is that it can be used for almost anything. Below you will find three of the most common uses for solar power and how it can prove to be beneficial for all of us

• Heating a pool – Many people use solar covers on their swimming pools to increase the water temperature. These covers are an effective and efficient way to keep one from getting into a cold pool.

• Running Appliances – When someone has their home running on solar power rather than electric, they are able to power their appliances using the sun. It helps with saving money and promotes green living.

• Battery Charging – Many people don’t think of this when it comes to solar energy and its uses, but this is really handy when it comes to items which run on batteries. Rather than plugging the charger into your electricity outlet, you are able to charge them using the sun.

There are many things that solar power can be used for, and that is why so many people are opting for the conversion. It is a renewable resource, which guarantees that it will last forever and is much better for the environment than regular electricity. When you use solar energy, you are saving money and our fragile planet; after all, we all have to think of future generations, right? These are just a few of the things you might find interesting when it comes to solar energy and its uses.

Cost Competitiveness of Solar Power

admin — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 13:30:14 +0000

Solar energy has been there in use for electricity generation and heating for several decades, though our focus is on Solar Power (i.e. electricity generation). High cost of PV Cells that convert Sun light directly into electricity has meant that PV deployment needed Government subsidies/incentives to attract consumer interest and penetrate the market. Countries like Japan and Germany led the way in offering attractive incentives for PV power causing the demand to grow rapidly since early 1990s, which averaged over 35% per year during 1990s and over 50% per year since the beginning of 2000 as more and more countries started to offer incentives for generating PV power. Increasing manufacturing volumes have led to continuous cost reduction in PV for the past 30 years and for every doubling of manufacturing volume, the cost of PV modules has come down by 20%. This amounted to an average cost reduction of 5-7% per year during the past 30 years, though silicon shortage due to rapid growth in PV demand led to price increase during 2004-2008 which has now gone through a major correction as the demand was adversely impacted due to the current global economic situation. PV costs are now projected to go down even faster over the next few years. PV power is now approaching grid-parity in many “sunny” parts of the world as its cost is rapidly declining while the cost of conventional power sources (e.g. fossil fuels) is increasing. Solar power generation is emerging as potential candidate to start supplying power cost competitively to the grid itself and once that happens, the PV market growth will become sustainable without Government subsidies. The current estimates are that by 2012 or beyond, power from solar plants and peak power from grid will be equal in cost in many countries of the world.