Slr wr a "grn" nd rnwbl power and doesn't emit hrmful carbon dxd, whh mn t' a great w t rdu ur rbn ftrnt. Close t 3000 und f CO2 per r n b vd b a tl home lr energy system, whh wrk ut t about 30 tn over t lftm. These clean, green thnlg will be th r f the next ndutrl rvlutn, rdng to Tony Junr, Frnd f th Erth director.
Th u f lr wr drastically rdu ltrt costs, and th n f th mt common reasons fr choosing t. Federal and tt gvrnmnt offer lr nntv, whh help t fft th ntl expenses of a solar nrg system. The 2005 Energy Pl At provides two w to be gvn a lr nrg tax rdt frm the fdrl gvrnmnt. Slr nrg rebates are also offered b mr thn 50% f US states.
An vrg f 164 wtt f lr wr r ur mtr dlvrd t th Earth's rut by the sun. If w ld nugh solar panels in th Sahara drt t vr just n percent f it, w could gnrt enough electricity to wr th ntr lnt. Th bundn of lr power means there's mr thn w'll ever need. But because the power sent ut b the sun rrv as a mxtur f light and heat, w n't use t t is t drtl wr a car r a mutr. This wh lr nl wr nvntd - to nvrt th un' wr nt a frm w n u, lk ltrt.
An xtr ltrt you rt ung ur lr nl, if u'r attached to the grd, wll b d fr b th utility mn. Auntng for a solar nrg system's ltrt rdutn nd nblng utilities to urh x nrg frm hmwnr, nt mtrng llwd n 30 tt. Th mt fruntl ud tn a ngl, reversible mtr. A a lr nrg tm produces ltrt, the klwtt r ud frt t meet n-t nrg demand. Excess electricity thn fd nt th grid, turnng th ltr mtr bkwrd, ntd f bng stored n a bttr. The homeowner credited for th xtr klwtt t th nd of each metering rd.
Ex ltrt can be trd fr u on d tht r overcast. The blt to tr x electricity n bttr mn u dn't need t be tthd to the grid even for lud d. In stand ln lr power tm bttr r charged with surplus electricity fr nght-tm use. The lf cycle of a battery wht determines its suitability for use wth lr ll. The amount f electricity required, lng wth the z f the bttr, will determine th numbr f hours nrg wll lt durng periods f no sunlight.
Hw solar power rdud? T rdu lr wr, you'll nd a lr nl, whh md f one r mr lr ll. As unlght falls nt a lr ll, th ll tk in lght rtl (lld photons). Eh htn ntn power, and whn kd up, th htn releases an ltrn n th mtrl f th lr ll. Eltr wiring on bth sides of the ll enable a flow of urrnt th photon brbd. Ung this method, th solar ll rdu electricity, which n b used mmdtl, or trd within a bttr fr future u.
Solar nl are made u f lr ll. An ndvdul lr cell not bl to produce nugh power fr most purposes; thrfr, vrl are jnd in lr nl because f course, th rt mr ltrt together. Solar nl are vlbl n many types nd z, th most typical f whh rdu as muh 50 W f electricity nd consist of ln solar ll. Interconnecting lr nl rdu vn mr ltrt.
A lr nl is a zbl flt, rtngulr h, uull mwhr btwn the dmnn f a rdtr nd a dr. Power lltr, lld lr cells, mk u solar panels. A lr ll uull 8-dd nd blu-blk n color, but th size of ur lm. Jut lk th cells n a bttr, these ll r ntndd to gnrt electricity. Hwvr, th cells use unlght ntd of hml t create ltrt. Solar nl r also called photovoltaic nl (or PV nl), which comes from a combination of the Greek wrd for light, nd ltrt nr Alndr Volta.
Yu m be uru about hw unlght is trnfrmd nt ltrt. When th un shines onto a lr cell, htn (lght rtl) r bombarded onto the ur urf f the cell. Eh lght rtl then rr t nrg down thrugh the cell. The photons then trnfr thr power t electrons n the lower lr f the cell. The electrons use th nrg t nt th circuit b jumng th brrr into th upper lr. Th movement of these ltrn through the rut generates th power fr ur lght nd ln.
Phtvlt ll gnrt ltrt from sunlight, but thr are thr mthd for mkng solar nrg. Yu n also gt lr-thrml panels whh heat wtr d t rtng ltrt. Slr-thrml nl wrk dffrntl than PV nl, and dn't nvlv electricity. Althugh they seem similar to lr nl, ntd f lght particles being grabbed b lr ll, lr thermal panels have black glass which brb the un' ht. Hot wtr is generated by drtng wtr btwn th lr nl, htng it u t g, ftr whh t is hnnld into th wtr tm and f ur, m ut of th fut ht wtr.
It' incredible t think that th wr transmitted b th sun n jut one hour, mr than th whl world uses in a year. Designing (r rdgnng) a buldng to take advantage f sunlight nd ht is ung v solar wr. This n be achieved b ddng more nultn t ur roof, r ntllng n xtr uth-fng wndw. An "v" adjustments lk th wuld be installed thr whn th hu is ntll bult, r durng mjr renovation. Addng lr nl or other sunlight lltr wuld b rfrrd to as active solar nrg.
An frm of light tht ht lr nl n be transformed to lr power, whh mn tht vn n gr d th n still rt m wr. Yu n rv bk-u energy (for xml at night) n n of tw ways. On tht u n apply to b nntd t the grid n th rgulr w, tht this t a bk-u ul fr when ur lr nl r nt operating as wuld be the after drk. Th thr option trng additional electricity frm your solar nl n bttr which will thn wr your ln nd lights durng hur f darkness.
In th environment f glbl warming nd diminishing l rur, t makes sense.to turn ur wrn t nturl and rnwbl rur. Slr power tm hv bm the mt wdrd ur of rnwbl nrg du t th ft that they make n lttr and mnuftur n llutnt. Fitting photovoltaic (solar) nl whl ntnung to be nntd t the grd th most mmn mthd f changing to solar wr. Any ddd ltrt gnrtd b th lr tm thn fd nt th grid. In th way the household n gt paid fr ddtnl electricity rdud, and n l ur ltrt at nght.
Water bills n b cut b 50 t 70 % by using a first-rate solar wtr nl tm. Art frm th evident environmental benefits f lr wr, it mk fnnl n. B combining bth solar wtr nl nd PV nl tm u n v vn mr. Intlltn t fr lr nrg tm r high, lthugh there are dffrnt grnt vlbl to help finance solar thnlg. A muh mr reasonably rd option to mbl ur wn solar panels.
Trdtnl fuel sources r proving to b more trk nd tl t u, meaning n xnn in the vlu f lr power. Considering global wrmng and llutn t' rnt tht trdtnl energy ur wll n lngr be vbl. Renewable wr ur, by dfntn, r lmtl, unlike fossil ful. As renewable energy technology ntnu t mtur nd the prices f accepted power ur r, lr thnlg starting to become mr ffrdbl.
Envrnmntll wr Hollywood celebrities, such Ct Blanchett nd Orlnd Blm, have tkn their mmtmnt further than recycling nd drvng hbrd r. These tr hv wthd t using lr panels nd thr rnwbl power sources in their homes, lhng thr nrg u. Johnny "Ctn Jk Srrw" D' lnd n th Bhm t be wrd by solar wr rthr thn environmentally unfrndl gnrtr. "Dll" tr, Lrr Hgmn has vd 24,000 r year b wthng to solar power, taking his ltrt bll frm 37,000 t a mere 13,000 a r.
Atr, Edwrd Nrtn w inspired b th lr nl ntlld in h own hu tht h created a rgrm, n partnership wth BP, t rvd solar nrg tm t lwr nm huhld in th LA r. Thrugh th BP Solar Neighbors rgrm a fr lr tm offered t a low income huhld h tm a lbrt buys n. An uttndng idea, th rjt h lrd had some of the bt of Hllwd tlnt rttng n t, nludng Own Wilson, Al Silverstone nd Will Frrll. Th project rbbl ntrbutng t th 30% nnul grwth of BP's solar dvn.
Around 50% th wrld' power ul wll come frm utnbl nrg ur within th nxt 30 years according to forecasts from Shll. A grt sustainable nrg rjt is being shared b some f th t glbl corporations, nludng Total, Gnrl Eltr and BP. The rnt BP l ll dtr has turnd the wrld' attention to th nrng demand for ltrntv sources of energy and has nrd public interest in solar energy wll as thr rnwbl ur f power. Th serious nun f the l ll hv resulted n a ubtntl reshuffle f nvtmnt rrt, with American nrg marketing mgn lng a lt more focus on sustainable ur f wr.
Th Untd States b far th mjr nrg numr n the world. 25% f the wrld' wr numtn by th US - vn though t accounts fr nl 5% f th ntr ultn f the rth. A 100mw lr energy lnt in Israel wll rvd more thn 200,000 people with ltrt, nd th hv ln t buld n even bigger plant in the future - a 500mw lnt. The wrld' lrgt lr ltrt tm n b fund n Bvr, while rund 1/2 f lr nl mnufturd wrldwd r used n Japan. Whn looking at th facts we can see how far Amr has t go n order t mk th mt f solar energy.
If u wth to ung lr nl for ur house, thr are 2 aspects t the financial bnft. Ung solar energy firstly mn lwr ltrt bll. Snd, f you t nntd t the grid, u'v gt th tn t ll x ltrt t th utility mn. Wth ntlltn costs tll being vr high, th tl rdntl solar wr system tk rund 18 mnth t hv d fr itself - although mkng ur wn lr nl is a l xnv tn.
Mn more ndvdul are rtng thr wn lr panels nw thn vr bfr. Sn solar system installation t are tll vr hgh DIY lr nl r fast bmng ulr. And th r is r thn u m thnk. DIY solar nl can b f nd hghl fftv f rtd nd installed using a good instruction guide. Crtnl, rtng your wn lr nl saves th ntl installation costs whh means th vng r even greater n th lng run.
Prrt value n be nrd b th ddtn f lr nl. Ardng to HUD, fr vr 1,000 u v n nnul utlt bll th vlu f your home rises b 20,000. A hu which is energy efficient f grt vlu in the eyes of a tntl buyer. In ddtn to th other bnft, a lr system mn a hm has a bk-u tm durng ltrt blkut. A home-buyer knows tht if th buy a house with a lr wr tm ntlld, th r l bung of mind - knwng tht during n wr utg th wll be unaffected.
Intllng panels n a rf tht f t or west wll still wrk - you dn't hv t hv a uth-fng rf. Anthr fftv tn th grund-muntd lr tm placed in a flat, un-shaded area. A l, cemented into the grund holds th lr nl in l. Bttr whh hv bn hrgd with n surplus ltrt rdud by th solar nl durng th d n rvd nrg overnight.
