What would you do if the utility companies paid you for energy?

You, like me, probably didn’t even know that was possible.

What if you never had to pay energy bills ever again?

Again, something else I didn’t know was possible.

These two questions took me completely by surprise when I started doing research for this article. Especially since both questions pertain to solar power.

The Truth About Solar Efficiency

Everyone has heard about the benefits of solar power in terms of environmental conservation and lessening our dependence on imported fossil fuel. But these are both concepts that apply on a grand scale. It’s very hard to equate what this means to an individual. We have to examine the past, present, and future of solar energy, in order to see that there is huge promise for the future of solar energy.

I, for one, could not have begun to tell you what the hard facts were in relation to solar power until I started digging. It turns out that what we hear about solar energy is just the tip of the iceberg. Which are disappearing, I might add, to the tune of 20% during the summer of 2008.

A Brief History

Before we go exploring the ins and outs of solar energy, let’s take a look at how this force of nature has evolved over the centuries.

Solar technology isn’t new. It probably started some time in the 7th Century B.C., when people learned how to use glass and sunlight to light a fire. There is some evidence that ancient cultures across the globe have used glass and polished metals to concentrate the heat and light of the sun. This concept has been around so long that the Justinian Code of 6th Century A.D. decreed that every individual had “Sun Rights”.

Skip ahead several hundred years and you will find documentation detailing the construction and use of equipment that harnesses the heat and power of the sun.

Solar Power Today

Now that we know where we’ve been, let’s look at where we are.

Right now, all across our planet, governments and organizations are installing solar panels and contributing funds to further research into a renewable energy source that is hoped to rival conventional energy in the next decade.

In the future, we can look forward to more solar energy homes and cars that perform up to the standards we expect from traditional fuel sources. Right this very moment I am living in a house that has solar panels to heat my water, and it does get very hot. I do, however, worry about having hot water at 2 a.m. Not that I take showers very often at that hour, but a writer’s work isn’t always done when the sun sets.

Solar Timeline

The following timeline for solar energy from the U.S. Department of Energy, lists the milestones in the historical development of solar technology from the 7th Century B.C. to now.

* 700 B.C.

A magnifying glass is used to concentrate the sun’s rays on a fuel and light a fire for light, warmth, and cooking.

* 300 B.C.

Greeks and Romans use mirrors to light torches for religious purposes.

* 200 B.C.

As early as 212 B.C., Greek scientist Archimedes makes use of the reflective properties of bronze shields to focus sunlight and set fire to Rome’s wooden ships, which were besieging Syracuse. (Although there is no proof that this actually happened, the Greek navy recreated the experiment in 1973 and successfully set fire to a wooden boat 50 meters away.)

* 20 A.D.

The Chinese report using mirrors to light torches for religious purposes.

* 100 to 400 A.D.

In the first to the fourth centuries, Roman bath houses are built with large, south-facing windows to let in the sun’s warmth.

* 600 A.D.

Sunrooms on houses and public buildings are so common that the Justinian Code establishes “sun rights” to ensure that a building has access to the sun.

* 1300 A.D.

In North America, the ancestors of Pueblo people known as Anasazi build south-facing cliff dwellings that capture the warmth of the winter sun.

* 1700 to 1900 A.D.

Solar contraptions such as photovoltaic fiber, solar cells, and solar steam engines are invented. Eventually a water heater is power by solar electricity.

* 1900s

Solar technology improved thousands of times over, with a vast array of solar materials and solar collectors being constructed and implemented all over the world. Entire towns are powered by solar energy by the year 2000. Buildings are constructed with photovoltaic glass and green roofs, and are self-sustainable thanks to the advancements is solar power conversion.

* 2000s

Houses are powered with residential solar power systems sold in Home Depot, and NASA builds rockets and planes powered entirely by solar energy. Solar power is regarded as an inefficient possible solution to the upcoming oil issue.

* The Future

Within 10 years, continued advances in solar technology will allow us to generate all the electricity needed to power the entire US, and photovoltaic power will be competitive in price with traditional sources of electricity.

Solar electricity will be used in an electrolysis process that separates the hydrogen and oxygen in water so the hydrogen can be used in fuel cells for transportation and in buildings.

Pros and Cons of Solar Power

So this is where we must think about and examine the ups and downs of solar power.

* First, the sun is free. Once you pay for your solar panels, you are done paying to power your home. Conversely, the sun does take a hiatus. Even so, you can switch to battery power to take up the slack if you want.

* Second, if you have a system that produces more energy than you use, you can sell the excess energy to the utility company. But that usually requires you to live in a very sunny climate.

* Third, the cost of maintenance is very low. Since it is just a flat panel that doesn’t move, you don’t have to worry very much about mechanical malfunctions. Unfortunately, the initial cost of these panels can be very expensive and serves as a deterrent to buying.

I hope that these facts encourage you to look to the future of energy production. Environmental conservation is everyone’s responsibility. We all do what we can. Hopefully sometime soon it will be more cost effective. We can scarce afford to lose the only habitable planet we have and some species, like the polar bear, are already losing.

These days we are experiencing a growing awareness to the fact that our energy resources, as they have been used in the last few years, are probably not going to last for long and that the energy markets are exposed to more and more rapid changes, some due to political reasons and others because of the changing climate of the planet.

Solar energy is a renewable free source of energy which is sustainable as it is not inexhaustible, unlike fossil fuels which are finite. It is also a non-polluting source of energy and it does not emit any greenhouse gases when producing electricity. The solar electricity that is produced can supplement your entire or partial energy consumption. Using solar energy means reducing your energy bills and saving money. Also having solar PV panels adds value to your home, they are low maintenance and unobtrusive. Germany is the global leader for solar-generated electricity.

Why choose solar energy?

Australia is the luckiest country in the world. Our geography gives us the opportunity to use the most natural, sustainable and clean energy in our homes – the energy from the sun.

Solar thermal applications are the most widely used category of solar energy technology. These technologies use heat from the sun for water and space heating, ventilation, and many other applications.

Solar energy is not a new concept, it has been properly introduced to the global public many years ago and successfully implemented in different parts of the world in different ways, so we can say that solar energy is known to most people, but it is still not as popular as it should be, as a cheap replacement for other sources of energy. The energy of the sun, from its direct sun rays that are projected directly at the earth or by giant wind turbines are free fro us to use, to manipulate for our needs, and this can be done by almost anyone in any place, it just needs to technology and the know-how.

EVP Recordings

The worlds non-renewable energy sources are running out faster than at any time in the history. There are, however, a number of renewable energy sources coming to replace them, and none is cleaner, safer or more abundant than solar energy. Not only is it freely available, but it is, dollar for dollar one of the most environmentally friendly sources of power available. despite the advantages, however, most of us still shy away from installing solar power projects at home thinking that they are too expensive and cumbersome. This is, however, simply not the case any more – in fact you may be surprised to learn just how cheap and simple these power solutions are to employ. What you shouldnt be surprised to learn though is that you can really save a small fortune on your energy bills if you generate solar power at home.

In this article I will briefly explain some of the options available to help you generate solar power at home.

Solar lighting: A solar lighting system for your home converts solar energy into electrical energy which is then used to power your lights. A battery of cells are charged with solar energy during the day which is then released during darkness when you use your lights. You can install a solar home lighting system in your house and not worry about the electricity bills anymore.

Solar cooker: A solar cooker is a cooking device that doesnt use solid fueld or gas for cooking. You can cook food for several people in the small box. Whats more, your culinary skills wont be compromised by this device either as you can do practically any kind of cooking that you can with a traditional cooker including boiling, roasting, baking and even frying your food. The only down side with the solar cooker is that it does take slightly longer to cook food than with a normal cooker, but, given the free source of energy it uses, this is a great option for cutting down those sky-rocketing bills and saving some power.

Solar central heating system: Installing a solar heating system in your home helps to reduce your electricity bill along with saving the world’s quickly-depleting natural energy reserves. If you are worried that a solar heating system will turn your sweet home into a gadget house or that it will be an expensive investment, your concerns are misplaced. Companies who specialise in providing solar power solutions for homes have long made it a point to develop and install aesthetically-pleasing heating systems. As far as your capital outlay is concerned, a solar heating system is wise investment because you get a return on that investment within 3-4 years, giving you a lifetime of absolutely free service after that.

Tracking advances in solar cell technology, I’ve stumbled across another landmark efficiency gain.

This one, obtained by switching from conventional screen printing to a non-contact aerosol jet printer, has upped efficiencies by 2 percent on thin-film solar cells.

Thin-film solar cells (TFSC) are defined as solar cells made by depositing one or more thin layers (nanometers to micrometers) of photovoltaic material on a substrate. These thin-film cells are classed as: amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride, copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS), polysilicon, dye-sensitized solar cells, or organic (plastic, or polymer) solar cells – the latter three still in development stages.

Printing is a deposition method, and the use of aerosol jet printing could raise the copper indium gallium selenide efficiency – already reported at 9.5 percent (with reports from NREL in excess of 19 percent) – to a value competitive with silicone-based solar at about half the cost to manufacture.

The advance, coming from the Fraunhofer Institute’s Solar Energy Systems in Germany, reports that using an Optomec printer enabled thinner strata deposition of metallic, semiconducting and insulating inks via nanoscale pigments developed by Applied Nanotech Inc. enabled efficiences in excess of 20 percent, as compared to previous figures of 16 to 18 percent.

Fraunhofer also used the printer to fabricate front-side metallization lines on otherwise conventional solar cells, which enabled it to shrink the metallization area and boost efficiency by reducing shading losses.

Screen-printed solar cells can be manufactured faster than ink-jet printing methods, and the Optomec’s 40-nozzle head can print a solar cell in under 3 seconds. What this means to you, the consumer, is a future of truly affordable solar. What it means to the environment is of inestimable value.

Of course, waiting to save a few bucks doesn’t make a lot of sense in terms of the environment. News coming out of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland (December 5 to 12) indicates that climate change is not only upon us, but likely to reach that critical “tipping point” in as little as a decade.

Gold Panning

Solar Cell Phone Charger

Among the various solar products out there today, whether it’s solar garden lights or solar panels for your home, the solar cell phone charger – or as people call it “Portable Solar Power” – is the new trend; with billions of people using cell phones around the world, why not harness the power of the sun for the benefit of the world in which we live in.

The solar cell phone charger lets us charge wherever, whenever, providing us with power even in the most remote locations. Some solar cell phone charger will recharge our devices, giving us up to 96 hours of standby on our mobile, up to 40 hours on iPod, up to 5 hours on games console, up to 48 hours on your PDA and up to 6 hours on MP3/MP4 players.

Some of solar cell phone charger comes in a water resistant, colorful rubberized casing, tough and powerful, featuring an LCD screen that displays battery capacity and the level of charge. It also has short-circuited protection, over-charging protection and over-discharging protection.

Solar cell phone chargers are surprisingly portable, just a few inches long and about 5 ounces in weight. These solar cell phone charger are highly rated and can deliver a full charge to your cell phone in about an hour just using the sunlight.

Most will charge your device in ample time, about the same as a USB port. Of course using most solar chargers doesn’t discount the in-wall or USB option if direct sunlight isn’t available.

For more information, visit Solar Cell Phone Charger Website.

Solar Cell Phone Charger

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