But just how much does one cost?

As you may know already, the cost of the solar panel depends on so many things. Apart from the brand, the model, and the durability, the most important factor that determines the cost of a solar panel is the wattage of the panel. A complete solar panel is made up of several cells, which increase with required wattage. Therefore, the higher the wattage, the more the cost.

If you would like to buy a preassembled solar panel that you can use for specific purposes, then you simply need to go to an electric store or an online store and get one for yourself. Most of these panels are not designed to serve whole households. A 60 watt Kaneka solar panel will go for between $60 – $110 depending on where you buy them and how many of them you buy.

On the other hand, a 230 watt BP solar pane will go for around $535 while a 235 watt Sharp solar panel will go for $620.

If you want to install a solar panel in your house that will carter for most of your energy needs, then you will need to make a bigger investment. You will first need to know how many electricity units you consume every month. These units are measured in KWH.

Therefore, if you consume 600 KWH every month, your daily consumption stands at around 20 KWH per day. This means that you consume an average of 0.833 KW per hour everyday. Since the sun will only shine for 4 hrs – 6 hrs a day, it means that you have to get a panel which can generate 20 KWH within 4 hrs, (assuming that you are in a locality where it only shines for 4 hrs.) This translates to 5,000 watts of electricity. Throwing in an extra 15% to take into account power loses and so forth, you will need a solar panel that can generate at least 5,750 watts. The current price per watt of electricity is around $10 per watt. The total cost will come to around $50,000 or more.

Although this cost might go down if you do the installation by yourself, it is important to know that full installation of solar panels will require a huge initial investment on your part. However, the long term benefits of clean solar energy clearly outweigh the cost.

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Well, if you are like me, it must have happened to you many times. In this era of instant communication, you need to be constantly reachable. Lack of charge in your cell phone battery can cause you to miss out on very important communication. Fortunately, we now have solar powered cell phones chargers. The other good news is that unlike the large solar panels, these solar powered chargers are quite inexpensive.

How They Work

As the name suggests, the charger will use the light energy that it receives from the sun and then convert the light energy to electric energy (DC.) The electric energy will then charge your battery like any other cell phone charger. The length of time or the intensity of light that will be needed for your cell phone battery to be fully charged will differ depending on the technology used and the wattage of the solar cells.

If the battery has got a high wattage, then definitely the time taken to charge the battery will be low. On the other hand, if it happens that the solar cells have got have very low wattage, then it will take more time to charge the battery. It is for this reason that a lot of solar cell phone battery chargers are usually used as trickle chargers. It might require up to 10 hours of sunlight for your battery to be fully charged. Now this is the same battery that usually takes 1hr – 2hrs when charging using the power from the electric grid.

The way that you will place the solar charger also depends on the model of the charger. Some solar chargers are attached to the back of the phone so that all you need to do is to let the back of your phone face the sunlight.

Conclusion

As already mentioned, these solar chargers are not so expensive compared to the traditional chargers. However, you should be careful so that you do not simply go for the cheapest. The numerous brands from China can be quite cheap but useless.

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Nowadays, things are quite different. There are many designers and architects who will help you design a house that is energy efficient. These plans will help you reduce or eliminate electricity bills in addition to helping you make a contribution towards fighting global warming.

Solar Panels

One of the things that you need to do is to plan your house such that you will have a place for placing your solar panels in a way that they will receive the greatest amounts of light. It can be quite difficult for you to set up a place for the solar panel if at all you have already built a house and had not planned for it.

Maximum Light

Another thing that you need to know and understand while you are designing your house, is to make sure that the house will receive the maximum amount of sunlight during the day. It is very unfortunate if at all you will need to switch on the lights of your house at noon. It is not only wasteful, but also stressful to the eyes.

To make sure that you make the maximum use of the natural light, it is important that you let the living room windows face north.

Proper Ventilation

Proper ventilation in your home will ensure that fans and air conditioners don’t need to run 24 hours in a day. Many homes will install oversized cooling systems which do nothing but increase the cost of electricity in the house making life to be unnecessarily expensive.

All in all, to have a truly energy efficient home is not a result of a one-day bout of creativity. It is not something that you start today and the finish tomorrow. It needs constant effort that comes after you have resolved that you will use as much natural energy as possible.

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But how?

Solar Power Installation

Installation of solar panels and related accessories needs one to learn a bit about basic installation. Since this is something that one can easily learn from user guides and articles on the web, many people do it themselves instead of hiring other people to do it for them. Fortunately, there are so many other people who really are not interested in learning anything new about solar power installation. It is such people that hire other people to do it for them. If you take some time to learn about the basics of solar panel installation, you sure can make some money from green energy.

Make Money from Savings

If you take care of the cents, the dollars will take care of themselves. You can save a lot of money on power bills by investing in green energy. Although the initial investment can be quite a lot, you will end up recouping the investment in the long run from the savings that you will make.

Biogas Construction

Another common source of green energy is biogas. If you take some training so as you understand how biogas tanks can be constructed and maintained, you can really make a lot of money by installing these tanks in other persons’ buildings. Biogas tanks are usually preferred by institutions such as schools, colleges and hospitals. It is used to save a lot of energy especially in cooking.

When it comes to making money from green energy, you need to able to run the whole project as a business. You need to know how to market your products or services effectively. And although some basics skills can enable you to make a few bucks, you need to perfect your craft if you want to rise above the rest. This way, you will be confident that you will be able to face competition when it comes.

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Currently, there several technologies that relate to green energy. Many more continue to come up each day. Here are five of them:

Urine

Believe it or not, urine is one of the latest developments towards renewable energy. According to researchers at University of Ohio, urine can act as an affordable source of hydrogen. Though hydrogen is one of the cleanest energies available, its production has been quite expensive and few people have been willing to make huge commitments and it has always been seen as a rather impractical source of energy.

Ocean Energy

Energy is harnessed from the ocean buy using the waves as a source of energy to turn the turbines of a generator. This technology although not widespread, is useful because it has very little environmental impact. Unlike hydroelectric generators which will require interference with the flow of rivers and so on, turbines driven by ocean waves do interfere with the marine environment.

Tree Energy

Another source of the latest technology when it comes to renewable energy source is the tree energy. Research has indicated that there is usually a PH difference between the ground and the inner trunk of the tree. This PH difference can be used to generate some small amount of electricity. Obviously, not much energy from this source is expected to be used in homes soon. However, action is underway to use the electricity generated by these trees to be used to power wireless sensors which will in turn be used to monitor the conditions of the forest.

In conclusion, solar power is not the only viable source of green energy. As time goes by, newer and more efficient sources of green energies will be discovered as the tradition and slightly more expensive sources or technologies are discarded.

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What Is A Closed Loop Hot Water System?

The principles of construction and operation of a hot water system will determine whether it is closed loop or it is open loop. Apart from these two modes of classification, there are many others which we shall not look at in this article.

The main principle of a closed loop hot water system is that it provides anti freezing mechanism throughout the year. Assume a situation where water is heated in one tank and stored in another: what would happen when the water in the tank freezes during the night?

The solution to this challenge is to ensure that instead of heating water, you heat a non-toxic substance that cannot freeze at temperatures that can easily cause water to solidify. The non-toxic substance is heated by the sun, and then it flows to the tank and heats the water inside. It continues the flow, but the water remains static. And therefore no chances of damaging the pipe.

Since this method heats the water indirectly, this method is also referred to as indirect method.

Building One

To construct a closed loop hot water system, you need a collector, a double walled storage tank and non-toxic antifreeze. These items then need to be connected with pipes. One pipe should run from the collector to the space between the double walls of the storage tank. Another one should be placed so as to take back the antifreeze to the collector.

Another pipe should then run from the inside of the storage tank (where water is placed,) to the tap.

The cycle of heating the water will continue throughout the day, and the whole storage tank can stay for quite a long while. Although the use of locally assembled materials will work, it is advisable that use specially built commercial materials so that you are able to build a more efficient system.

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What You Need

1. ½ Inch 2 CPVC pipes that are four feet in length.
2. Black aluminum plates of size 4ft by 4ft. These aluminum plates must have small groves, 4 inches from each other.
3. A stand (optional)
4. A pump
5. Two flexible pipes

The construction

1. Take one of the CPVC pipes and make tiny holes that are four inches apart on the pipe.
2. Take the second pipe and make a longitudinal split on the pipe. This will leave you with two pipes with semicircular cross-sections.
3. Seal one end of pipe in 1.
4. Attach the first pipe on the black aluminum plate making sure that the holes on the first pipe are fully aligned with the grooves on the aluminum plate.
5. Attach one of the pipes on the bottom of the aluminum plate.
6. Connect one of the flexible pipes to the top CPVC pipe and another one to the bottom CPVC pipe
7. Connect the pump to the pool and pump water into the top pipe.
8. Put the plate on a stand and let it face the sunlight.

How It Works

As the pump gets water from the pool, it directs it to the top pipe. This water then trickles down the grooves, being heated by the sun-facing aluminum plate. The water then gets to the bottom pipe and then redirects the water back to the pool. This cycle then continues until the whole pool gets heated.

This DIY water cooler is somehow basic and might need a number of improvements so as to increase its efficiency. However, this basic plan will go a long way to save you money that you would have otherwise spent on a commercial heater.

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How It Works

Before I tell you whether the light generated is enough, I think it is important that we first understand how the garden lights function in the first place.

To assemble solar powered garden lights, one needs a couple of things, the main ones being a solar cell, a NiCad battery and an LED light source. During the day, the solar cell charges the NiCad battery which lights up the LED during the night.

The Light Amount

The LED used in making the garden lamp is the low-watt LED. The reason for this is that the lights are meant to be energy efficient and this means that they will consume less energy. The end result is that the light that will be produced by the low-watt LED is likely to be less than the amount that will produced by the power consuming traditional garden lights.

It should however be understood that the reason why these lights are not as bright as their traditional counterparts is not because manufactures are unable to come up with better products. No. After all, manufactures can simply make larger batteries and larger solar cells. Unfortunately this can turn out to be bulky and may require more wiring, hence beat the very purpose of solar powered garden lights in the first place.

The good news however is that less light does not necessarily mean that it’s little light. The brightness of solar powered garden lights is enough to create the ambience that you will need for your garden. In addition to this, more research is being done on these lights so as to make them brighter.

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But just what is so important about solar energy?

A Clean Energy Source

One of the most important reasons why people are proposing for greater investment in solar energy is because it is clean. This means that it does not emit harmful gases or chemicals when it is being produced. Using energy from oil, coal, or nuclear power plants requires that you sacrifice a clean environment for energy. On the other hand, using solar energy allows you to have a clean environment and energy at the same time.

A Renewable Energy Source

Another reason why you should use solar energy in your house or office is because it is a renewable energy source. This means that you won’t have to worry about running out of stock. Unlike oil, coal, uranium and other natural sources of energy which can easily get depleted, the sun will continue to be there for as long as the earth continues to exist.

No Political Interference

You and I should also continue to pay greater attention to solar energy because it is not susceptible to political interference especially from other countries. When your country relies on resources from other countries to get energy, you can get stuck once the relationship between the two countries gets thorny. Prices of items like oil also fluctuate greatly when there are security concerns in oil producing countries and so on. However with solar, you won’t have to worry about this.

You might be thinking about reducing your power bills, acting on global warming, or even freeing yourself from bondage of international oil markets. Well, you are not alone. Solar energy might be expensive to set up, but the long-term benefits definitely outweigh the short-term costs.

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But just what are the pros and cons of solar energy?

Pros

Clean energy. In this era of global warming and a polluted environment, any source of clean energy is welcome. Solar energy does not emit harmful gases or chemicals as oil and nuclear power do.

Renewable. The other advantage of solar energy is that for as long as the sun exists, then solar energy will continue to be available. Unlike other oil and energy from nuclear power plants, solar energy is renewable.

Affordability. Apart from the fact that it is clean and renewable, solar energy is also advantageous because it is affordable in the long term. Although the initial costs can be quite prohibitive, you will not be required to pay power bills and hence it can turn out to be cheaper in the long run.

Cons

Despite all the advantages listed above, solar energy has also its own disadvantages which have caused it to be distanced by many.

High start-up costs. The installation of solar panels, inverters, batteries and so forth can be quite high for an individual person or small organization to make. It may therefore make sense for many people to go on paying their power bills as the entry costs are not so high.

Unreliable weather conditions. Solar panels get their energy from the sun. Therefore, if the sun refuses to shine as bright as you would want it to, the consequence will be that the power produced will be small and the energy insufficient.

Regardless of the disadvantages, there is still a great movement towards generating power solar panels. Huge investments are being made so as to come up with better solar panels.

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