Solar Montreal

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To celebrate 10 years of living as a tech-nomad, this is the slideshow that says it all, set to the original Eklektro track “Time Release” (circa 1999). Follow along the sometimes bumpy path that started by breaking up the band, getting a warehouse, cramming on computer music, then stuffing the studio in the back of a motorhome and finally hitting the road..

Solar panels are devices that convert light into electricity. Solar panels are dropping in price, but they still are not cheap, so if you’re switching to solar it’s a great time to also carefully evaluate your electricity use. Call your utility company and get an “energy audit” and follow the recommendations. Most homeowners can cut their use of electricity or gas by anywhere from 5% to 30%. By cutting your power usage to an absolute minimum you can purchase only the expensive solar panel capacity that is required for your home. PV (photovoltaic) solar panels are made from solar cells which are a semiconductor material.

Electricity

The process for creating electricity from sun light is rather complex, but all you need to know is that photons collide with electrons in the semiconductor material and essentially free them up to flow when hooked up to a battery. This flow of electrons is what makes an electrical current.

The average household uses 30kwh of electricity per day. Electrical utility companies are required by law to accommodate “net metering”. This means that you can sell your excess power back to the power company. Thus, if you are out at work on a sunny day, or go on a two-week skiing vacation and aren’t using any electricity, the power being created by the solar panels is going back into the grid to the utility company. In other words every kilowatt-hour of electricity produced by a solar energy system ends up being used to the advantage of the homeowner, either as power to run appliances when the homeowner is there or as a dollar-for-dollar credit provided by the utility company for power that is not being used.

Cost

The most important component of the PV solar panel system will probably be the amount of subsidy you are eligible for. Since some utility companies need to meet goals for the amount of renewable energy they furnish, there are some very attractive rebates offered at times. These can be large rebates indeed, up to 50% of the cost of a system or even higher. This can make a system that would support the average 30 kwh per day home cost roughly $20,000 rather than $40,000! In addition, there is a $2,000 tax credit offered by the federal government. However, this is not always the case. In our local area of Colorado there are several utility companies that service the region. One offers a 50% rebate as described above. Another offers a 66% rebate, and a third offers no rebate at all. So you need to check with your utility company to see what rebates, if any, apply to your location. You should also contact a solar panel contractor who can give you lots of information about system costs, and of course they will probably know the rebates offered in your local area. Typical PV solar panels cost about $4 per watt before installation. Installation is a major expense, however, and in the example cited above with a 50% rebate, final system costs will amount to about $6.50- $7.00 per watt installed.

Batteries

Batteries are required in stand-alone systems to provide energy during night hours. These can be very expensive, but if you have an isolated cabin, an RV, or some other need for power and don’t have access to the public power grid, a solar system with batteries is certainly a solution.

Conclusion

When you consider the costs of a full blown PV solar system which will cut your electric bill down to zero or close to it, you get one other benefit. The value of your property increases with such a system, and your property taxes will not increase because of this added value. In addition to the satisfaction of cutting down your carbon footprint significantly, your system will eventually pay for itself, and your property will be worth more as well. Keep these factors in mind when you calculate your pay-back period.

brianbrawdy.com – Survival Expert Brian Brawdy visits with and educates cadets at the Sarasota Military Academy on the importance of self-reliance, emergency preparedness and personal survival skills. See Brawdy’s self-reliant mobile residence and ‘Green RV’, and learn more about his philosophy and tips during this personal interview with the local news affiliate.

Learn how to build your own at home: renewable-living.freehostia.com Read My Blog: renewable-living.freehostia.com

SOLAR REVOLUTION – Solar Paint Ted Sargent is a pioneer in solar science. He’s working on solar technology that could literally be woven into every aspect of daily life, from our clothes to our roads, using what is known as a spray-on solar cell. The implications for our energy systems are profound. As Ted says, “Solar energy is not just an exciting science problem, but an incredibly important human problem.” Ted is working on solar nanotechnology with the potential to make solar energy very cheap and allow society to collect it on a huge scale. Currently, solar technology costs more to build and install than most people are willing to pay. Solar panels, for example, the technology most commonly associated with solar energy, are installed on your rooftop. The cost of collecting one kilowatt per hour of solar energy (about a third of the electricity an average household uses on any given day) is about $11000. Not only are panels expensive to install, they capture only the visible portion of the sun’s rays so they work only on sunny days. Ted’s focus is the infrared portion of the sun’s rays which accounts for more than half of all solar energy. What’s more, infrared energy is available to us even in cloudy weather. A quantum dot is a semiconductor nanostructure that confines the motion of conduction band electrons, valence band holes, or excitons (bound pairs of conduction band electrons and valence band holes) in all three spatial directions. The confinement can be due to …

Does a home or business in the United Kingdom receive adequate sunlight for the installation of solar panels or solar powered energy systems? The answer to that question is “absolutely”. While the United Kingdom receives approximately fifty-five percent of the solar energy compared to that which arrives at equator, it is still ample enough to operate an effective solar energy system on the south facing roofs of homes even in the northern parts of Scotland. The key to purchasing and installing solar panels in the UK is to be sure they are mounted at the correct pitch, and never in the flat or horizontal position that will allow them to collect water. Any solar panels can quickly be destroyed when seals are compromised by standing water. Another question frequently asked about solar panels in the UK is if they will be able to completely replace an existing electricity supplier. The simple answer to such a question, unfortunately, is “no”. At this time solar panels in the UK cannot harness and store enough electricity to completely furnish a home or business twenty-four hours a day. While it is possible to come very close to complete self-sufficiency through a combination of alternative energy sources, at this time a home or property owner will still require supplementary energy supplies from a utility company or energy provider. Many home and property owners need guidance in deciding on what variety of solar panels they should install. Currently there are two types of solar panels in the UK: evacuated tubes and PV solar panels. They each serve a different purpose and can realistically be used simultaneously to meet a building’s energy demands. Evacuated tube solar panels are relied upon for hot water heating, while PV solar panels are those that gather and generate electricity. How does a property owner determine the amount of energy they will require from their installation of solar panels in the UK? There are several recommendations for those considering a solar energy system for their home or business. The first factor involves itemizing exactly how many amperes will be required by the property during a set period of time. For example, a homeowner’s daily needs will be significantly longer than a business owner’s, and in both situations a twenty-four hour delivery of energy is not possible. Because solar panels in the UK are powered by light collected from the sun, the evening hours do not allow for any energy production at all. Most solar energy systems do have batteries that store energy, but these do not currently exist with capacities large enough to function after the sun has set. In fact, most modern solar energy systems involve components that prevent the system from completely draining batteries of all energy as a way of enabling them to continue in operation the next day. Ultimately, a home or business owner must simply consider their daily needs, configure that against the size and collection capacities of the system, and then add another fifteen to twenty percent to this overall figure to completely eliminate any possibility of total battery drainage. Solar panels in the UK are an excellent investment in energy savings and greatly increase the value of a home or property. Current statistics indicate that most buyers are happy to pay an average £10,000 more for a home that functions with higher environmental and energy standards.

Watch in HD Watch The First Part of This Project First At: www.youtube.com Visit Solar Tech Town for the full video: www.solartechtown.com I, Robert Smith, show you every step I take to building a custom made solar panel from scratch. I explain in detail about each item I use and why to use it, so the video is fairly long. I will be hosting the majority of the video on my own server so you can view it all in one take. It will take time to edit the video, but the more of you that subscribe to the video, the faster I’ll try to get it out to you guys as it just shows that people are interested and appreciate what I’m doing, as I’m providing this video for free unlike some videos you see on youtube. The method I described in this video is just one way to go about it, however, there are many ways you can build a custom solar panel. Some use aluminum or plastic frames, but I found for a beginner, working with wood would probably be easier and cheaper. Overall, building a solar panel can be fun, but there are many factors that play into building a solar panel, and I as well still have an extreme amount to still learn about it. So I hope that for those wanting to learn more about solar energy and wanting to take the adventure of building their own solar panel will find this video very useful. To watch to full video just video, just visit www.solartechtown.com Again the video is fairly large, so to prevent from having to put 6 or 7 parts on youtube in 10 minute sections, I’m just …

www.35energy.com Solar power is a very good source of power because it is renewable, environmental friendly and free. It would be a very nice idea to have a solar power system at home. However, due to the high setup cost ($2000 or more), not many people would use this system. I am about to let you in on a little secret that can have you building your own solar panels for home use! By making your own solar power system that will save you thousands! If you think buying a solar power system is too expensive for you, you can make it yourself with a much lower budget. You will need a solar panel first. You will use solar cells, wood plate, soldering iron, solder, flux, and tabbing to make a panel. These items are easy to get from local stores and you would not need any special tool. Even a novice can make it without problem.Solar panels are the wave of the future! So where do we start? How do you get your hands on the material to start building your own solar panels? Well lets first find out what solar panels are. That way you at least sound educated when you pitch this to your family! Solar cells are almost always made from silicon, that is the same material we use to make computer chips. Silicon is one of the worlds most common elements, and is a leading component of sand and many kinds of rocks. A solar cell is built in layers, with two layers of silicon separated by a thin layer of insulating material. All three layers work together and convert sunlight into electricity …

Portable solar energy power stations may sound, to some, like a dream. They can think of many places where portable solar would be useful, such as the RV they love to take camping, or the boat they use for long fishing trips. They cannot imagine, though, that portable solar energy power stations actually do exist.

Portable solar energy power stations have many practical uses, which we will discuss later, but what is portable solar power?

Description of Portable Solar Power

Portable solar power is energy generated from sunlight, the generator being of a size and form that can be moved readily from place to place.

Most portable solar power units use photovoltaic panels (PV panels) in one way or another. Some are amazingly small, and can be carried in a pocket, while others must be moved on a flat-bed trailer or truck.

Examples of Portable Solar Power

You may already be using portable solar power without realizing it. The following are examples of different sizes and styles of portable solar power.

1. Pocket calculators have been using portable solar power for years. Expose the calculator to sunlight, and it stores solar power for use. You can then carry this solar power into a field or up a mountain track.

2. Garden lights, or lights around a swimming pool now use portable solar power. If you want to rearrange your lights, or you decide to carry one as a flashlight, the portable solar power goes with you.

3. A multipurpose portable solar power unit is the fold-out solar panel that can be carried in a case the size of your day planner. Wherever you take it, you can open the panel to charge your cell phone battery, GPS, or other similar “gadget” you carry.

4. “Powerfilm” products are paper-thin PV panels – further examples of portable solar power. These products can be easily carried to charge almost all Lithium, NiCad or NiMH batteries. You can recharge batteries for boom boxes at the beach or while camping. You can recharge your digital camera or camcorder while on a hike. As long as you have sunlight, you have portable solar power.

5. Flexible PV panels, rugged and durable, give portable solar power for hikers and campers. This portable solar power can be rolled up like a sleeping bag, and then set up anywhere. You can drop it, step on it, dampen it while crossing a stream – and it will still give you power.

6. Larger portable solar energy power stations can consist of one or more photovoltaic panels (PV panels), simple wiring for the input jack, and a battery – sometimes referred to as a power pack. A commercially-produced portable solar power unit like this may also include a small fluorescent light, and a connection to your vehicle’s cigarette lighter plug.

Examples of Innovative Portable Solar Power

Portable solar energy can, as we said, be carried with you. It can provide electrical energy when you travel to a remote third world village on business. It can provide military units with necessary electrical energy while they are on the move. It can power a small heater in a winter camping tent, or provide a reading light for campers. It is valuable and convenient.

As our demand for that value and convenience increases, portable solar power is becoming more innovative. Portable solar power is being added to clothing and backpacks. It is being added to handbags. You need never worry about cell phones, laptops or other electronics going dead again. Portable solar power is yours to use, anywhere, free.

Did you know about these products? Some are experimental, but others area on the market.

1. If you want “lady-like” portable solar power, you might choose the “Power Purse” as a lovely accessory. This purse is more than an accessory, though. It can power up small electronics. Designed by Joe Hynek in a handbag competition, this little black bag is covered with laminated portable solar power panels. It has a short plastic handle, and can easily be carried anywhere. Imagine the possibilities.

2. But a purse is not always appropriate. If you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere, in a field, you might be happy to have the “Juice Bag” backpack on your shoulders. A Juice Bag is a worldwide patented portable solar power backpack. Flexible ballistic nylon solar panels make it lighter than solar bags with stiff glass solar panels. Take off your Juice Bag when you need to recharge items such as cameras, cell phones, or GPS units. It generates electricity in both direct and indirect sunlight.

3. Portable solar power is also available in a cozy jacket with multiple pockets. Hikers, military personnel, and travelers can fill the pockets with cell phone, GPS, laptop, camera, and other electronic devices. Then slip the 3 ounce portable solar power panel into a special holder on the back of the jacket, and you can generate energy for your electronics.

Portable solar energy power stations make use of these ideas and more. They may be large enough to generate sufficient electrical power for a small village, or small enough to be carried by a child. Whichever it is, portable solar power is definitely “on the go” in many places and in many ways.