Photovoltaic cells, shaped as black colored square pieces placed in an on a solar panel, are becoming more efficient with each passing day and their designs are getting more efficient at focusing sunlight in concentrated forms with the cost becoming less as well. What is lowering costs on the solar cells is the fact that they are getting smaller in size as their efficiency is increasing. 00 at the time of this writing. Just 17 years ago, the expense for getting the same performance was about , double what it is today.
Solar powered electricity generation is one of the best things that have happened to the environment. This is an alternative form of energy production that does not emit any hazardous material into the environment and uses something that is naturally available as its source. People are considering placing solar cells on their rooftops to be very practical sources for their energy production. Whether it is for heating your home or heating water or producing electricity for the home, you will find that these devices are quite simple to use. In order to heat water, the photovoltaic cells will allow water to flow into them, where it gets heated by the solar heat and then this hot water is passed through the pipes right into the home.
The photovoltaic technology has taken great strides. This technology operates by making the cells to gather more of the suns rays on bright days which can be used in adverse conditions.A solar cell manufacturer known as Uni-Solar allows you to have solar energy even on overcast days.
The PV system is another kind of solar power system. An attachment is made from the PV system to the least distant electric grid so assuming a home produces more electricity than it needs, this is absorbed into the grid, which uses the electricity on its network and with such a source, the dependence of the grid on other power sources decreases. By providing such a network, the PV system allows you to use a cheap environment friendly source of energy and itself works without much pressure on it. Some regions are engineering centralized solar gathering arrays in order to answer the needs of the particular geographical area.
Worldwide, there has been an active interest among large scale corporations to enter into the arena of solar power generation and among other things, it shows how feasible this concept is. 6 megawatt system on the roof of its corporate headquarters and soon, Wal-Mart is going to add a 100 megawatt plant of its own.
By subsidizing and providing tax relief to people who install solar power systems for their electrical and heat requirements, nations such as America, Japan, Germany and Switzerland are furthering the popularity of these systems. We will soon be able to develop more and more methods to collect solar energy using innovating ways and this will see private entities entering into this field in a large way and help make it much more popular than it already is.
Wednesday 3 December 2008
Homemade Wind Energy
There are many different forms in which alternative energy is available. The most common form is of course Solar Energy which is free and can be collected using photovoltaic cells which not so long ago where very expensive but gradually the prices have fallen. Solar energy is non-polluting and can be used to produce electricity in addition to hot water. Nevertheless, for us to be able to inexpensively make use of the sun's energy, we need to subject ourselves to more work than ever. The one major problem is storing the power for use when the sun is not as strong, on overcast days and when night falls.
Usually for now, a large number of private investors as well as the government take pride and support in investing for the utilization of wind energy as an alternative energy source. The process in which “wind farms” are developed by placing great arrays of triple-bladed windmills all over the place to capture the motion of the wind thus using its kinetic energy for mechanical or electrical energy conversion is just one of the many effective methods to greatly utilize wind energy. The power of the wind has been known about and used for centuries but now they are being used purely for the generation of power.
With the growing developments in our technology and everything that we use, it is so unlikely for us not to use the more sophisticated modern wind turbines as an alternative to the old theme being used. Of course, the drawback to wind energy is - what do you do when there is a calm, still day? Of course, the power we need can come from other sources when this happens so currently we cannot rely completely on wind power even if we had sufficient farms to cater for our needs.
Another source of alternative energy that can generate an extensive amount of power is accessible in the form of hydroelectric energy. The concept of hydroelectricity is simple - using vast amounts of water and gravity to turn electricity producing turbines. The use of water for driving hydroelectric turbines is not much of a worry even finding for its sources because water is just everywhere. The main problem with this process is the initial financial cost and the size of these dams means it is a lengthy project which does not come without it's own issues. Each dam is built from scratch and must be strong enough to hold back the huge amount of water that will be neede to make the dam a viable proposition. Finding a suitable location for these dams usually requires changes to the local (often a wide region) area and they often come under fire from environmentalists concerned about the impact on wildlife.
To produce power this way does not always require a dam, especially if it is only a small community that is being serviced. There are small run-of-river hydroelectric converters which are good for supplying neighbourhoods or an individual office or home.
When artesian waters just below the earth's crust are heated, a naturally-occurring energy in the structure of geothermal energy can be produced which is more often than not the most underrated form of alternative energy that gains less of the gratitude and pride. Water below the earth's surface is heated by the incredible temperatures at the planets core. The water is drawn up by various different methods—there are “dry steam” power plants, “flash” power plants, and “binary” power plants for harnessing geothermal energy. The purpose of this procedure is to gather the steam that is generated when it reaches the surface. It is in the USA where this technology has become world famous with 'the Geysers' dry steam power plant not that far from San Francisco.
Usually for now, a large number of private investors as well as the government take pride and support in investing for the utilization of wind energy as an alternative energy source. The process in which “wind farms” are developed by placing great arrays of triple-bladed windmills all over the place to capture the motion of the wind thus using its kinetic energy for mechanical or electrical energy conversion is just one of the many effective methods to greatly utilize wind energy. The power of the wind has been known about and used for centuries but now they are being used purely for the generation of power.
With the growing developments in our technology and everything that we use, it is so unlikely for us not to use the more sophisticated modern wind turbines as an alternative to the old theme being used. Of course, the drawback to wind energy is - what do you do when there is a calm, still day? Of course, the power we need can come from other sources when this happens so currently we cannot rely completely on wind power even if we had sufficient farms to cater for our needs.
Another source of alternative energy that can generate an extensive amount of power is accessible in the form of hydroelectric energy. The concept of hydroelectricity is simple - using vast amounts of water and gravity to turn electricity producing turbines. The use of water for driving hydroelectric turbines is not much of a worry even finding for its sources because water is just everywhere. The main problem with this process is the initial financial cost and the size of these dams means it is a lengthy project which does not come without it's own issues. Each dam is built from scratch and must be strong enough to hold back the huge amount of water that will be neede to make the dam a viable proposition. Finding a suitable location for these dams usually requires changes to the local (often a wide region) area and they often come under fire from environmentalists concerned about the impact on wildlife.
To produce power this way does not always require a dam, especially if it is only a small community that is being serviced. There are small run-of-river hydroelectric converters which are good for supplying neighbourhoods or an individual office or home.
When artesian waters just below the earth's crust are heated, a naturally-occurring energy in the structure of geothermal energy can be produced which is more often than not the most underrated form of alternative energy that gains less of the gratitude and pride. Water below the earth's surface is heated by the incredible temperatures at the planets core. The water is drawn up by various different methods—there are “dry steam” power plants, “flash” power plants, and “binary” power plants for harnessing geothermal energy. The purpose of this procedure is to gather the steam that is generated when it reaches the surface. It is in the USA where this technology has become world famous with 'the Geysers' dry steam power plant not that far from San Francisco.
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