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Solar Panels

Posted Thu, 04/22/2010 - 10:20 by les.oke

When most people think of renewable energy today they immediately think of solar panels, and for good reason. Solar panels or Photovoltaic panels have become a very popular way to produce home electricity, whether you are grid connected or want to live off the grid.

 
Solar PanelsThey produce electricity in a very simple way, by converting energy from the sun into DC electrical current. The fine details of how this happens will be explained later.
 
Solar Panels produce power in direct relation to the amount of sunlight falling on them. They should therefore be placed in a very sunny location with not even any partial shade if possible.
 
Why are they a great choice?
  • there are no moving parts
  • solar panels come in many sizes
  • easy to install
  • easy to maintain

Solar Panels For Sale - Used Solar Panels For Sale

Posted Fri, 04/23/2010 - 09:01 by les.oke

Finding solar panels for sale is never that difficult, the problem usually is that the new customer does not know which ones are right for their home installation. You might even be tempted to look for used solar panels for sale. You can browse our catalog here Solar Panels Catalog

Which ones are best? How many do I need? These and many more questions come up when you begin the shopping process. Knowing the answers before you begin to shop is truly the key to an enjoyable and productive shopping experience.

In our last article we covered the basics of which solar panels you can choose from, MonoCrystalline, PolyCrystalline or Thin Film Flexible panels. Each is right for some, but which ones do we recommend.

For the past 15 years we have used each kind in its turn, but we always return to the tried and true monocrystalline design when we begin shopping, either for build our own applications or manufactured.

Solar Car - Solar Power Car - Solar Powered Cars

Posted Thu, 05/06/2010 - 12:45 by les.oke

The world's first solar car, or solar power car was designed by William G. Cobb and appeared in 1955 in Chicago – back then it was almost unimaginable for everyday use. Nowadays people can even charge their plug-in electric vehicles through solar panels installed on the roofs of their homes or through those on the roofs of their cars.

How Is Solar Energy Used - Solar Power and How It Is Used For Energy

Posted Thu, 05/06/2010 - 12:56 by les.oke

Have you ever wondered how is solar energy used. As surprising as it may seem in some way the sun and other stars are responsible for all the energy we have and use. For many years when we studied solar power and how it is used for energy we discovered something very interesting – fossils fuels we are so fond of are basically decayed plants, nuclear energy uses uranium atoms that appeared as a result of a star explosion, etc.

How Solar Cells Work - How Do Solar Cells Work?

Posted Thu, 05/06/2010 - 13:08 by les.oke

Have you ever wondered how solar cells work? Solar cells (also called PV cells) surround us literally everywhere – many consumer items are powered by them because of the low cost and high efficiency – wristwatches, calculators, this is not to mention their use in water pumps, communication satellites, traffic signs and many other places. How do solar cells work?

Solar Energy Facts - Facts About Solar Energy

Posted Thu, 05/06/2010 - 13:23 by les.oke

Here are some very interesting Solar Energy Facts. Solar energy has been there for billions of years – the energy of the sun’s rays has been used by humans throughout the history, in fact, our very existence is possible because of it. One of the most interesting facts about solar energy is the biggest challenge the humankind faces today is how to accumulate and store solar energy once the sun goes down – so that thermal energy could become a stable and reliable source of renewable energy.

Grid Tie Inverter - What You Need to Know about Grid Tie Inverters

Posted Fri, 07/30/2010 - 14:41 by les.oke

A grid tie inverter changes DC to AC and safely sends your renewable energy back to the utility company. In this type of system using a solar grid tie inverter the utility grid acts as an infinitely large battery bank storing your generated power for use by someone else down the line. The following illustration shows how the typical solar electrical system is configured to send power to the grid:
A Grid-tie system consists of a solar array and the grid tie inverter. The main service entrance to the building and the Net kWh Meter are already installed on existing buildings if utility power is present. A user-friendly inverter includes all components necessary to make a grid connect system installation simple and code compliant.Grid Tie Inverters, or so called Power Inverters convert D.C. power to A.C. power. It is necessary to run all of your AC appliances. A Common stand alone grid tie inverter operates at 12/24/48/120 volts DC and create 120 or 240 volts AC. Many power inverters come with a built in battery charger. The rate of power of an inverter indicates the wattage it can supply continuously.

Charge Controller

Posted Mon, 08/02/2010 - 13:41 by les.oke

Why you need a charge controller

The main function of a charge controller or regulator is to fully charge a battery without permitting overcharge while preventing reverse current flow at night. If a non-self-regulating solar array is connected to lead acid batteries with no overcharge protection, battery life will be compromised. A simple charge controller contains a transistor that shunt the PV charging circuit, terminating the charge at a pre-set high voltage and, once a pre-set reconnect is reached, opens the shunt, allowing charging to resume.A more sophisticated charge controller utilize pulse width modulation (PWM) or maximum power point tracking (MPPT) to assure the battery is being fully charged.The first 70% to 80%
of battery capacity is easily replaced, but the last 20% to 30% requires more attention and therefore more complexity.

How to size a charge controller

DC Refrigerator - DC freezers - DC Refrigerators

Posted Mon, 08/02/2010 - 14:37 by les.oke

Sundanzer solar dc refrigerator and dc freezer
Save on costs with SunDanzer DC refrigerators and freezers. These highly efficient units with exceptionally low energy consumption require a smaller, less epensive power systems and low operating expense . Unit will run on a single 75 watt solar panel in most climates

Find our more here Sundanzer DC Refrigerator and DC freezer

DC Lights - Finding the Right DC Lights for your Home- LED, CFL 12-24 volts, Solar Public Light

Posted Wed, 08/04/2010 - 14:43 by les.oke

DC lights are the best choice for your off grid or grid tie home. Use energy efficient light bulbs which use about one quarter of the energy of ordinary light bulbs and last for between 6 and 10 years . Replace light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. If you replace just 25% of your lights in high-use areas with fluorescence, you can save about 50% of your lighting energy bill.

 Compact fluorescent bulbs
These bulbs provide as much light as regular incandescent bulbs while using just one-fourth the energy. For example, a 15-watt compact fluorescent bulb yields the same amount of light as a 60-watt incandescent bulb. Compact flourescent bulbs last about 10,000 hours -- 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs. light output -- how much light the bulb produces, measured in lumens. A 60-watt regular incandescent bulb yields about 855 lumens. A 15-watt compact fluorescent bulb yields about 900 lumens.

 L.E.D. Lights
The biggest advantages of LED's is that they are very energy efficient when compared to other available light sources. LED's consume 1/5 to 1/10 the power of a single incandescent bulb. Another advantage is a longer rated life, most incandescent light bulbs are rated up to 3,000 hours. LED's are rated up to 100,000 hours which means on the average the LED lamp would need replacement on the average of every 22 years