Novel Electronics Could Speed Adoption of Solar Power. A new design for inverters invented by Ideal Power Converters, in Spicewood, Texas, could significantly lower the cost of solar power and make it practical in more places.
Ideal Power Converters cuts solar installation costs by cutting the size of inverters, the devices that convert the DC power made by solar panels into the AC power needed for households, or the grid. Ordinarily, 30 kilowatt inverters are about the size of refrigerators and too big to fit inside existing mechanical rooms in many buildings. In many cases, installers have to build small outbuildings to house them, and use cranes or forklifts to move them into place. Ideal’s inverters are as small as a suitcase and weigh 42 kilograms, so they can be easily mounted on a wall. The ease of installation is enough to shave 15 cents per watt from an installation, says CEO Bill Alexander, which adds up to thousands of dollars for the large rooftop installations the company’s inverter is designed for.
Countries Around The Globe Opting For Solar Power. Solar power, which converts sunlight into energy, is beneficial for reducing our carbon footprint and has been accepted as a greener alternative for harvesting power.
While harvesting solar energy has a carbon footprint of its own, research shows a solar panel’s carbon footprint is at least 20 times smaller than that of coal. As of late, solar energy is slowly transitioning from an alternative energy source to a preferred energy source. For starters, the Australian government recently announced a $1.3 million grant to researchers who specialize in solar power. The grants, which are part of the government’s Skills Development Program, are an attempt on the part of the Australian government’s efforts to cut carbon emissions, since the country has the highest per capita in the developed world.
Some estimates suggest that Australia emits around 28 metric tons of carbon per person per year and roughly represents about 1.5 percent of world emissions. And it’s not just Australia and India. SOLAR ADSORPTION-DESORPTION REFRIGERATOR. By Needful Provision, Inc.
(NPI) (This article Copyright 2005 Needful Provision, Inc., USA. This page is a mirror of part of thier page at to ensure that it is not lost. I will remove this mirror as requested.) Cali Bamboo PV Solar Shutters. This solar panel printer can make 33 feet of solar cells per minute. Whatever oil and gas true believers want to think, the world is doing this solar power thing.
It’s getting cheaper and cheaper to make solar panels, and the panels are getting more and more effective. Giant Marble Harvests Energy from Sun and Moon. It looks like a giant, glass marble.
But this globe is no game. It's a sun-tracking, solar energy concentrator created by Barcelona-based architects and, according to the designers, is able to collect not just sunlight but moonlight as well. The Rawlemon project revolves around a weatherproof sphere that's designed to rotate and follow the sun across the sky. It's so sensitive to light that at night, it can even harvest moonlight and convert it into electricity. Andre Broessel, the architect and designer, says his spherical, sun-tracking glass globe is able to concentrate sunlight and moonlight up to 10,000 times and that the system is 35 percent more efficient than photovoltaic designs that track the sun.
Via Design Boom and Inhabitat. Peru Unveils Plan to Use Solar Panels to Provide Electricity to 2 Million People. LIMA – The National Photovoltaic Household Electrification Program will benefit more than 2 million people in Peru, Energy and Mining Minister Jorge Merino said.
The program will provide electricity to poor households using solar panels, Merino said. The first phase of the program will focus on providing solar panels to 500,000 extremely poor households in areas that lack access to the power grid. Bidding will be opened later for contractors to install the rest of the panels, Merino said. The energy minister inaugurated the first phase of the project Monday in Contumaza, a province in the northeastern region of Cajamarca, where 1,601 solar panels were installed. The program will allow 95 percent of Peru to have access to electricity by the end of 2016, when President Ollanta Humala’s term ends, Merino said. Photoflow is solar power and rainwater harvesting in one. A design company called NOS has developed a solution to two major problems facing developing countries: scarcity of drinking water and electricity.
The concept is called the PhotoFlow, a combination solar photovoltaic device and rainwater harvester. NOS says, "Most of the developing countries are located near the equator, receiving more sunlight and rainfall than most other countries on the planet. Despite this abundance, a large number of people living in these countries suffer from a lack of electricity and potable drinking water.
Building upon the designs of some existing rooftop water containers, we have created a simple device to collect both of these precious natural resources to meet the need for both electricity and drinking water. " Commercialization of Cheap Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell. Solar to dye for: The colored windows at left in a government building in Seoul, South Korea, generate power using technology from Australian dye-based solar developer Dyesol.
Easy-to-make solar cells that capture light with dyes have garnered an impressive string of scientific awards, including the Millennium Technology Prize in 2010. Yet they’ve had little commercial impact since their invention in 1988. A novel design reported by Northwestern University researchers last week could change that, delivering a device that eliminates the dye-sensitized solar cell’s inherent liability: its leak-prone and corrosive liquid electrolyte.
Unlike thin-film and silicon panels, dye-based panels can be produced in cheap roll-to-roll processes akin to printing. Solar Water Heaters. An Easy, Cost-Effective Solar Lighting Solution. Solar Fire Energy. Google pumps $12M into African solar energy project. Solar & Renewable Energy Products. AFFORDABLE SOLAR Affordable Solar Offers Wholesale Pricing on Top Name Solar Panels, Inverters, Racking, Solar System and Components ALTERNATIVE ENERGY STORE Leading Discount Retailer of Solar & Wind Energy Products.
Free Seminars. Denmark hits 200 megawatt solar capacity. Eco-friendly Solar Hybrid Air Conditioner from LG. Sustainable thinking is very “fashionable” right now and we couldn’t be happier.
This weird looking- but amazing design concept comes from LG and although it may seem like a regular air conditioner, it is not. Attached to the outdoor unit there is a solar cell system which can produce enough power (70 watts/hour) to ensure a part of the air conditioner’s energy supply. Sure, the dimensions of the addition are considerable, but this should not even matter, considering the benefits. This is an unbelievable idea that could really take off and be applied for a lot of household items. Imaging having smart systems attached to your appliances- this would not only decrease the bill at the end of the month but also contribute to a sustainable environment worldwide. Solar Energy: Stanford scientists build the first all-carbon solar cell. The Bao group's all-carbon solar cell consists of a photoactive layer, which absorbs sunlight, sandwiched between two electrodes.
(Photo: Mark Shwartz / Stanford University) inShare6 October 31, 2012 By Mark Shwartz. How Advanced Solar Cells Work. QSolar Kristal Colored Solar Panels. Solar panels often conjure up images of clumsy, dark sheets lined up in rooftop arrays on green homes and buildings. But what if they weren’t dark and clumsy — and what if they didn’t have to go on the roof? QSolar, the Canadian solar tech company that already brought us spray-on solar cells, has just released a new line of solar panels that are every bit as innovative. QSolar’s Kristal solar panels are available in an array of colors — red, green, blue, pink, grey — and they can replace windows or even walls, opening up new possibilities for green building design. Imagine your house with a colored solar panel atrium, or a pink and blue skylight mosaic set over your local library. Rawlemon's beautiful, spherical solar energy generators.
Despite their noble cause of harnessing clean, renewable energy from the sun, solar panels tend to be aesthetically uninspiring. Solar start-up Rawlemon aims to change all that with a new, and undeniably beautiful, take on concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technology. View all Created by Andre Broessel, a German architect inspired by his daughter’s toy marbles, the Rawlemon design uses a spherical lens to concentrate sunlight on a small photovoltaic panel and combines this with a dual-axis pivot that tracks the movement of the sun. According to the designer the transparent sphere is able collect and concentrate diffuse where traditional devices cannot and as well as providing an efficiency boost, they can be used in far more locations than their flat, fixed counterparts. Japanese Plans to Turn Moon Into a Solar Power Plant. Man hasn’t been back to the moon since 1972, but that hasn’t stopped a team of Japanese engineers from developing a plan to turn our celestial neighbor into a massive solar power plant.
The disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power station has made Japan think more seriously about alternative energy, and as a result Shimizu Corporation‘s crazy plan has been gaining traction. The plan calls for a massive 12 mile-wide, 6,800 mile long “Luna Ring” of solar panels to be constructed on the moon’s surface. Take your briefcase outside! The entire set up gives you a very nice view of how things are working. When your solar panel is making power, your voltage regulator's LED will light up telling you that it's working.
Then, your car charger's LED will light up telling you that its receiving power. Finally, after you plug your phone in, and it beeps, it tells you that it is getting free wonderful power from the sun! The entire set up with battery, giant briefcase, and large solar panel weights about 10 lbs so it's surprising light for an entire system. I am not sure how long it takes to fully charge the battery but I am sure someone would be able to calculate how much power the battery could give off. IKEA 65,000 Square Foot Solar Array. Black silicon could boost efficiency of traditional solar cells. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications have developed a system that allows solar cells to effectively harvest energy from the infrared spectrum, tapping into a source of energy that in the past has mostly been out of reach.
$100,000 Vandalism at First Solar. Tiny structure gives big boost to solar power. Princeton researchers have found a simple and economical way to nearly triple the efficiency of organic solar cells, the cheap and flexible plastic devices that many scientists believe could be the future of solar power. The researchers, led by electrical engineer Stephen Chou, were able to increase the efficiency of the solar cells 175 percent by using a nanostructured "sandwich" of metal and plastic that collects and traps light.
Scientists build the first all-carbon solar cell. By Mark Shwartz. Solar power cheaper than coal: One company says it’s cracked the code. Over time I’ve grown more and more suspicious of stories about breakthrough technologies. I always think back to those heady days of EEStor, the guys who were going to make a battery that would revolutionize grid storage and electric cars alike. Installing a Solar Energy System. Like many of you reading this article, I am fairly new to the realization that our future may not turn out the way we originally planned. A little over two years ago, after the financial turmoil set in, I began to wake up from my comfortable, relatively uncomplicated life and take a closer look at what was going on around me. Google Ups Research.
It’s no mystery that Google is an internet powerhouse, but within the last couple of years, they have expanded their efforts to make big changes in the way we power our homes and cities. Their goal? Low cost, high efficiency solar technology developed. Conehead Generators Put A New Spin On Rooftop Solar. Textured surface may boost power output of thin silicon solar cells. Scientists Develop Affordable Solar Panels That Work In The Dark. Photovoltaic Spin Cell Cones Will Bring Up To 20 Times More Electricity. Energy company to test floating solar islands.
‘Artificial leaf’ makes fuel from sunlight. Solar Company Says Its Tech Can Power 90 Percent of Grid and Cars. Harvesting energy from all forms of sunlight. Generate Electricity and Hot Water All at Once. Calculation of sun’s position in the sky for each location on the earth at any time of day. BBB on solar energy scams. Harvesting Light with Nanostructures: New Crops for Silicon Devices. Utilities Wake Up – Rooftop Solar to Rival Conventional Power. New connection between stacked solar cells can handle energy of 70,000 suns. Most Solar Panels Facing the Wrong Way, Experts Say. A Solar System Is Installed in the US Every 4 Minutes. Solar Hot Water. 7 Solar Water Heating System Designs. Multi-use solar collector inspired by lotus flower.
Solar Roadway Project. This solar panel printer can make 33 feet of solar cells per minute. How Solyndra’s Solar Tubes Rocked Clean Power in 2009. Dyed Plastic Boosts Stretchable Solar Cells. Peel-and-stick solar cells for battery-powered products of the future. Solar Powered Stirling Engine. Breakthrough 3-Dimensional Solar Cell Technology. Super-efficient solar-energy technology: ‘Solar steam’ so effective it can make steam from icy cold water.
Photovoltaic Research Center. Solar Water Heaters: Gov info. New Solar Panels Made with More Common Metals Could Be Cheaper and More Sustainable. Graphene Solar Paint. Cost Of PV Cells Has Dropped 99% since 1977. Princeton’s nanomesh nearly triples solar cell efficiency. Photovoltaic Spray Paint. V3Solar's Spinning Cone-Shaped Solar Cells Generate 20 Times More Electricity Than Flat Photovoltaics. Solar Pyramids Being Built in India. V3Solar Spin Cell. The Smart New Way to Go Solar. 6 green things the U.S. military is doing: Solar-powered tents. Solar Power Is Cheaper Than Nuclear for the First Time. Australia's Largest Solar Cell Printer Can Spit Out a Photovoltaic Panel Every Two Seconds. Smart Solar International. Solar Efficiency Graph: TreeHugger. Solar Water Heating Systems Buyer's Guide. Solar Shingles Made from Common Metals Offer Cheaper Energy Option.
Solar Hot Water Basics. Google invests $280 million in home solar. Solar Thermal.