Is this the Breakthrough that Finally Kills 'Big Oil' and Brings Solar Power to the World? The days of bulky, expensive solar panels that were heavy and required harsh chemicals to produce and a lot of labor to install may be coming to an end. Scientists in Australia have been able to produce the largest ever printed solar cells using a newly developed solar cell printer. Yes, they are printing solar cells. The cells are flexible, cheap, and made from organic plastics and materials. According to scientist Dr Scott Watkins, printing cells on such a large scale opens up a huge range of possibilities for pilot applications: “There are so many things we can do with cells this size[…]We can set them into advertising signage, powering lights and other interactive elements. We can even embed them into laptop cases to provide backup power for the machine inside.” Dr. “Eventually we see these being laminated to windows that line skyscrapers. Image: VICOSC’s new solar cell printer installed at CSIRO. “The consortium is currently only purchasing materials on a research scale. $1 per watt?
Light Clay-Straw & Solar Hal Brill and Allison Elliot’s light clay-straw home brings together passive solar design, active solar technologies, natural materials, and an efficient layout for an energy-saving, durable dwelling. Home Power (HP): Besides incorporating solar technologies, your home has some unique features. What served as your initial inspiration? Allison Elliot: The development process took several years. The overall design is dominated by this curve, which evokes Anasazi cliff dwellings and our experiences in the canyons of Utah on raft trips. HP: Why did you decide to use clay-straw (or “light-clay”) as the wall infill material? Elliot: Through the years, we attended numerous sustainable building conferences, including the International Straw Builders Conference. Hal Brill: We were fortunate to be able to tour two clay-straw homes in our area and to see how they performed in both summer and winter. Clay-straw seemed to be the middle ground.
New Solar Concentrator Being Developed at HyperSolar, Inc. – Green Building Elements Concentrator in development at HyperSolar A new version of solar concentrator is being developed by a Santa Barbara, CA company, HyperSolar. If successful, “the world’s first thin and flat solar concentrator for direct placement on top of existing solar cells.” could revolutionize solar energy industry pricing. In a press release, HyperSolar reports it uses innovative photonics and low-cost manufacturing processes to develop “the world’s first thin and flat solar concentrator for standard solar cells. Translation for the end-user? Tim Young, HyperSolar CEO, said, “Our ultimate goal is to develop an inexpensive and thin solar concentrator for use in replacing expensive solar cells in conventional flat solar panels. HyperSolar’s sheets incorporate a photonics thermal management system that keeps unusable parts of the solar spectrum from reaching the cells – keeping the cells from overheating and becoming less efficient. About the Author Glenn Meyers is a writer, producer, and director.
Solar Math Calculs solaires pour votre ville. Ce tableau va vous donner la position du soleil en fonction de votre latitude et de votre longitude. Quelques villes sont sélectionnées mais vous pouvez aussi rentrer vos coordonnées (degrés et centièmes) directement en choississant dans le petit menu déroulant en haut à droite "Ne pas choisir de ville". Pour mesurer la durée pendant laquelle le soleil brille (insolation ou durée d'ensoleillement) on utilise maintenant un héliographe automatique dans lequel un oeil électronique (cellule visible dans la partie transparente) repère le soleil en effectuant une rotation d'un tour par minute.
Home Made Wind Turbine Want to build a wind turbine for your home? I have gathered several PDFs for those who want to build there own wind turbines and have links to them at the bottom of this post. They cover all types of wind turbines and issues that you may run in to such as wind speeds and noise. From reading these my self I have found that the Hi-VAWT takes all into consideration and is easy to replicate. In VENTURI horizontal axis Wind Turbines wind turbines the blades rotate and describe a circular surface. Mobile Sun Tracking Solar Power Plant A recent storm with horrific winds took down our electrical power. The outage was widespread, straining the power company to get everyone back online. We were without power for almost 3 days - no heating, no hot water, no refrigeration, no range, no microwave, no lighting. No TV, no WiFi, and no hot coffee in the morning. My first thought was to buy a gas-powered generator. Features Sun Tracking Sensor Renogy 50W Monocrystalline Solar Panel Renogy 30A PWM Charge Controller 85AH Deep Cycle Gel Batteries 2000W DC-AC Power Inverter With 3 AC Outlets Bussmann 150A Resettable Circuit Breaker Servo Motor for Azimuth Axis Linear Actuator for Elevation Axis Arduino UNO Controller Adafruit Motor Shield v2 Backlit LCD Voltage Meter Adjustable LED Bar Work Light 12VDC Switched Outlet With 15A Resettable Circuit Breaker USB Charging Outlet Durable Battery Box With Carrying Handles Schematic The sun-tracking sensor is made from a cheap 6-LED flashlight. Wiring Video
Mobile home makeover: Before and after Looks like "Fixer Upper" Joanna Gaines may have some friendly competition when it comes to home makeovers. Amy Shock Amy's mobile home before the makeover. Gaszton Gal Los Angeles-based designer Amy Shock took a low-end $5,200 mobile home in Ojai, California, and turned it into a high-end dream house, complete with floor-to-ceiling walls of glass, a modern kitchen and a large, inviting deck. RELATED: Carmen Electra's new home is surprisingly traditional — until you step inside Amy's mobile home after the makeover. According to the LA Times, the 800-square-foot property took 12 months and about $175,000 to renovate. "The situation was attractive to me," she told TODAY of choosing to buy the mobile home. "The idea that I could purchase the opportunity for $5K was mind-numbing to me," she said. And resuscitate she did. A graduate of the Cornell University School of Architecture and residential designer, Shock conceived the idea for the update on her own.
Not too bright – The 12 volt Tiny House Option One aspect of construction that I neglected when building Tiny House Ontario was what I would do about electricity. To tell you the truth electricity scares me because it carries the power of fire. Even so, I thought about it enough to know that I did not want to be on grid, and that I wanted to do it myself. After living there, two seasonal years, I knew that my need for electricity was very limited. On a whim, because there was a fantastic sale, I decided on a small solar panel from Canadian Tire. After my success, I decided that I would not invert my power when it entered the house because the power that is lost to the inverter is quite something. It was not easy for me to figure out how to get this, but it turns out that I got all of these items at a marine supply store. It was not a fast job to put in the wiring. As far as cost goes, all the materials, including fixtures, cost roughly $1200 in Canadian, plus 15% tax which is less than the cost of one Hydro pole.
How to Build Your Own Solar Panels in Only Two Hours and Have Free Electricity For the Rest of Your Life! by Rich M.,AskAPrepper Solar is inarguably the most commonly chosen form of alternative power. It is relatively easy to install, costs nothing to operate (once installed) and works pretty much anywhere. The one problem with solar is its cost: installing enough solar panels on your home to power everything can cost upwards of $30,000. Even so, solar is still the king for alternative power. While most people buy ready-made solar panels or even buy them from a solar contractor, this isn’t the most cost effective way of getting solar for your home. An Important Bit of Theory Before we try to build anything, we’d better understand what we need. , connected and mounted together, so that they produce a usable output. In order to ensure that there is enough electrical power to charge 12 volt batteries, it is necessary to produce at least 14 volts. Each solar cell produces 0.5 volts, regardless of its size. produce more watts of power, but they are still producing 0.5 volts. Tabbing Solar Cells .”
15kw Solar Power Plant This is a big stack of mirrors, but look how simply the heat of the sun redirected can generate enough heat to power a 15kw Steam powered generator! Love this! Watch This Video: Other Great Stories From Offgridquest.com: Solar Grill Stores Latent Heat For 25 Hour Cook Time At 450 degrees Image credit: Derek Ham/Barbeque Lovers We've seen a DIY solar cooker built from old CDs, and we've seen plenty of commercially available solar ovens too. We've even seen one solar-powered grill. But we haven't seen many solar cooking options that can store heat for longer cooking times or hotter temperatures. Until now Derek Ham writes over at Barbeque Lovers about a solar-powered grill project he has been working on that uses latent heat storage to both extend cooking times, create hotter temperatures, and reduce the problem of intermittent sun. If successful, this grill could both alleviate the well-known environmental impact of traditional charcoal grilling, and also offer a cleaner, greener and more socially sustainable cooking option in the developing world: Of course this design is unlikely to excite the purists who are addicted to the taste of hickory. The students are currently conducting an online survey to gauge the grilling habits of potential customers. via: Treehugger
A fully transparent solar cell that could make every window and screen a power source