Solar energy Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the sun harnessed using a range of ever-evolving technologies such as solar heating, solar photovoltaics, solar thermal energy, solar architecture and artificial photosynthesis.[1][2] In 2011, the International Energy Agency said that "the development of affordable, inexhaustible and clean solar energy technologies will have huge longer-term benefits. It will increase countries’ energy security through reliance on an indigenous, inexhaustible and mostly import-independent resource, enhance sustainability, reduce pollution, lower the costs of mitigating global warming, and keep fossil fuel prices lower than otherwise. These advantages are global. Hence the additional costs of the incentives for early deployment should be considered learning investments; they must be wisely spent and need to be widely shared".[1] Energy from the Sun About half the incoming solar energy reaches the Earth's surface. Early commercial adaption Solar thermal Water heating
Solar water heating Solar water heating (SWH) or solar hot water (SHW) systems comprise several innovations and many mature renewable energy technologies that have been well established for many years. SWH has been widely used in Australia, Austria, China, Cyprus, Greece, India, Israel, Japan and Turkey. In a "close-coupled" SWH system the storage tank is horizontally mounted immediately above the solar collectors on the roof. No pumping is required as the hot water naturally rises into the tank through thermosiphon flow. In a "pump-circulated" system the storage tank is ground- or floor-mounted and is below the level of the collectors; a circulating pump moves water or heat transfer fluid between the tank and the collectors. SWH systems are designed to deliver hot water for most of the year. Overview[edit] Water heated by the sun is used in many ways. A solar water heater installed on a house in Belgium History[edit] An advertisement for a Solar Water Heater dating to 1902 Mediterranean[edit] Asia-Pacific[edit]
Solar thermal collector Solar thermal collector dish The term "solar collector" commonly refers to solar hot water panels, but may refer to installations such as solar parabolic troughs and solar towers; or basic installations such as solar air heaters. Solar power plants usually use the more complex collectors to generate electricity by heating a fluid to drive a turbine connected to an electrical generator.[1] Simple collectors are typically used in residential and commercial buildings for space heating. Heat collectors[edit] Solar collectors are either non-concentrating or concentrating. Flat-plate and evacuated-tube solar collectors are used to collect heat for space heating, domestic hot water or cooling with an absorption chiller. Flat plate collectors[edit] Flat plate thermal system for water heating deployed on a flat roof. Flat-plate collectors, developed by Hottel and Whillier in the 1950s, are the most common type. Applications[edit] Evacuated tube collectors[edit] Evacuated tube collector Air[edit]
Solar Tracker Circuit Kit Solar Tracker Circuit Kits from MTM Scientific, Inc Solar Tracking Kits, Motors, Sensors, Circuit Booklet and Photos of Customer Projects Español Aqui Photo of Solar Tracker Circuit Kit after assembly (Catalog #ST2) The SOLAR TRACKER 2 CIRCUIT KIT (Catalog #ST2) from MTM Scientific contains all the electrical parts you need to build a circuit which will automatically find and follow the sun across the sky. Solar Tracker Circuit Specifications: 3 Amp Max Motor Current, 12 VDC Supply Need higher current? Please note: This circuit kit is for controlling a 12 VDC electric motor that you provide. SOLAR TRACKER 2 KIT (Catalog #ST2)... $52.50, Worldwide Shipping Included TO ORDER BY PAYPAL: Order using the Paypal button shown. Photo of DC Gearheard Motor (Catalog #ST2M is the #ST2 kit with this motor.) Our DELUXE SOLAR TRACKER KIT #ST2M includes a small 12 VDC Gear Head Motor with the #ST2 circuit kit (above). SOLAR TRACKER 2 CIRCUIT KIT with MOTOR(Catalog #ST2M)... $71.50, USA Shipping Included
Solar Thermal Technology for solar hot water, solar building hea Solar thermal is a technology designed to harness sunlight for its thermal energy (heat). This heat is often used for heating water used in homes, businesses, swimming pools, and for heating the insides of buildings (space heating). In order to heat water using sunlight, a solar thermal collector heats a fluid that is pumped through it. As the fluid is pumped through the collector, the fluid becomes heated. The now heated fluid then is pumped out of the collector and through a heat exchanger. Heat exchangers are usually comprised of copper, and are normally found inside a solar storage tank. The storage tank is an essential element of any solar thermal system, as it allows all the heat being generated by the solar thermal collector to be stored for use whenever it is needed. Solar thermal collectors are classified by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) as high, medium, or low temperature collectors. High Temperature Collectors System Designs Dish Designs Medium Temperature Collectors
Solar Tracking Solar Collector, Passive Tracking with improved I Passive Solar Tracking Having the maximum amount of absorber area directly facing the sun causes superior solar collector performance. Because of their round design, Solar Panels Plus evacuated tube collectors are able to passively track the sun, meaning that they are always pointed directly at the sun and can absorb solar thermal energy evenly all day long. This is important, particularly if the heat is needed throughout the day without using a large thermal storage system. By tracking the sun from early morning until late afternoon, more heat is generated by the collector which means that your existing energy source will be used less, saving money and helping conserve precious non-renewable resources Flat-plate collectors, on the other hand, only directly face the sun during midday which decreases their maximum daily heat output, lowers the heat available during morning and afternoon, and, causes the need for larger storage in many applications. Incidence Angle Modifier (IAM)
New Energy Technologies, Inc. and US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory Develop ‘Invisible Wires’ for Transporting Electricity on SolarWindow - New Energy Technologies Inc Columbia, MD – March 15, 2012 – New Energy Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: NENE), a developer of innovative technologies for generating sustainable electricity, announces that Company and NREL scientists collaboratively developing New Energy’s SolarWindow™ technology – capable of generating electricity on see-through glass – have successfully collected and transported electricity using a virtually ‘invisible’ conductive wiring system developed for SolarWindow™. The ability to transport electricity on glass windows while remaining see-through is especially important to the eventual deployment of an aesthetically pleasing commercial product. Scientists Successfully Transport Electricity Using Virtually Invisible Wires, Under Development for SolarWindow™ (Displayed on a Glass Slide) The prospect of generating electricity on SolarWindow™ is made possible when researchers creatively layer and arrange unique, ultra-small see-through solar cells on to glass. This is on the bottom of all blog posts.
Solar Panel Output per month in the UK: How much electricity will my solar panels generate each month during the year? This is the data for each year showing the maximum daily and monthly solar panel electricity generation per year as well as the total yearly output. The solar panels were installed in Nov 2011 so only partial data is available for 2011. New pages showing best production - best days solar panel output generated in UK Month by Month comparison of solar panel electricity produced for 2011 onwards. You can see the difference between electricity produced each year and how much solar electricity was generated compared to previous years. January February March April May June July August September October November December The number of days under 5kWh electricity generation and over 5kWh, 10kWh, 15kWh and 20kWh by year will show how the solar panel output varies year by year. This is the data for each month showing how many days were over certain thresholds during the year.
DC AC Power Inverters & grid tie inverter - FAQ If failure under proper use, please follow the following methods to troubleshoot and do simple maintenance. (Need a multimeter, 30V/5A power supply) 1. After receive the inverter, please check carefully, if the apperance is deformated, or terminal(s) is damaged, please solve this timely, in case this cause the short circuit of the internal component, and the burnt of the components after the access to power. 2. Open the inverter, check if the slot and the cable on the PCB is loose or fall off, and check if the connections on the front and back board is loose or fall off, if yes, please connect correctly and firmly inserted or replaced. 3. 4. 5. Turn on the inverter and test again after replace all the fault parts. 6. If the problem is on the DC side: If there has problem on C1 board, then check the IR2110 or IR2113, as shown Figure 8: If there has problem on C2 board, normally is on the above SCM SN8P2711A, SS8050 and SS8550, as shown in Figure 9: Simple test on diode: Photo 1-1 Photo 1-2 1. 4.
Solar Angle Calculator | Solar Panel Angle Calculator This solar angle calculator tells you the optimum angle to get the best out of your system. To get the best out of your photovoltaic panels, you need to angle them towards the sun. The optimum angle varies throughout the year, depending on the seasons and your location and this calculator shows the difference in sun height on a month-by-month basis. Of course, the sun is continually moving throughout the day and to get the very best from your photovoltaic system you would need to angle your panels to track the sun minute by minute. You can buy an automated solar tracker to do this (see picture on right). The sun is at its highest at solar noon each day (this occurs exactly half way between sunrise and sunset) and this calculator shows the angle at that time of day. Therefore, to get the very best out of your photovoltaic panels, you would typically face them due south at the optimum angle so that the panel is receiving as much sunlight as possible at this time.
Monitoring Your Solar Power Inverter's Output Most people looking to monitor the output of their solar array, usually seek out a SOLAR POWER MONITORING SOLUTION, after there has been an issue with their Solar PV inverter. An issue where, they were simply not aware the Solar PV inverter, was not generating power for sometime. Amazingly in one case, this was for almost six months. Now that was six months of lost income, from their solar power investment! So when it comes to installing a Solar Power Monitor, to keep an eye on the inverter's output, what would you expect to see on the monitor's LCD display? For this scenario, we will talk about a 3 kW solar power system. Would you expect to see close to 3 kW from your Solar PV inverter? When a Solar Power system is decided upon for your home, the sizing in kilowatts relates to the DC power upon the roof. Now we would say this misconception is there, because the output of your solar system was not fully explained to you, during the sale of the system. So what are these system losses?