solar power Articles
Cutting Household Costs
Why is it that January finds many families taking a serious look at their household budget? Are there cheaper options for telephone? Do you really need all those cable channels? Should you change your time-of-day price plan with your electrical utility? What priority does Prime Rib have on your grocery list? For parents of college-bound students, there is that in-state/private college decision also.
Of course, we all want more money and there are two ways to have more money available for your lifestyle and/or your retirement.
1 – make more
2 – spend less
If you can’t increase your inflow, you can certainly decrease your outflow. Start by sorting your expenses into four broad categories.
Ringing in a Greener Year
The year 2011 will go down in history as a very difficult one from the standpoint of the global economy, but it will also stand out for the incredible explosion of interest in Solar. More homes and businesses than ever are using solar energy as a source for electrical power. We all see the need to use more renewable energy. Solar fits the bill for most of the planet.
Solar gadgets and devices have proliferated. Some are just for fun. Others fill a real need. The Solar-Breeze solar robotic pool skimmer fits into the "need" category. Even if current Solar-Breeze owners only reduced their pool pump runtimes by half last year, the carbon equivalent of many hundreds of SUV's have been taken off the road. The staff at Solar Pool Technologies thanks everyone who made this possible.
As we ring in a New Year, we look forward to connecting with more pool owners around the world and helping them to save time, money and energy.
Holiday Living & Giving : the 5 Rs
Here we are in the holidays. There are goodies on every desk and special offers in every other email. Our diets are out the window and our wallets have come unlatched. What are some ways we can live the 5 Rs and still celebrate the season?
The first R stands for Reduce -- but who wants to! Pour a glass of eggnog and ponder how to make this season a green celebration.
Massive Rooftop Solar Array
I had the chance, recently, to tour the largest photovoltaic rooftop installation in Arizona. I jumped at the chance and climbed the ladder. The installation is on the roof of the Cowley Co. Warehouse at 27th Ave & Buckeye, not far from the State Capital building.
Our guides were Tom Lepley of Phasor Energy Company Inc. and Karl Schmitt, General Manager of Empire Renewable Energy, LLC. Empire put the project together. Tom was the lead engineer.
The scale of this project takes your breath away. 7,872 crystalline silicon modules (solar panels) cover 28,000 square feet of rooftop. The array is held on the roof by its own weight and some ballast around the periphery. There is no racking attaching it to the roof itself. The wiring and conduit appear like leashes to hold it down but their only function is to take that harvest of solar energy down to the invertor room where it can be changed into useable AC power.
Read More...Frugal Swimming Pool Cleaning
A revolutionary approach to pool cleaning is now available which works on the premise that it is cheaper to clean the pool from the surface with free solar energy than from the bottom with expensive electricity.
Messy pools start with debris; leaves, twigs, flowers, grass cuttings, dust, pollens, seeds, pet hair, and garbage being blown into the pool. It mostly floats on the surface for a couple of hours before becoming water-logged and sinking to the bottom where it decomposes. The bacteria brought into the pool by the debris interacts with the organic material, sunlight and water to produce algae growth.
Removing the debris from the surface before it sinks makes all kinds of sense and cents.
Read More...
Winter Pool Operations in the No Snow Zone
Many Solar-Breeze owners live in the No-Snow Zone. We welcome cooler temperatures but can still have dinner outside by the pool.
Winter brings shorter days, and less direct solar rays. When the sun hits pholtovoltaic panels at an angle of less than 90 degrees, they still function to turn solar energy into an electrical current, however the amount of current produced is less. For the Solar-Breeze, this means shorter operating times as less energy is produced during the day and less charge is available on the battery during the night.
Read More...Northern Pools Are Opening
The Buzz on Batteries
The objective is to build 20MWh battery installations which would be sufficient to supply 2,000 homes for 24-36 hours. Most of the attention is focussed on REDOX FLOW batteries. Click on the link to read more about these batteries in Science Daily.
The Solar-Breeze robot uses a Lithium-ion battery. With a combined capacity of 12.5 watts, the unit's solar panels capture enough power during the day to both run the motors AND charge the battery. As the sun reaches approximately 30 degrees from the Western horizon, Solar-Breeze shifts from operating on solar to operating on battery power. Depending upon the amount of solar energy available to the panels during the day, the unit can run up to 8 or 9 hours into the evening/night.
The first version of the Solar-Breeze used Nickel-Cadmium batteries but the results were not as consistant or satisfactory as with the current Lithium batteries. These rechargeable batteries are reliable for at least 1,000 charging cycles (days of use) and can be replaced to extend the working life of your Solar-Breeze.
Read More...
