Solar and Wind Power Compared

With the TV news constantly reporting about melting ice caps and rising sea levels in the Seychelles, it makes many of us wonder what we can do to do "our bit" for the environment. One way is to become as energy self-sufficient as possible. Solar panels and wind turbines are just two option available to you. Although energy is used in the manufacture of these products, overall they cause very little in the way of pollution. Once they are installed they'll keep producing energy indefinitely. Also because the energy comes from the sun and wind, you are not dependant on oil from politically unstable countries like Iraq and Nigeria.

Solar Energy - The energy from the sun'S rays are converted into energy when they hit the photovoltaic (PV) module. The PV responds to this by generating an electrical current which is carried into your home via wires and circuit breakers.

Wind Energy - This type of energy production is very different from solar however there are similarities to how they work. The propeller is spun round by the force of the wind. The propeller is attached to a shaft which is surrounded by a magnet wrapped by a coil of wire. The magnet either turns near the wire or the wire turns causing the force upon electrons. This forces the electrons along the wire which is how the electrical current is produced.

Sounds like the perfect solution to our energy requirements doesn't it? Sun and wind cost nothing and will never run out. However it does cost a lot of money and there are some limitations to how they can be used.

Costs - Some people may argue that it doesn't matter what these methods cost; the environment is more important than money. However unless you are a millionaire, cost are very important. The cost of production, transportation and installation all add up. Unfortunately at the moment the cost just doesn't stack up compared to oil and coal.

Efficiency - Solar panels require energy from the sun so if they are installed on the equator, you'll be able to achieve 1,00 watts per square meter of solar panel. Unfortunately if you live a considerable distance from the equator and experience many dull days, you'll only get about 125-375 W/m2. Efficiency also needs to be factored in; you only get 10-15% efficiency depending on how it's produced.

Despite the above, solar panels covering your roof can still generate enough power for your home. As long as you are careful about how you use electricity and don't waste it by leaving electrical goods on all day when they aren't being used.

Problems with Wind Power - Engineers have a tendency to think about wind farms from an engineering perspective. They don't seem to think about how a wind farm will affect the local area - both visually and in terms of wildlife. Many of the windiest places are home to a huge variety of bird species. You can imagine the consequences if a bird were to fly into a turbine. It could quickly wipe out a whole flock.

Then if there is a drop in wind levels, the amount of energy produced is greatly hampered. The turbines also need to be linked up with a storage system and the energy produced is not as good as we would like.

In saying that, these types of energy production has to be a major part of our future energy production. We simply cannot keep going the way we are. Eventually oil is going to become so scarce that prices will be sky high and pollution levels will even worse than they are now. Technology is constantly advancing and efficiency levels are increasing and they are becoming more affordable. It many take many years however before they replace oil and coal.

Is It Time For Solar Energy to Get Hot?

Is It Time For Solar Energy To Get Hot? By Tim Phelan

Solar energy has been around for quite a while and most people don't think about it much except for the ones who are already into renewable sources of energy. Environmentalists have always loved the idea of solar energy but what has kept it from going more mainstream, being more widely used and looked upon as something someone wants to spend money to install on their property? There have been improvements in the technology of solar energy, but has there been enough? Isn't the war on terror and the desire to be independent of foreign energy sources enough to persuade people to use solar energy? At what point will solar energy become the great and never ending source of energy many of envisioned many years ago?

Well, I, for one, think that the time has just about come for solar energy to really take off because of one reason: it will be economically the right and smart thing to do.

Last year I was driving to Las Vegas from San Jose and when I was just about three quarters of the way to my destination I passed a sign that said something about a "solar farm." I glanced over and saw row upon row of solar panels sitting in the middle of the dessert. This is about the only farm that could survive in the dessert I thought to myself. Then I thought " Wow. Why can't I do that?" In a smaller fashion of course because of my limited resources. But I thought why not rent some land and buy some of these panels and start my own little farm? It made sense and actually it still makes sense to me.

I went home later and looked into the solar energy industry. I wanted to see if this was possible now and I thought if these people put all those panels out in the dessert and sold the energy to others why can't a small businessman?

Well, what I found out is that it isn't quite possible to do just yet. Why? Because the cost of the panels, property, labor etc.. wasn't low enough to make a profit for what you can sell the energy for. The solar farm was more than likely subsidized by the government. So I looked into the possibility of using them on homes. This thought has been around for decades and you do see the panels on more homes than you used to so I was wondering if this was possible now. I found out that it just takes too long for the average consumer to get their investment back to consider putting solar panels on their homes.

The average time for a homeowner to get the money back on their investment is anywhere from 12 years to 20 years. For this industry to take off that figure I believe will have to go down to around 5 to 7. Not that far really. It could actually go below that.

Three things have to happen for the solar energy promise to become a reality and for homeowners and entrepreneurs to decide in large numbers to use solar panels to create electricity:

1. The price of the panels will have to decrease. 2. The panels will have to improve and produce more energy. 3. The cost of energy will have to increase.

Actually just one of these factors can happen to a great degree and the other two stay constant and the point will be reached where the solar energy industry will explode. But more than likely, all three will come closer together and at some point people will decide to start buying the panels in record numbers and we will see this way of creating energy from a clean and renewable source be common place.

Here is why I think the time is very near for this explosion to happen.

1. There is a bill in the state legislature in California now that will spend on rebates for solar energy. The governor wants to show that he is in the front of this movement and wants to be aggressive. Some don't like the way the bill is written, but there is a good chance it will pass. Click here for the article

2. The panels are becoming more and more efficient at producing more energy.

3. The price may go down dramatically if contracts with China to produce the panels are put into place. Normally I don't like our jobs going oversees to people who only get fractions of what the US worker makes but in this instance it will also create many jobs here to install the panels, sell them, warehouse them etc... Plus this is something the country needs I feel. Clean, renewable energy that makes us less reliable on foreign oil and gases.

Also, some companies are producing these new generation flexible solar energy panels that come in sheets and can be rolled up and then out onto surfaces. These may bring the cost way down and make the instalation much more easy and cost efficiant. Here is an article about this new product: Click Here

At what point will these three variables merge?

I predict in the next two to three years this industry will take off like so many of us were hoping it would many years ago.

If you want to know how to install a solar electric panel system to your house here is a inexpensive e-book that shows you how. Click Here People can act now, and many already are by buying and installing these solar panels. With the war on terror looking like it could last decades many look upon this investment as not only a clean green solution and a smart investment on increasing the value of their home, but as almost a patriotic gesture in a way to free us from the dependence on middle eastern oil and natural gas. Here is a link to a terrific site where you can get these panels at wholesale prices. This site has all sorts of renewable energy sources at great prices.

Altenenergystore.com
About the Author:
Tim Phelan is a full time internet marketer who has been self emloyed for the last 12 years. Real estate, the environment, art, world culture, politics are some of his other interests. Please visit this site: click here Email address Click Here timphelansblog.com

I have just heard a very stupid new political stupidity of the Bush administration:

When faced with a dramatic increase in the amount of proposed solar power plants, the federal government has placed a moratorium on new solar projects on public land until it studies their environmental impact (?!), which is expected to take about two years.

The Bureau of Land Management says "an extensive environmental study is needed to determine how large solar plants might affect millions of acres it oversees in six Western states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah".

This decision will definately freeze new solar proposals. That has caused widespread concern in the alternative-energy industry, as fledgling solar companies must wait to see if they can realize their hopes of harnessing power from tons of sun-coocked public land, just as the demand for viable alternative energy is accelerating.

That terrible news, exemplify the way the US government lagging far behind the rest of the western world in advancing new alternative energy projects. This illogical two-year moratorium underscores how environmental progress under this administration has not been just a story of benign neglect but rather significant and widespread destructi

The strange request to study the "environmental impact" of solar panels is a complete stupid argument. No one in the administration seems to be concerned about "the impact of construction and transmission lines on native vegetation and wildlife" when it comes to the enormous border fence spanning the sunniest parts of the country...

As a whole, we must change this attitude, before the increase in fossil fuels uses, will left now vegetation or wildlife to be concerned about.

Solar Panels

by: John Smith

If you’re looking for a way to conserve electricity, renewable energy may be the answer. Renewable, or solar energy, uses the sun’s light, along with wind and even certain molecules in plants and animals in order to power cars, turn on lights, and keep appliances working.
Heat is produced whenever the sun touches something, and solar energy can be used to power almost anything. Natural gas, oil, and coal are all byproducts of solar energy, since the plants and animals used to create these natural resources receive their energy from the sun. However, since coal, oil, and gas are resources that can be depleted from the earth, they should be conserved as much as possible, which is why scientists and environmentalists are conducing progressive research on ways to use renewable energy in every day life. This way, solar energy can be used more often.
Powering everything with solar energy isn’t possible just yet, since a way to capture enough sunlight to power everything in a home or business hasn’t been discovered. So, many people use solar panels, which can be placed on a side of a roof to attract sunlight during the day that can be used to heat rooms and water. Solar panels can be purchased at a number of retail stores now, as well as online. Panels do a great job of helping families and businesses to conserve energy. Hopefully, solar panels will become a part of daily life, in order to prevent the disappearance of natural resources and to maintain energy conservation

About The Author
John Smith
Visit http://www.solar-panels.cc for more information about solar panels and renewable energy.