Okay, maybe you don't watch Grey's Anatomy but maybe your wife or girlfriend does.
So you may recognize Patrick Dempsey (aka McDreamy) endorsing the solar energy solution and Trina Solar as a manufacturer of PV panels in the videos below.
What's McDreamy Doing in This Picture? Or How Patrick Dempsey Endorses Solar Energy and Trina Solar PV Manufacturer - Video
Okay, maybe you don't watch Grey's Anatomy but maybe your wife or girlfriend does.
So you may recognize Patrick Dempsey (aka McDreamy) endorsing the solar energy solution and Trina Solar as a manufacturer of PV panels in the videos below.
Where Are The Largest Solar Farms in Europe
Well, does it even make sense to create a top of the largest solar farms in Europe?
Edison vs Tesla - Who's Your Favorite? - Video
While Tesla seems to have been a less understood genius, Thomas Edison was a brilliant inventor and a shrewd business person.
In order to protect his business, based on light bulbs and DC revamping units, Edison tried to mislead the world telling that AC (alternating current) was dangerous.
All this while the advantages of AC current were obvious, particularly its property to be transported long distances without loosing it's power. That's the very reason why on each solar farm it's important to convert the DC (generated by the PV modules) to AC before sending the current into the grid.
In other words, the shorter the distance DC travels until it reaches an inverter, the better. Edison would have built a chain power plants to deliver DC current to consumers but that just wasn't feasible. He eventually recognized the value of AC.
Different Ways to Invest in Green Energy that Your Probably Didn't Think About
A few years ago I was talking with a Dutch entrepreneur who owns a CNC milling factory in Romania. He was manufacturing small pieces for the aeronautical industry. And here's what he said:
Pay attention to the green energy industry. In the future, you don't necessarily need to be a big player to make money.
You can manufacture or distribute any piece that goes into a wind turbine or a solar panel (cables included). It doesn't matter how small or simple it may be.
Consider the electrical gear that is used both in solar and wind energy industries - inverters (and pieces that go inside them), data cables, connectors - and you've got yourself a large spectrum to choose from.
World's Largest Solar Farm Is in India
The world's largest solar farm is located in India: Charanka Solar Park - Kutch, Gujarat.
Check out the map location here.
Will Solar Stocks Make You Money? - Video
If you're looking to invest in solar stocks, here's a quick summary on the health of the market in it's current state - 2012.
By watching the Bloomberg video below you can tell a few things:
1. This is a market powered by govermnet subidies on both sides: supply and demand.
The manufacturers get money from the governments where their production facilities are located - China to be more specific. And demand (households and investors) gets money from their governments as an incentive to install solar panels.
Free Energy and Perpetual Motion - Is It Even Possible? - Video
The concepts of perpetual motion and free energy has been fascinating mankind since the beginning of time. And they still do. I know I'm interested. :-)
If you look online for answers, you'll find a school of thought (individuals mostly) who say it's possible to achieve perpetual motion. And some have made their own contraptions which seem to work.
Then there's the other crowd (who seem to know a lot more about physics) and they say this will never be possible due to certain physics laws.
How Solar Panels Are Made - Video
Here are two videos explaining how solar PV panels are made. One video is produced by Trina Solar and one by Discovery (How It's Made Series).
The main raw material is silicon and, according to some independent engineers, the price of solar panels is still too high considering what they're made of.
Wikipedia fact: Silicon is the eighth most common element in the universe by mass, but very rarely occurs as the pure free element in nature.
What Are The Sunniest Places Suitable for Your Next Solar Energy Investment - Solar Radiation Map
Before investing in a large solar farm, you may wanna learn whether the site benefits of enough insolation.
In Europe, Germany is the leading country for the use of solar panels, even though according to this solar radiation map (see above), it's not particularly a sunny country. But the Germans are making the best of of everything, aren't they?
What's The Difference Between PV Panels and Solar Panels?
While most of us use these terms interchangeably, some may say that...
- Solar panels refer to solar water heating systems.
- And PV panels or photo voltaic panels (or electric solar panels) are those that produce electric energy.
How a Home Solar System Works - Video
If you've been thinking about installing you own solar panels on your house, you've probably been wondering how a home solar system works.
The simplest systems work like this:
- All the electric energy that your photo voltaic panels produce goes through an inverter that transforms the DC (direct current) into AC (alternating current) and from there it goes out into the national grid. A meter tells you how much energy you send into the grid.
- You consume the energy necessary to power your home from the national grid. Your consumption meter tells you how many KW/h you use.
- At the end of each month (or quarter) a calculation is made between the amount of energy you spent and the amount of energy you produced.
Thus you know whether you either get money from your electrical company or you have to pay them. And even if you pay them, you pay less than you paid before installing your solar panels array.
Why Your Government Is Giving You Money To Install Solar Panels on Your House
If you live in the western world, you may have heard about the fact that your government is giving grants for mounting solar panels on your house.
What's western world? you may ask. Well, since I've only been to Europe, I'll mention Germany, Netherlands and Belgium. But of course, the rest of the countries have their own programs as well.
If you live in North America, you should check out more info with your authorities to learn whether they're giving out solar panels grants or not.
How To Store Solar Energy - A Theoretical Concept - Infographic
Right click and open image in new tab for full resolution view.
Here is a an idea on how you can presumably store solar energy if you're looking to live off the grid.
The concept is simple and consists of a daytime storing cycle and consumption during the night:
- In daytime light, the photo voltaic panels power a water pump which pushes water from the lower tank into the higher tank.
- To power the house at night, you simply let the water fall down into the lower tank again. The water spins a turbine which produces electricity.
