Coz that creates an electromagnetic field which can attract lightning bolts. And we wanna avoid that, don't we?
Showing posts with label solar panels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label solar panels. Show all posts
How To Avoid Lightning Bolts on Your Solar Farm - Connecting Solar Panels and DC Cables The Right Way
Coz that creates an electromagnetic field which can attract lightning bolts. And we wanna avoid that, don't we?
Why Solar Cells Are More or Less Like Batteries and How To Connect The Cells
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If you want to build your own solar panel, consider the solar cells as being batteries, stacked on top of each other.
But of course, you cannot stack the cells. Doing that means only the first cell will get sunlight, thus the others won't produce electricity.
How To Charge Your Phone with a Portable Solar Panel - Video
Yeah, photovoltaic panels can power your off-the-grid home. But they're not limited to that.
You can now carry a small and light a portable solar panel to charge your gadgets (iPhone, iPod, trekking GPS, camera, etc.) while on the go.
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?
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.
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
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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.
