mercredi 3 juin 2015

Property Owners Will Be Resorting To Solar Power For Economical Reasons

By Albert Cranton


There are two categories of the ways sun power is used. One is passive and incorporates construction techniques using materials with thermal mass and light dispersing components Interiors are designed for natural air circulation. The active methods of using solar energy are different.



The homeowner with photovoltaic panels on the roof will also have to be connected to a grid. It will enable him to get electricity from another source, such as a local electric utility in the area.

Photovoltaic panels and their installation were once too expensive for the average homeowner to buy. The decrease in cost is due to its popularity increasing production. Now the initial investment is worth the cost. The panels are functional for more than two decades once they are installed.

Some homeowners will be eligible for government subsidies. They can receive a cash rebate or a deduction on their income taxes. The panels will be financially beneficial with or without the subsidies.

About fifty percent of light and heat emanating from the sun reaches the surface of planet Earth. Of the 174,000 terawatts of incoming radiation, thirty percent is reflected back into space. Clouds, oceans and ground absorb the rest. This absorption serves to raise temperatures.

The individual responsible for building the first sun powered engine was a well-known US Senator, Frank Shuman. It collected the radiation from the sun in small boxes of ether. This was sufficient to power a steam engine.

Together with a British physicist, Sir Charles Vernon Boys, Shuman developed an advanced system using mirrors. They built the original thermal power station in 1913. Development of solar power was curtailed when cheap oil was discovered in the early 1930s.

The schoolchildren of today are the homeowners, scientists and consumers of tomorrow. Getting them excited about possible uses for the suns power is a good idea. Do they ever ask how those big orange signs along the freeway system light up without being plugged in. Tell them about the solar panels on top of each sign.

Tell them how there are photovoltaic panels mounted on top of these signs. Explain that is the reason they do not need to be plugged in to light up. The cars that run on solar power are bound to capture their interest. Someday these kids will be inventing new designs for alternative energy utilization.

Kids should be excited to hear about the World Solar Challenge, a race held in Australia. This race only allows the use of cars that run on energy from the sun. In Sydney, Australia there is a passenger ferry in Sydney Harbour called the Solar Sailor. It has the capability to run on solar energy, wind, battery power or diesel fuel.

There are so many inventions and so much research into the use of sun power. It is an exciting time. Who knows, some kid might enter a sun powered robot in the next science fair, or possibly has already done so.




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