DIY Solar Power - solar power and energy

Before, solar power or solar cell panels are only available in commercial areas and hardware stores. Nowadays, more and more people are trying DIY or do it yourself kits. You can expect to have your own setup in just one day, provided that you have an easy kit to start with. Solar power can be achieved right in your very own home, without the help of a professional. Make sure you follow the instructional guide carefully for the best results.

Building Your Own Solar Power Generator

You can use parts that are available on the internet or your local store. You can create a tiny solar power generator with a budget of only $200 to $300. This is ideal for power failures and life outside the power grid. The setup can also effectively power the modem, television, DC appliances, computer, cameras and lights. You can use this in cabins, archaeological digs, tents and camping trips. This is the ideal setup for people who travel to undeveloped regions and countries.

Initial Steps

First of all, you need to make or buy yourself a tiny solar panel. You can get a device rated at 12 volts or higher for only $100 at a marine supply store or RV store. Next, purchase a battery. Experts recommend that you get rechargeable batteries from available green companies. Get any size of deep cycle 12 volt lead/acid or gel battery. You will need the deep cycle battery for nonstop use. The type in the car is a cranking battery, which is good for starting engines. You may also want to look for bargains and other good deals that will cost only around $50 to $60.

Next Steps

Take a battery box where you will put the generator in. The box may only cost around $10. It is ideal for covering the exposed terminals just in case you have kids inside the house. If you want to install the system in a cabin, pump shed or boat, you can skip this step. Purchase a 12 volt DC meter. This will cost you around $25. Purchase a DC input. The triple inlet model is recommended. You can purchase this for only $10 at a car parts store. The device will be good for powering DC appliances like lights, hair dryers and vacuum cleaners.

If you intend to power AC appliances, you will need an inverter. The inverter converts the stored DC power in the battery right into AC power for majority of household appliances. Measure the watts that you will need. Cheap inverters of various sizes can be purchased online too. Use a drill to attach the meter and DC input to the top region of the box.

Charging

Next, use insulated wire to connect the meter to the wingnut terminals found on the battery. Link the negative pole initially. Only handle a single wire at a time. Link the DC inlet straight to the battery in a similar fashion. Link the solar panel to the battery the same way. Shut the lid using a bungee cord to keep everything tight. Position the solar panel under the sun. It will take 5 to 8 hours to charge dead batteries. You can power different devices like fans, lights and radios.

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Advanced Vehicles - Solar Power

When we think of advanced vehicles it reminds us of speed that a vehicle has and all the newer vehicles that are coming out with all the modern gadgets and gizmos.  Every time we turn the ignition on our vehicle we are sending a bad sign out into the world and the atmosphere.  Scientist have worked rather hard at coming up with a way that our cars can be safe for our planet.  So how is that done?

Advanced fuel systems include energy storage which is the batteries that help power it instead of the fuels, power electronics, thermal comfort and systems analysis.  These fuel systems are constantly being studied and have made outstanding research and development topics.  The main focus on the fuel systems in advanced vehicles is to find an alternative fuel in order to cut down on pollution and to restore our economy.  We cannot continue buying fuels forever.  We need an alternative to fuel.  Sometime in the future, fuel will no longer be available for us to use.  Advanced vehicles are designed to make it more efficient to run at top speeds. Convenience is another advantage to the advanced vehicles.

They plug in and charge instead of running out of fuel and refilling the tank. Running these cars may not break any records but it can help tremendously knowing that they are running clean.  Ultracapacitors are designed to provide additional power to accelerate for climbing hills.  Vehicle power electronics controls the amount of electricity through the devices.  This may be the ignition, DC to DC converters, inverters, and motor controllers.

Vehicle Thermal comfort is how you control your temperature inside the car. You may have to roll the windows down or put them up.  Turn the heat on or the air conditioning on.  No matter what you have to do this is thermal comfort. The main goal for such an invention is to come up with a vehicle that can get us where we need to go in the amount of time that we allow ourselves.  In the fast paced world that we live in today, it is hard to find someone who has the time to spend waiting on their vehicles to get repaired or refueled.  That is because we need that vehicle to be up and running when we need it the most.  Scientist are studying the car factor and what it will do for us in the future and what it has done for us in the past.  As they strive to gather more information they can better the way the advanced vehicles have made it through.

Advanced vehicles are on the go and will one day be the car that we decide to buy because that may be our only choice in the future.  When the fuels run dry we will no longer be able to drive what we currently have now. Though these vehicles do allow some restriction, that will no longer be as we progress into the future and all the bugs will be worked out.

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What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Green Energy Sources?

Today, we are now aware of the effects of global warming. Fortunately, it’s not too late and we can still change which is why many are pushing for green energy sources.

The advantage of using green energy sources is that it is clean so it does not emit anything harmful into the air which has an impact on the environment. It is also renewable which means we will never run out of it unlike oil which is expected to dry up in a decade or so.

Although green energy facilities are expensive to build, it requires less maintenance so you don’t have to shell out a lot of money to operate it.

It can also bring economic benefits to certain areas even boost tourism.

While these sound good, there are some who say that there are advantages to using such technology.

While green energy sources can produce electricity, how much it can generate is not consistent. This is because we have no control of the weather so if a certain area relies on solar energy and there is a weather disturbance, it will not be able to convert sunlight into electricity.

Building these facilities also requires a lot of land so we may have to cut on farmland which is what many are concerned about if more wind turbines are to be put up.

Another disadvantage is the fact that some of the green energy sources cannot be installed in certain areas of the planet. For instance, wave energy can only be utilized if the waves coming from the ocean reach at least 16 feet. The use geothermal energy can only be done in geologically unstable parts of the planet.

But if you look at such arguments, places that cannot use one form of green energy source can be substituted for another. If wind turbines need more space, they can be installed near the coast instead of putting these on land. A study shows that you can generate more electricity while these are in the ocean.

While the weather is something we cannot control, it is not everyday that there is a weather disturbance so this too shall pass. If solar energy is being used and the sun is covered, the emergency generators will be activated and use up the energy that was stored.

The point is that there are ways around the arguments put by certain individuals which discourage the use of green energy sources. In fact, research is ongoing to try and harness other means to generate the power we need.

A very good example of this is called ocean thermal energy. Power is generated by harnessing the different temperatures in the water. It is currently being used on a small scale both in Japan and Hawaii.

In the US, only 7% of green energy sources are used nationally. This was much higher 11 years ago and if we don’t have to worry about the cost of oil or even reduce our dependency on it, we have to invest more in this clean energy.

We can get it from green energy sources such as biomass, biodiesel, geothermal, solar, water and the wind. These are things we have all around us and all it takes is for someone to harness it instead of relying on traditional non-renewable means to produce energy.

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