Archive for the ‘Benefits of Solar Energy’ Category
April 3rd, 2010 | 
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I am writing a research essay about the cost/benefits of solar energy. Any Thoughts how i can arrange this? what to include? thanks
Maybe you could run with the fact that our entire planet runs on solar energy already – it provides us heat and light, grows our crops with photosynthesis, causes evaporation, clouds and rain and is therefore also responsible for giving us water. It even gave us oil, coal and gas because the dinosaurs wouldn’t have been here and the ancient trees wouldn’t have grown if the sun wasn’t bright! So there’s a few benefits. Now for the costs ….
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The major benefit of solar energy is its low:
1. cost
2. pollution
3. maintenance
4. complexity
pollution
I’m writing a paper on the benefits of wind and solar energy, in both an economic and social context. Though I appreciate your personal opinion on its benefits, I would REALLY appreciate some possible sources to give me a start on the paper. Please keep in mind that I am not looking for a political discussion or opinions, this is for a graduate-level paper and I am to only write about the benefits of wind and solar energy – so sharing your personal beliefs about the negative effects of alternative energy does not interest me or anyone else and they will be ignored.
Thanks!
American Solar Energy Society has a lot of fantastic information on solar. www.ases.org
A fantastic example of use of solar versus conventional
http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/research/buildings/zero_energy/lakeland/index.htm
www.solarhome.org
http://www.mtpc.org/cleanenergy/solar_info/benefit.htm
Delight in!
Q#1
The source of fuel for fission reactors is?
A, hydrogen
B, uranium-235
C, fossil fuel
D, water
Q#2
The major cause of air pollution is?
A, industrial waste
B, sewage and pesticides
C, car exhaust
D, radioactive waste
Q#3
The major benefit of solar energy is its low?
A, cost
B, pollution
C, maintenance
D, complexity
Q#4
Most of the pollution in the ocean comes from?
A, automobiles
B, industrial waste
C, carbon dioxide
D, acid rain
Q#5
The biosphere?
A, ends at sea level
B, does not include the atmosphere
C, extends deep below the surface of the earth
D, reaches thousands of feet above the earth
Q1=B
Q2=C
Q3=B
Q4=B
Q5=D
Im doing this project on solar power. i need a small help figuring out what some consequences of solar energy. i didn’t reckon there were any. and if you could throw in some benefits of it too that’d be fantastic. thank you 
Hey Hannah, let me see if I can help. If you invest properly in solar power today and take advantage of any grants and tax incentives, even if your electric rates do not go up as they are forecast too, you will get your money back over time, well within the lifetime of the equipment, and sooner if there is a rate increase in the future. There are also enviromental benefits. At one time there was an argument that a solar panel will never produce as much power as was used to manufacture it. First of all, this is not right. The, "Embodied Energy," in a solar panel is earned back in 2 – 6 years, depending on the type panel, where the raw materials were shipped from, and how it was installed and used in the end. Most panels are warrantied to last at least 25 years, and most last much longer than that. But the argument is not vital anyway. We have been living with electricity for over a century now, so it isn’t going away anytime soon. The question is, "What is the best way to produce it?" If you build a panel, and place it along side a similar sized natural gas fired turbine generator for example, which earns back its embodied energy sooner? The answer is the gas turbine never does, because once you build it, ship it and install it, you now have to feed it natural gas for the rest of its life, so it keeps on digging itself a deeper and deeper embodied energy hole that it can never crawl out of. At least the panel has a chance to get even environmentally. So manufacturing and using solar panels in the end releases less pollution into our environment.
There are also mechanical and political benefits. We all know after the oil embargo of 1973, and the gulf war what it means for our country to rely on foreign oil. Wouldn’t it be nice if we only shipped in 20% of our energy instead of 60% the next time something like that happens? Our home has been powered by the wind and sun for years now, but we still remain connected to the electric grid. Last year alone there were two power failures in our county that lasted about a half day each. In both cases, we were not aware of them because our solar array kept on feeding the house. It’s hard to place a price tag on something like that. Did you know that there are over 100,000 homes and businesses in the United States alone that use some level of solar power to operate their electrical devices, that’s excellent news.
Beyond the mechanical, political and environmental benefits but, lies a less obvious benefit, the social benefit. Right now we pump oil out of the ground, and mine for coal. The process of getting those materials to market involves shipping, military escorts and other activities that use up a excellent part of that energy as well as putting lives at risk. Jobs in solar power are higher tech than jobs in coal mining, oil drilling and shipping, and there are more of them. Using more solar power would require us to place more people to work, and increase our education base because the work involved requires certain skills. I would personally like to take all those people out of the coal mines, send them to school and place them to work building solar panels. Nobody would have to die again in one of those dark holes in the ground trying to find food for our hungry power plants. They could work on a factory floor where they would not be exposed to coal dust, radon and other toxins and dangers. Most of our solar and wind resources are spread pretty evenly over the middle half of our globe, so everyone has access. This puts people in Bogota on a more equal footing with people in Boca Raton by giving them access to electricity, heat and clean water, and the education to use the solar resources that provide those things. Oil, coal and natural gas is generally piled up in a few places, such as Russia and the Middle East. This gives those countries and the richer governments that rule them more horse power in bargaining for the other resources of our planet. These are the things that wars are made of.
There are other reasons, but I reckon you get the picture. For us, renewable energy has become something of a leisure activity It will probably never save us any real money, utility power in most places is really very inexpensive, but it’s a small like growing your own tomatoes. It’s usually cheaper to buy them at the grocery, but lots of people go to the work and expense to maintain a garden instead. We just grow electrons in ours. If you really want to learn more about the subject, there are some fantastic sources to look into, I will list some below. Excellent luck, and take care, Rudydoo
Hi if anyone was is a solar expert of some sort, can you please help me and answer my interview questions? Its for a project and I need to interview someone with some sort of general knowledge of Solar power and technology
My Questions are:
Q1. What is it like working and putting together Solar equipment for people who are starting to go “green” and looking to save some money?
Q2.What are some of the benefits when working with a Solar company?
Q3.Are there any dangers when working with Solar equipment?
Q4. Do you reckon most of America will switch from Grid-tied energy and go to more eco-friendly solar power by the next decade?
Q5. What are your thoughts on solar energy and the effect it has on global warming?
Q6. Do you currently own any solar equipment of your own?
Q7. How often do you go out and set up solar equipment for other customers?
Q8. Do you like working with a solar company? What do you like about it?
Q9. How much money does solar power save you?
Q10. What are other benefits can you gain from using solar energy?
Answer as many as you can. Thanks!!!!
use google or wikipedia
Hi if anyone was is a solar expert of some sort, can you please help me and answer my interview questions? Its for a project and I need to interview someone with some sort of general knowledge of Solar power and technology
My Questions are:
Q1. What is it like working and putting together Solar equipment for people who are starting to go “green” and looking to save some money?
Q2.What are some of the benefits when working with a Solar company?
Q3.Are there any dangers when working with Solar equipment?
Q4. Do you reckon most of America will switch from Grid-tied energy and go to more eco-friendly solar power by the next decade?
Q5. What are your thoughts on solar energy and the effect it has on global warming?
Q6. Do you currently own any solar equipment of your own?
Q7. How often do you go out and set up solar equipment for other customers?
Q8. Do you like working with a solar company? What do you like about it?
Q9. How much money does solar power save you?
Q10. What are other benefits can you gain from using solar energy?
I’m not what you’re looking for, but maybe I can help a small? I’m doing a physics Masters in cadmium telluride solar cells. I work with a group of research scientists.
Q1: I don’t make panels for people. We build small ones in labs using different techniques and then test them to try and work out how to make them more efficient, so companies can help people ‘go green’ more cheaply later on :p the physics is very fascinating & challenging though.
Q2: I work in a university, so I’m still a student. That’s fun!
Q3: Most solar equipment has very small danger, but we work with cadmium telluride, which is toxic. We have stringent safety procedures, although we only use tiny amounts (15g of the stuff coats about a square metre – the solar panels are very thin, about 5-thousandths of a millimetre).
Q4: No. It will take several decades; but I’m convinced that during the next decade some techs will become cost competitive in the US. We need to develop alternatives; porphyrin dye solar cells, copper-zinc-tin-sulphur cells or organics before we can provide countries worth of power.
Q5: It’s clean and can produce huge amounts of power without taking up much land like wind power does. You still need backup or energy storage, but it’s going to be very sensible in sunny places. I’ve calculated the heat flow changes and solar panels reduce global warming.
Q6: I have a solar charger for my phone and battery equipment that I was given as a gift & I use on camping etc. I wouldn’t buy any for a few years yet though: I live in northern England!
Q7: I don’t set it up for other people. I test cells pretty much every week though. With some periods of programming & writing in between.
Q8: I like being a student and researching something that other people haven’t done yet. The challenge of the unknown is fantastic.
Q9: Zero, right now :p
Q10: Right now it’s too expensive, but in future it will be cheaper than grid power, and cleaner. Less air pollution = better health. Less global warming and insulation from price shocks when petrol and gas prices shoot up.
http://www.energybulletin.net/node/9657
From the article:
Carter faced a crisis from a combination of economic problems, failed policies of his predecessors and, finally, an Iranian revolution that cut access to some Middle Eastern oil.
Carter met the problems by starting sweeping oil-reduction reforms, including creation of the Cabinet-level Department of Energy.
He started spending millions of dollars researching alternative sources for electrical power, including solar power. He got utilities to cut their use of oil for electricity and ramp up their use of natural gas or coal.
"Up until Carter, we were getting about 20 percent of our electricity from oil generation," said Jay Hakes, director of the Energy Information Administration under Carter and an authority on modern presidents and oil. "And post-Carter, it went down to about 3 percent."
Carter insisted that U.S. automakers build more fuel-efficient cars, with a goal of 27.5 miles per gallon over the following decade – a requirement passed under Gerald Ford but place into force by Carter.
He offered incentives for getting oil from shale, making a boom initially in the Rockies – and a bust when it failed to be cost-effective. He offered deductions for using solar water heaters in homes and commercial buildings.
"People in the upper-income bracket were always looking for tax cuts. They were going to build a house anyhow, so they were saying, ‘Well let’s look at this solar stuff and see what we can do,’ " said Marc Giaccardo, a professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio who at the time was an Albuquerque architect.
Carter even had solar collectors installed on the White House grounds to heat the executive residence’s water.
Then Carter lost re-election to Ronald Reagan in 1980. The so lar panels at the White House eventually came down – and Reagan and his aides gutted the solar research program.
"In June or July of 1981, on the bleakest day of my professional life, they descended on the Solar Energy Research Institute, fired about half of our staff and all of our contractors, including two people who went on to win Nobel prizes in other fields, and reduced our $130 million budget by $100 million," recalls Denis Hayes, the founder of Earth Day, who had been hired by Carter to spearhead the solar initiative.
Reagan and Congress stopped aggressively pushing new auto efficiency standards, acceding to Detroit’s desire to leave them at Carter-era levels. They let the solar tax benefit expire, and the nascent solar industry went belly- up.
It was time to let the markets work their magic and stop all this government tinkering, Reagan and conservatives said.
AND LOOK WHERE WE ARE NOW WITH ALL THIS ‘WORKING IT’S MAGIC’ BS?’
2 minutes ago
Following His Word:
I just fell over myself trying to block you.
Your logic sucks.
Only people who did not know the magnitude of his presidency, can say he was a fool. Carter was the most honest President US ever had and yet he was able to accomplish progress for the country. He was the only US president who made major strides in Palestinian-Israeli relationship, Camp David agreement. It was immediately ruined by Reagan. Carter was working towards piece and prosperity for all, while facing incredible domestic opposition and screwed up economy.
How can solar energy be used for heating?
What are the advantages of using lenses or mirrors in systems that collect solar energy?
In which area or region (polar or equatorial region) can benefit most from the application of solar energy? Why?
Measuring solar power.
How can you measure the local power output from the nearest continuous running fusion reactor, the sun?
You are plotting to install 15 sq. meters of solar cell on your roof. How much power will you expect them to produce?
Relating color and radiation absorption
What color absorbs infra red radiation best?
If you wanted the roof of your house to absorb the sun’s radiation to help heat your house, would you buy black or white shingles?
What color shingles would you buy if you lived in a climate that was always sunny and warm?
Reflections
How does the angle at which light strikes a minor compare with the angle at which the same light is reflected?
How can solar energy be used for heating?
Water can be pumped through solar panels that collect heat energy from the sun. Often these are mounted directly on the roof of homes at an angle approximately equal to the latitude. It is pointed South in the Northern hemisphere and North in the Southern hemisphere.
What are the advantages of using lenses or mirrors in systems that collect solar energy?
By focusing the light you can increase the temperature of the water. The water can be used with less water pumped and it can even get hot enough to generate electricity through a steam generator.
In which area or region (polar or equatorial region) can benefit most from the application of solar energy? Why?
Equatorial regions benefit most, because a smaller surface area is required to collect equivalent energy. A smaller surface energy means less cost.
Measuring solar power.
How can you measure the local power output from the nearest continuous running fusion reactor, the sun?
Voltage output from a PV cell on a clear day.
You are plotting to install 15 sq. meters of solar cell on your roof. How much power will you expect them to produce?
10 sq ft can produce about 125 watts
15 sq ft is about 188 watts.
But on cloudy days and at Northern latitudes and Winter it will be less.
The most efficient solar panels PV are about 15% of the light energy. It works more efficiently on sunny days, and will not generate power at night.
Relating color and radiation absorption
What color absorbs infra red radiation best?
Black.
If you wanted the roof of your house to absorb the sun’s radiation to help heat your house, would you buy black or white shingles?
Black
What color shingles would you buy if you lived in a climate that was always sunny and warm?
White to reflect the unwanted heat.
Reflections
How does the angle at which light strikes a mirror compare with the angle at which the same light is reflected?
The reflection of light on a mirror is the same angle relative to the surface of the mirror (in the opposite direction of course).
Such as in Building according to Leed standards and being able to reap the benefits of Installing Solar Panels and Geothemal Energy and Low flow toilets, and stuff along those lines.
Well cosidering that the average person will not take action unless that action is "simple" and "cheap".
So.. you need to present them with a way to do their part which will not cost a huge investment or will take huge sacrifices.
Adam