Solar Panel Cleaning

Solar Panels Installing a Photovoltaic (PV) system represents a huge investment, but one that many feel is worth the price both financially and environmentally: PV systems convert sunlight into electricity without producing air pollution or hazardous wastes. In a typical year, fossil fuel plants produce 2.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide, as million tons of sulfur dioxide, and 7 million tons of...

Introduction to Artificial Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is the conversion of sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water into usable fuel and it is typically discussed in relation to plants where the fuel is carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Using only 3 percent of the sunlight that reaches the planet, plants collectively perform massive energy conversions, converting just over 1,100 billion tons of CO2 into food sources for animals every...

Solar Energy at Night

The energy emanating from the sun can be converted into electricity by using: Photovoltaic Cells where semiconductor materials absorb photons and releases electrons, or Solar-Thermal Turbines that generate steam from the sun’s heat, spinning a turbine to produce electricity. Since cloudy days and nighttime limit the practical conversion time of the sun’s energy, traditional applications of...

Gasification – Clean Coal and Other Fuels

Gasification involves a set of chemical reactions that convert carbon-containing feedstock into synthetic gas. It uses only a small amount of oxygen which when combined with steam and put under intense pressure produces a gaseous mix of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. This synthetic gas can be burned directly or used to start the development of fertilizer, pure hydrogen, methane, or liquid...

Programmable Controllable Thermostats (PCT)

Programmable Controllable Thermostats (PCT), typically key elements to any energy efficiency initiatives, allow customers to save energy and money by offering programmed settings to regulate temperature, be it winter or summer, day or night. Studies indicate that the average annual energy bill for a typical household totals $2,200, half of which goes to heating and cooling the premises. Properly...

Energy Storage in the Electric Grid

Today's Electric Grid Massive blackouts are fortunately few and far between but when they occur their impact is devastating. The 2003 Northeast U.S.blackout ended up costing the region an estimated $6 billion. How does such an event occur? This event was not the result of a natural disaster, nor a sinister terrorist plot to undermine the U.S. Rather, like many other similar events, it was a...

An Introduction to Hydropower

According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), hydropower plants produce 24 percent of the world’s electricity, supplying 1 billion people with power totalling 675,000 MW or the equivalenct of 3.6 billion barrells of oil. Hydroelectric plants include 2,000 plants in the U.S. and it represents one of the oldest and the most pragmatic alternative energy sources in the world. The...

Solar Panels – The Asphalt of the 21st Century?

With the increased focus on renewable energy, solar panels, which are more formally referred to as photovoltaic cells, are becoming more widespread in: Roofs of homes, reducing the amount and cost of purchased electricity, Roofs of hybrid cars, powering its air conditioner and thus placing less drag on the gasoline-powered engine, and Calculators and small electronic devices. There are thoughts...

Hybrid Cars and Solar Power

Hybrid electric cars try to save energy and reduce emissions wherever  possible while the car is running. Fuel efficiency is achieved when a vehicle is stopped, decelerating, or moving slowly in traffic because the gasoline engine switches off and an electric motor (which creates little or no emissions) switches on. The gasoline engine reengages only as the driver requires more power to reach...

Net Metering – A Developing Concept

What is Net Metering The prospect of dwindling energy resources and increased attention to environmental stewardship have expanded the role consumers can play in improving energy efficiency. Certainly the installation of solar panels on roofs and turning off of lights and appliances when not in use contribute to these initiatives. Despite these best of intentions, the problem of unused (i.e....