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Here is an amazing source of energy that is in front of our faces every day – the “Sun”. And yet we’re still constantly searching for other options. On the first day of God’s creation, he already created the light (genesis 1:3). The Sun naturally warms the Earth with its rays and keeps the planet alive. This energy that is coming from the Sun can be harnessed and used as a method of reducing our dependence on foreign oil and other energy issues. Solar energy is an untapped energy that is sadly under used.

The Sun has the power to provide us with the means to eliminate our energy and resource issues for good. Scientists are constantly working on finding a source of renewable energy for the earth to reduce pollution and dependence on foreign oil, amazingly the Sun is simply over looked as an option. We cannot continue to let the opportunity for cleaner energy that the Sun provides to pass us by. The number of reasons to use solar energy is enormous.
Here are some interesting facts about Solar Energy:

#1: Solar energy is quite a clean energy source.

Solar energy can reduce pollution quite dramatically by reducing emissions into the atmosphere. Reducing emissions will slow global warming significantly and might just conserve the Earth for future generations (think about your children’s children). At a minimum, the air we breathe would be cleaner.

#2: Solar energy is amazingly inexpensive.

Almost all homes, businesses, offices, and other buildings would save a tremendous amount of money on electricity if they converted to solar power. After the initial conversion the energy is FREE. The major expense is the initial set up itself. What could possibly be the reason not to convert considering that? Don’t you want to have FREE ELECTRICITY?

#3: Solar energy is a renewable energy.

The Sun will never run out of rays to send us simply because we are using too many of them; the Sun will keep sending rays to the Earth as long as it exists. It is safe to use the energy that the Sun sends our way. Energy that comes from the Sun’s rays is completely renewable. Solar Energy actually renews on its own!

One of the biggest concerns that people have about solar energy is that they will be without electricity on cloudy days and some areas have long months of cloud cover (not in the Philippines, We are blessed to have a long period of day time so make the most out of it). Clouds may block out some of the Sun’s rays, but they do not block them out completely; you will just collect less energy on these days. Solar energy is not used in real time; it is converted to electricity and stored in batteries so it can be used as needed. A back-up energy source is still recommended, but that would be more secure than the methods used today.

Solar energy is untapped energy and tapping into it could greatly benefit the Earth and its inhabitants. There are too many compelling reasons to use the Sun’s energy. It was given to us long before we exists, so why not use it?

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Here’s a simple diagram for solar power.
Parts needed:
1. Solar panels – This is where Sun energy converts to electricity
2. Solar charge controller – This is the heart & Soul of the system. It regulates / monitors the charging coming from the solar panel to the battery. This is to avoid over charging / discharging of the battery. At the same time, it provides other safety measures such as short circuit and reverse polarity cut off
3. DC-AC power inverter – This is an optional. If you need to power up 110v / 220V, this will beef up the voltage.
4. Deep cycled batteries – This is where your power bank will be. After sucking the juice from the panel, it goes directly to battery for storage bank (battery)

This is the most common question people ask.
Actually, there three things to consider when choosing a solar panel & battery combination:

First - – How much energy will your appliances use over a period of time?

The power consumption of appliances is given in Watts (eg 1 CFL bulb, 8W)
Calculate the energy you will use over time by multiplying the power consumption by the hours of use.

An 8W CFL bulb, on for 2 hours, will take 8w x 2hrs = 16 Watt-Hours from the battery.

Repeat this for all the appliances you wish to use, then add the results to establish total consumption.

Second - How much energy can a battery store?

Battery capacity is measured in Amp Hours (eg 7AH)
Convert this to Watt Hours by multiplying the AH figure by the battery voltage

For a 7AH, 12V battery the Watt Hours figure is 7x 12 = 84WH

This means the battery could supply 84W for 1 hour, or 42W for 2 hours
The more energy you take, the faster the battery discharges.

Third - How much energy can a solar panel generate over a period of time?

The power generation rating of a solar panel is also given in Watts (eg 20W) To calculate the energy it can supply to the battery, multiply Watts by the hours exposed to sunshine then multiply the result by 0.85 (factor to allow for normal system losses).

A 20W Solar panel in 4 hours of sunshine is 20 x 4 x 0.85 = 68WH

68Wh (Watt hours) is the amount of energy the solar panel can supply to the battery.

If you’d like some help or more information please just contact us
We are always pleased to help!

We often heard about solar energy or solar power, but what kind of energy exactly do we get from the sun?
Different technologies that have been developed to take advantage of solar energy.
Some of the common types use in the Philippines are:
Photovoltaic energy – This is the type wherein producing electricity directly from sunlight.
Photovoltaic (also called solar cell) convert sunlight directly into electricity. Solar cells are often used to power calculators and watches. They are made of semiconducting materials similar to those used in computer chips. When sunlight is absorbed by these materials, the solar energy knocks electrons loose from their atoms, allowing the electrons to flow through the material to produce electricity. This process of converting light (photons) to electricity (voltage) is called the photovoltaic (PV) effect.
Solar cells are typically combined into modules that hold about 40 cells; a number of these modules are mounted in PV arrays that can measure up to several meters on a side. These flat-plate PV arrays can be mounted at a fixed angle facing south, or they can be mounted on a tracking device that follows the sun, allowing them to capture the most sunlight over the course of a day. Several connected PV arrays can provide enough power for a household; for large electric utility or industrial applications, hundreds of arrays can be interconnected to form a single, large PV system.
Thin film solar cells use layers of semiconductor materials only a few micrometers thick. Thin film technology has made it possible for solar cells to now double as rooftop shingles, roof tiles, building facades, or the glazing for skylights or atria. The solar cell version of items such as shingles offer the same protection and durability as ordinary asphalt shingles.
Some solar cells are designed to operate with concentrated sunlight. These cells are built into concentrating collectors that use a lens to focus the sunlight onto the cells. This approach has both advantages and disadvantages compared with flat-plate PV arrays. The main idea is to use very little of the expensive semiconducting PV material while collecting as much sunlight as possible. But because the lenses must be pointed at the sun, the use of concentrating collectors is limited to the sunniest parts of the country. Some concentrating collectors are designed to be mounted on simple tracking devices, but most require sophisticated tracking devices, which further limit their use to electric utilities, industries, and large buildings.
The performance of a solar cell is measured in terms of its efficiency at turning sunlight into electricity. Only sunlight of certain energies will work efficiently to create electricity, and much of it is reflected or absorbed by the material that make up the cell. Because of this, a typical commercial solar cell has an efficiency of 15%-about one-sixth of the sunlight striking the cell generates electricity. Low efficiencies mean that larger arrays are needed, and that means higher cost. Improving solar cell efficiencies while holding down the cost per cell is an important goal of the PV industry, NREL researchers, and other U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) laboratories, and they have made significant progress.

Solar water heater – Heating water with solar energy
Most solar water heating systems for buildings have two main parts: a solar collector and a storage tank. The most common collector is called a flat-plate collector. Mounted on the roof, it consists of a thin, flat, rectangular box with a transparent cover that faces the sun. Small tubes run through the box and carry the fluid – either water or other fluid, such as an antifreeze solution – to be heated. The tubes are attached to an absorber plate, which is painted black to absorb the heat. As heat builds up in the collector, it heats the fluid passing through the tubes.
The storage tank then holds the hot liquid. It can be just a modified water heater, but it is usually larger and very well-insulated. Systems that use fluids other than water usually heat the water by passing it through a coil of tubing in the tank, which is full of hot fluid.
Solar water heating systems can be either active or passive, but the most common are active systems. Active systems rely on pumps to move the liquid between the collector and the storage tank, while passive systems rely on gravity and the tendency for water to naturally circulate as it is heated.

ref: www.renewableenergyworld.com

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