Month: March 2014

Solar Thermal power is heat energy obtained by exposing a collecting device to the rays of the sun. A solar thermal system makes use of the warmth absorbed by the collector to heat water or another working fluid, or to make steam. Hot water is used in homes or commercial

Photovoltaic are solar cells that produce electricity directly from sunlight. The solar cells are made of thin layers of material, usually silicon. The layers, after treatment with special compounds, have either too many or too few electrons. When light strikes a sandwich of the different layers, electrons start flowing and

ADVANTAGES OF SOLAR ENERGY: Solar energy makes use of a renewable natural resource that is readily available. Solar power used by itself creates no carbon dioxide or other toxic emissions. Use of solar thermal power to heat water or generate electricity will help reduce the Territory’s complete dependence on fossil

Solar energy is energy that comes from the sun. Every day the sun radiates an enormous amount of energy. The sun radiates more energy in one second than people have used since the beginning of time. All this energy comes from within the sun itself. Like other stars, the sun

REGULAR MAINTENANCE: There is very little maintenance required on a PV system with no moving parts. Some system owners wash their panels, but in the Northwest, our climate tends to take care of this chore. You may want to brush off the panels if they tend to collect leaves, but

Three core factors affect the sizing of your system: your electricity usage, space availability on your property, and your budget. YOUR ELECTRICITY USAGE Do you want to try to produce 100% of your power or some smaller percentage? While any excess production from month to month will carry over as

A well-designed solar electric system has clear and unobstructed access to the sun for most of the day throughout the year. Siting a PV system correctly is critical in order to achieve maximum power production and thus maximum energy offset and financial return. Orientation and Tilt Optimal orientation for solar

A PV System includes: 1. PV ARRAY Multiple PV panels installed together are called a PV array. Mounting arrays to rooftops is most common, yet they can also be located on a pole, a ground mounted rack, parking area shade covers, window awnings, etc. The PV array produces Direct Current

The first solar cell was created in 1883. It was inefficient by today’s standards, converting only 1–2% of sunlight into electricity. The breakthrough in solar cell technology came in 1954 when researchers at Bell Laboratories stumbled across the photo voltaic (or PV) properties of silicon while experimenting with new transistor

􀂃 Solar electric systems are safe, reliable, pollution free, and use a renewable source of energy—the sun. Most systems have no moving parts and are increasingly easy to install. 􀂃 The option of net metering, or interconnecting a customer generating system to the utility grid, makes solar electric systems more