subject: Daily Applications of Solar Power [print this page] Daily Applications of Solar Power Daily Applications of Solar Power
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable or naturally replenished. Renewable energy replaces conventional fuels in four distinct areas like power generation, hot water/ space heating, transport fuels, and rural (off-grid) energy services. One of these renewable forms of energy is solar energy. Solar energy is the energy derived from the sun through the form of solar radiation. Solar-powered electrical generation relies on photovoltaics and heat engines. A partial list of other solar applications includes space heating and cooling through solar architecture, day lighting, and solar hot water, solar cooking, and high temperature process heat for industrial purposes.
Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP). CSP systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. PV converts light into electric current using photoelectric effect. The early development of solar technologies started in the 1860s and was driven by the expectation that coal would soon become scarce. However, the development of the technology stagnated in the 20th century due to increasing availability, economy, and utility of coal and petroleum.
Solar installation in recent years have also largely begun to expand to residential areas with government offering incentive programs to make “green” energy a more economically viable option. There are even solar installers who pay you for the amount of energy you produced using their panels that it now has become a booming business. Portable solar power is also a rave especially in countries where energy cost is high. A successful entry into the MicroFIT or “micro feed-in tariffs” will require a qualified Ontario MicroFIT supplier. The supplier should have experience in engineering and installing grid-connected solar power systems. They should be the guide that will help in the process from application to installation of solar panels. The microFIT Program provides a streamlined way for you to connect your renewable source of energy and receive payment for the electricity you produce and send to the province's electricity distribution system.
A feed-in tariff (FiT, feed-in law, advanced renewable tariff or renewable energy payments is a policy mechanism designed to encourage the adoption of renewable energy sources and to help accelerate the move toward grid parity. This is how it works: micro inverters convert direct current from individual solar panels into alternating current for the electric grid. Grid tie inverters can feed the energy back to into the distribution network because they produce alternating current with the same wave and frequency as supplied by the distribution system. They can also switch off automatically in the event of a blackout. The quality of the output waveform that is needed from an inverter depends on the characteristics of the connected load. Some loads need a nearly perfect sine wave power supply in order to work properly. Other loads may work quite well with a square wave voltage.
A stand-alone power system (SAPS or SPS is an off-the-grid electricity system for locations that are not fitted with an electricity distribution system. These are also called battery banks. SAPS was previously called remote area power supply (or RAPS), as they are most often used in remote locations. Typical SAPS include one or more methods of electricity generation energy storage, and regulation. Electricity is typically generated by solar panels and other renewable source of energy.
In our bid for clean renewable energy, aside from maximizing solar power, the lead acid battery should be replaced by a new battery called the silicone battery. This battery will be able to eliminate most of the bad qualities of the lead acid battery. Some of these bad qualities are high internal resistance, cold temperature sensitivity (silicone batteries retains more than 80% of total capacity at +15 F), and moderate self discharge rate. This new battery technology operates by adding a silicate salt electrolyte to a lead acid battery. Silicone batteries are much more environmentally friendly because of the use of this new electrolyte.
