Life on earth is fueled by the light and heat from the sun. Approximately, 3850 Zettajoules (ZJ) per year is the total amount of solar energy available to the earth. The suns energy travels to the earth by way of electromagnetic radiation like radio waves but the frequency range is different. Some of this energy is absorbed as it comes thru the atmosphere. Heat and light are the primary forms of solar energy.
Solar energy has many advantages over conventional energy. The energy from the sun is free the only expense is from recovering the energy. The cost of recovering the suns energy is recovered faster than with conventional energy. The recovering units don’t have to be connected to natural gas or power grids, they stand alone. The supply of solar energy is limitless. It has no emission gases to harm the earth’s atmosphere.
There are people who have natural gas in their homes and natural gas can be less expensive then electric service… especially when the power goes out. I know many people who use their natural gas stove to heat their homes. When the power goes out or when the power is shut off for safety reasons such as natural wild fires that can get out of control, it is good to have natural gas to serve those who need to cook their meals and keep warm.
There have been laws enacted that prevent people from making choices about the way they choose to live.
Does it make sense for our homes and businesses to be all electric? Absolutely not! But that’s where many communities in America are headed. In Berkeley California, the City Council has voted to ban natural gas in all new low-rise residential buildings. This bad idea is spreading to other parts of the country. If it accelerates, the all electric contagion will have serious negative consequences for us all.
We have become accustomed to turning a dial or pushing a button in order to have heat. These ways are nice but they may be inconvenient as well. Heating homes, schools or businesses with gas as well as solar energy is not only easy but cost effective as well. Natural gas and solar energy can work together in our homes to give us the benefits and cost savings that we deserve to maintain our standard of living.
Take care that your solar installation is done properly
Solar Panels can be defective or installed incorrectly causing fire damage to your home.
Family’s £400,000 home wrecked by fire caused by faulty SOLAR panels
Firefighters: Solar panels are risky during fires
For those that choose solar
There are several ways that we can capture the sun’s heat even in winter times. In order to capture the sun’s heat you need a solar source. This source can be something that will attract the sun rays but trap the heat from it when it enters the source. A good example is a sunroom. These rooms are attached to a home or a building and are constructed of glass panels from the floor to the ceiling. It is usually facing the morning sun in order to get the full affect of the heat. When the sun shines into the room the glass allows the sunrays heat the furniture and everything in the room. These areas become the source that holds the heat in so that it will not escape back out of the glass. This type of heating is natural and can be very efficient if it is constructed correctly.
Other forms of solar power heat are:
Thermal mass that absorbs and holds in the heat. It traps and holds heat while the sun is shining and disperses the heat when the sun goes down.
Trombe Wall is a natural solar heating and ventilation system that uses air channels to hold the heat between a glass object and a thermal mass that is facing the sun. The sunlight gets trapped and stored inside this wall and is then circulated though vents and the top and the bottom of the wall. The wall radiates the heat.
Transpired collector is also a wall that is used facing the sun. The wall absorbs the sunlight and heats the air when it enters into the ventilation system.
Solar Cooling is a great way to ventilate a building. It absorbs the solar heat and cools it making ice with a solar powered steam engine that is attached to a cooling device.
Solar Chimney is also a solar ventilation system. It is made of a thermal mass that is hollow inside. The chimney will warm the air inside the chimney and causing the heat to rise. The rise allows the air to circulate and vent properly.
There are several ways that we can provide heating and cooling to our homes, businesses, buildings or other structures that need to be heated. The ways listed above are by using all natural material that will pay off in the long run when you have heat using the sun and not an artificial heating source that may be produced by non-renewable resources. We all need heat no matter what. We need to find out what ways we can save the heat from the day to keep our house warm at night. Not only does it work for heating but also cooling as well.
Natural gas and solar energy can both be used within our homes to help reduce the cost of energy and to maintain the safety of our family when energy prices go up.
Water runs dark, trees are dying and the air we breathe gets thicker and thinker by the moment. There are several solutions to these problems, but oddly, the source that got the whole thing going may actually be the answer to solving the poor choices made for the planet. Solar power got the entire process going and may be the solution to getting it back on track.
In its intentional use, solar power gave us heat and light. As evolution worked its magic solar power was not an alternative source of power, it was –the- source of power as it warmed the earth and moved the air. Now, our “modern” technology has evolved to a point where we can once again use solar power to warm and move our air. But why should we use solar power when the same planet that gave us the sun gave us the coal to accomplish the same task? There are many reasons, and most of them are of the kind that people can identify with; they are self serving and entirely hedonistic.
Solar leads to cost savings
All one has to do these days is open up an electric and heat bill to see how much it costs to heat and light your home. Solar power is a great way to just about eliminate the costs associated with lighting and heating your home. For those that are using solar powered heating and lighting equipment today there is little if any cost associated with heating and lighting their homes. Yes, there is an up-front cost to installing these units but pay back times through cost savings and tax credits are getting shorter and shorter due to better technology and awareness. These current users report that they actually make money from using solar power systems just by paying a little closer attention to how they use the power that they have. For the most part, they indicate that a 30 second glance at back-up batteries for piece of mind is all the extra time required to start saving money.
Money maker
Some may say that piece of mind doesn’t go very far when it comes to a series of cloudy days. Batteries, they say, can run out or get low. From all reports, however, cloudy day issues, in a majority of the world’s climates, are not an issue. In fact, a majority of users find that they have an excess of electricity that ends up just going to waste. Or so most people- once – thought. Although the entire US is not quite there yet most sates require that utilities buy back excess power generated from those desiring to remain on the power grid. Although it may sound a bit odd, solar power users find that their electric meters actually run backward quite a bit of the time when solar power systems are in use. God forbid there were a few weeks of nothing but clouds and cold, but if there are the owner is free to use the power that they sold back to the utility. Past the home front, add a water wheel and a wind mill and you have a nice little income generator with the electric utility paying you.
Off the grid
There is a certain segment of the population that just does not want to be connected to the “grid”, as the power and information society calls it. For these people solar power is a great option. Solar units are fairly low cost and getting lower cost every day. They can also withstand a 1” hailstone traveling at 50 mph. For survivalists or even for a farmer that needs to irrigate his crops in the middle of nowhere, solar is the way to go.
Develop a new technology
New Battery technology that lasts decades, Lithium Titanate Oxid – LTO
Man at his basic is a curious being. What if? Is always being thought about whether it’s just a casual thought during the day or figuring out how to get to Mars. Advancing technology is just who man is. Using solar may satisfy our current environmental issues but it also satisfies our intellectual needs. If solar power isn’t used it won’t advance and our need to know won’t be satisfied. Intellectually, solar is a great idea.
Leave the world a better place
Throughout time man has found a way to screw up the planet in one way or another. Most of the time, man has screwed up because of ignorance or with good intentions. Using solar, at the moment, appears to be one of those good intentions. It may end up being a bad thing 200 years down the road, but for now, it may be one of the only ways to leave the world a little better then when we got here.
Life on earth is fueled by the light and heat from the sun. Approximately, 3850 Zettajoules (ZJ) per year is the total amount of solar energy available to the earth. The suns energy travels to the earth by way of electromagnetic radiation like radio waves but the frequency range is different. Some of this energy is absorbed as it comes thru the atmosphere. Heat and light are the primary forms of solar energy.
There are people who have natural gas in their homes and natural gas can be less expensive then electric service… especially when the power goes out. I know many people who use their natural gas stove to heat their homes. When the power goes out or when the power is shut off for safety reasons such as natural wild fires that can get out of control, it is good to have natural gas to serve those who need to cook their meals and keep warm.
Water runs dark, trees are dying and the air we breathe gets thicker and thinker by the moment. There are several solutions to these problems, but oddly, the source that got the whole thing going may actually be the answer to solving the poor choices made for the planet. Solar power got the entire process going and may be the solution to getting it back on track.