Basics of Using Solar Power On a DIY Container Home

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Building a solar power system which can be used in the household is one of the recent trends at present.

Not only because it allows using one’s creativity, but also because it ensures getting a system out of scrap materials that do not cost a huge sum of money.

This means that potential solar power system or solar panel users do not have to worry about spending a huge sum initially, when investing in their chosen systems.

The Advantages Of Container Solar System

An advantage of constructing your residential solar power system is that there is a great abundance of well-organized information, and schematic guidelines about this process from various sources including the web.

These are easy to follow instructions and information required by homeowners in order to build their own system at home.

Just make sure to have typical construction skills to prevent difficulties in converting some containers and conventional electric systems at home with photovoltaic power, into a solar power generating system that will surely work for your home.

For homeowners who are seriously contemplating about building their own solar panels without the help of professionals, they should keep in mind that whether their preferred system is one with a simple or an intricate design, each solar panel used in the system should come with 3 vital components.

These are the basic wiring, a used container and photovoltaic panel.

The good thing about using solar power on a DIY container home is that it prevents the need to spend money on expensive materials. It is possible to grab any reasonable size of used container at home and add this into your system.

Solar cell is also significant because it is the vital part of the photovoltaic panel which produces energy. Without the use of relocating components, the photovoltaic solar cell can be expected to work in gathering energy from the rays of the sun and alters this instantly into functional electricity.

The best way to start is to create a durable container for your solar battery. It is possible to use products available at hardware stores when doing this.

The next step, after the production of the container, is the installation of the solar cell within your built container. Affixing simple wiring should come next.

Placing your DIY container containing some parts of the system in the sunshine helps in allowing the system to start generating electrical power.

Creating your own solar system with multiple panels is also possible. It involves the development and installation of a solar system consisting of multiple containers containing solar cells.

The use of multiple containers is beneficial because this can offer enough electricity to a huge part of your home, thereby meeting the majority of your power requirements.

The simplicity of the design of this system also makes it possible to develop additional single solar panels to enhance the multi-panel system’s size.

An advantage of successfully building your own solar system at home is that it brings you closer to your aim of saving a substantial amount on electricity.

Solar panels are popular for being highly efficient. This means that these systems have high energy-efficiency ratings, making them capable of reducing your electricity bills.

The use of a solar system also allows users to contribute in saving the environment, aside from enjoying substantial financial savings.

Michael Harvey Solar Panels Building Tips – Using Recycled Parts

Michael Harvey Solar Panels Guide

The follow 3 tips were derived from Michael Harvey solar panels instructional program, the Earth 4 Energy.

Solar power system was already introduced since the eighties. However, it is just recently when the use of this system has become widespread. The good news is that recent technological advancements have also substantially decreased the prices of panels used for solar systems. This makes it possible to build your own system to use in the household without spending a substantial amount. Because solar panel systems produce electricity for free, having one at home will surely help in reducing your utility bills.

Another advantage of using the system is that it is environmentally free and makes financial sense. The good news is that homeowners also have the opportunity of creating their own system at home with the help of a few recycled parts or scratch materials and tools. These include a silicon caulk, plexiglass sheet, Rosin flux pen, copper wires, electrical solder, paint brush, screw driver, saw, soldering iron and wire cutter.

Scratch materials that can be found at home also include plywood and tin wires. Just make sure that these materials come with lengths that suffice your planned project. To guarantee success out of using recycled parts for home solar power system, consider keeping in mind the following tips before starting your project:

1. Develop a Sound Solar Power Plan or Kit

This is one of the most vital tips in building the most durable and efficient solar system for home using scrap materials and without exceeding your low budget. Develop a good and easy to follow plan. Creating a sound solar power system plan is essential in reducing the amount you will spend on the project. The key here is to work out on a plan which teaches the basics of building a system using recycled items.

It should also be noted that a good plan is that which recommends an extensive range of flexible materials, that can easily adapt with the unique requirements and design of your home. It should also be capable of recommending the most affordable places to get your needed materials including the recycled ones.

2. Use Green Building Materials

Building materials can be considered as green if these do not have a detrimental effect on people and the environment. Green products or materials include recycled ones that support putting waste into good use. This fully eliminates the need of disposing the materials into landfills. The use of recycled and green materials for your home’s solar panel will promote ease in bringing your desire to go green into a high level. This supports the clean production of electricity as well as the productive utilization of used yet functional materials.

3. Use Tempered Glass or Clear Products for the Solar Panels

Tempered glass or clear products are recycled or scrap materials that are extremely useful in creating the face of your solar panels. It is possible to purchase used tempered glass at affordable prices from local glass outlets. If you have used patio doors, then be aware that it is also possible to use these since these are available in various dimensions. Any of its various sizes is capable of accommodating up to 36 solar cells needed to acquire 17 to 19 volts.

The back part or frames of the solar panel can also be built using recycled parts. Included among the materials that are extremely useful in creating the durable backing of a green solar power system are used acrylic panels and plywood.

 

Solar Technology – How Far Have We Come?


The Sun is a copious source of renewable energy and has lighted our mother earth from time immemorial. However, only lately humans have been able to appreciate the importance of sunshine to tap electric power to light homes and run manufacturing plants.

Solar power is generated by the conversion of heat or sunlight into electrical energy. Unfortunately, only miniscule extent of the available sunlight is being utilized for generation of solar energy mainly due to the absence of viable technology. However, extensive research over the years has led to the development of effective technology to manufacture solar power equipment.

The technology developed so far is much better than before when the sunlight was first recognized as a source of electric power. The slow pace of development is primarily due to inadequate allocation of financial resources for research and developmental efforts on solar technology. There was some improvement during the period when power generation from conventional sources could not meet the demand.

During the peak of oil crisis in 1973, there was an impressive growth in the manufacture of solar panels resulting in a sharp dip in energy costs from $100/watt to $7/watt. However, when there was considerable improvement in the supplies of petroleum and coal, in the beginning of 20th century, the development of solar technology showed a decline.



However, there should not be any slackening of efforts in the advancement of solar technology on the false notion that fossil-fuel and other non-renewable sources would never get depleted. Moreover, the use of coal, petroleum products and other non-renewable sources for electric power generation has serious adverse effects on the ecology with emission of greenhouse gases resulting in global warming.

On the contrary, the solar energy generated from the sun is not only pollution-free but also a cheaper, efficient and a renewable electric power. It will be, therefore, comparatively cheaper to utilize solar power to light homes and operate home appliances than purchasing power from the power grid.

The use of solar energy will also reduce our dependence on limited conventional sources of energy. There is considerable awareness among people these days about the advantages of utilizing solar energy both at homes, offices and industrial establishments. If this trend continues, it may not be very far when the use of petroleum products for power generation will be phased out.

Solar technologies are basically distinguished as either active or passive on the basis of the method followed for harnessing, converting and distributing solar energy. Active solar techniques comprise the use of photovoltaic panels (PV) and solar thermal collectors to capture solar energy for lighting homes, running electrical appliances, heating water and many more applications.

PVs can also be utilized for capturing sunbeams and generating energy for heating directly with the help of photovoltaic cells (PV) and solar panels. Indirect or passive solar technology, on the other hand, consists of focusing a large portion of sunlight into a small beam using lenses or mirrors or other tracking devices There are a few large solar power plants in the world.

For example, solar power plant in the Mojave Desert of California is among the largest solar power plants in the world generating considerable solar energy without any emissions of harmful gases. Another one is the Sarina Photovoltaic Power plant in Canada with a capacity of 80 MW and currently the largest Photovoltaic (PV) plant in the world.

However, solar energy generated in the world with the available technologies is very little compared to the availability of radiant heat and light from the sun. There is plenty of scope for enhancing the generation of solar energy. A few new areas of generating solar energy are being explored. These include concentrated photovoltaics, thermoelectric and space-based solar energy.

With concerted efforts from the research community and adequate funding, the present solar technology can be updated facilitating the augmentation of the generating capacity to step-up generation of high-quality and cost-effective solar energy.