A Brighter Future with New Solar Panel Designs

The use of solar panels in residences has proved to be the best and most cost-efficient alternative for utility power. However, the use of solar power has yet to reach its full potential in the residential market.There are a number of companies that have already come up with more aesthetically-pleasing solar panel designs.

The use of solar panels in residences has proved to be the best and most cost-efficient alternative for utility power. However, the use of solar power has yet to reach its full potential in the residential market. Recent advances in technology can possibly change this, as the industry has seen opportunities to create solar panels with new designs, in terms of both aesthetics and functionality. 

Aesthetically-pleasing designs

Solar power has only recently been given a great deal of attention. As a result, residential homes built 10, 20, or 30 years ago were not constructed in such a way that solar panels could be later added if the resident family decides to install some. 

Previously, solar panels were very thick and had to be mounted with out-of-place brackets on top of existing roofs. Fortunately, the solar panel manufacturer industry has recently realized that poor aesthetics is one of the main reasons why solar power has not completely made its way into the residential market. 

New panels are hardly noticeable. The tiles are seamlessly integrated into the existing roofs of residential homes, which achieve a very elegant look. The rise in number of solar installations in the U.S. rose by an amazing 45% in 2007 is widely attributed to the creation of more aesthetically-pleasing panel designs.

There are a number of companies that have already come up with more aesthetically-pleasing solar panel designs. The Sun Power Corporation, for example, the leading U.S. solar panel manufacturer, has created some panels that are compatible with Mediterranean-styled clay tiles and flat roof tiles. Lumeta, another manufacturer, has design panels that are awaiting industry certification. 

The panels made by both Sun Power and Lumeta are made from silicon. The market will soon see thinner panels made of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS). As of now, however, such panels are less efficient than the currently existing silicon ones. Sometime in the near future, these thin-film panels are expected to dominate residential use by becoming a standard part of the building process.

Highly functional designs

One example of a new, more functional solar panel design is that recently designed by the Georgia Tech Research Institute. This innovative design allows the panels to absorb more sunlight, enabling them to produce up to 60 times more current. This new design makes use of nano-towers that add significant surface area to the solar panels, giving the particles of light from the sun more chances to strike the part of the cell that produces electricity. 

However, these new panels still have a couple of kinks yet to be worked out. These new panel designs have too much resistance in their cells, resulting in an inability to generate the kind of electricity needed. 

Jud Ready, senior research engineer at the Georgia Tech Research Institute and creator of this new solar panel design, is determined to work on the design and modify its features to resolve the difficulties within it. The US Air Force is currently partially sponsoring the research in high hopes that these smaller and more efficient solar panels will replace old, bulky ones and can eventually be used to power satellites and spacecrafts in the future.

About the Author

John Mahoney is a freelance author who writes about various technology related subjects including  solar panel . For more information about John visit his website:www.techstore.ie 

Solar Electronics Charger Panel 12W

Solar Electronics Charger Panel 12W

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE !

Wagan's solar power is good for the planet!

Build your own solar power system

Don't pay for your electricity any longer...
Instead, the power company will pay YOU!

"Michael's complete step-by-step fully illustrated manual will have you generating your own electricity for less than $200!"
Click Here!


If you are interested in learning exactly how to generate power and reduce your bill than this is the perfect resource for you!

With the ever increasing costs of living there is no better time then right now to start producing our own electricity. Whether you want to simply reduce your power bills or completely eliminate them - Earth4Energy has a solution for you.

Why pay $1000's for wind power or solar power when you can build your own professional system for less than $200!

Earth4Energy is going to teach you everything you need to know about producing your own electricity by using wind and solar power. With our complete step-by-step setup fully illustrated manual you will be able to create your renewable energy solutions in your own backyard!

Affordable Solar Power - Convert Your House and Save!

By Barry Crewse

Affordable solar power. Impossible you say? If you have been thinking solar lately, you have been on the right track. Residential solar power kits are now within your reach and is one of many reasons to consider the switch.

The huge spikes in energy we've seen lately are not about to go away any time soon. We are rapidly reaching a critical mass situation when it comes to trying to meet our energy needs.
We must also admit our environment is taking a beating. The planet gets more polluted by the day and now 3rd world countries are developing quickly and the worlds thirst for oil is nearly insatiable. We now use more fossil fuel than we refine.

These are but a couple of good reasons to consider and now it's rapidly becoming the time for you to start thinking about your energy independence. Just like each nation needs energy independence so do the folks!

Current technology has now improved out ability to power up our homes with new state of the are residential solar power kits. Now, virtually every power consumption item in your home can be powered by solar energy.

These new affordable solar power kits are not only very easy to install but maintenance is a snap. Prices which were once out of reach for most people and now at record lows and are becoming more affordable by the day.

What does a solar power kit involve and how does it work? Will it truly benefit me? Technology has taken the mystery out of how these system work and they are less difficult to understand so lets explore those questions just a bit.

Residential solar power kits are made up of many different modules and when putting these modules together can power everything in your house. Photovoltaic cells which are also known as photoelectric cells are the main source of conversion.

Solar panels are made up of the cells and are arranged in such a fashion that they soak up the power given off by the sun.

Energy from the sun is then converted into electricity which is then stored in deep cycle marine batteries and then can be further converted into AC power or used as straight DC power by use of power converters.

Depending on the number of panels you install, it is possible to power up your entire house and get rid of the electric bill forever! Not only that but excess power can be pushed back out into the grid and sold back to the power company.

There are also modules in which you can use for more specific things as water heaters, solar furnaces and more and I have addressed those in other articles. Solar energy can also power up everything in your yard as well and need not be confined to just the house.

Many new companies are now producing affordable solar power kits employing the latest technology which allows you to completely fulfill your residential solar power needs as soon as today.

The cost saving you will experience with be seen immediately and these systems can pay for themselves rapidly over time. Detailed plans for adding these affordable solar power systems to you home can be found on the web if you know where to look. Installation is easy and energy independence can finally be yours!

Residential solar power kits are now easy to find and install. Stop by our site today and find out all the tons ways you can save huge with Affordable Solar Getting off the grid is right here at Residential Solar Power Kits! Copyright 2008 Residential Solar Power Kits Dot Com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Barry_Crewse

Using Solar Power at Your Home

By Dowl White
When it comes to using renewable energy sources, then without a doubt, solar power is the main type of renewable energy that you can use. There are various ways in which solar power can be harnessed for domestic use in your home. Solar power is probably one of the best ways that you can create energy for your house. Sun is a totally free commodity, as scientists tell us that sun will be around for couple of million years. Especially in areas in which the geographical location receives a lot of sunlight, using solar power becomes very efficient.

The most common way to use solar power at your home is definitely to use solar power to heat your water. By using a storage tank of sufficient size, you can use the heating power of the sun to heat the water. Recent research by various electrical power companies' shows that the greater part of your electricity bill goes to heating water at homes. The process is totally mechanical as the daily solar heat is collected and transferred to the water tank (usually at the roof)

The second way to use solar power at your home is to heat up your whole home at winter. In order to accomplish this, flat plate collectors are used to collect solar heat from the sun. The solar heat which is collected by these solar collectors is used to heat the air by convection. Then this heated air is circulated around the house for heating.

The third way to use solar power at your home is by using it to generate electricity. In this method the light that reaches Earth from the sun is harnessed instead of its heat. By the use of photovoltaic cells, the light that reaches us from the sun is transformed into electrical power.

This process is actually similar to using a calculator that works with solar cells. Big solar collectors are used to collect the light from the sun and this light is transformed into electricity by the use of photovoltaic systems. This electricity is usually used to power small home appliances and pumps at home. In greater systems, it is even possible to generate enough electricity for the whole power usage in your home.

In order to learn more about generating your own power at home with renewable energy sources, you can visit http://www.generateyourelectricity.com/ for further details.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dowl_White

How It's Made - Solar Panels

How Do Solar Panels Work? Use Homemade Solar Panels and Cells

With the fact that electric bills nowadays have reached outrageous heights, people have been searching for a way to generate electricity that would result to more savings. There is actually one solution and that is through the use of solar power, specifically through the so called solar panels. Most people, upon reading this, would definitely say: "Great!" but then again, for people who are not that crazy about Science, the question: "How do Solar Panels work?" will definitely arise.

Solar panels actually work in a simple way ---their job is to make sure that the light from the sun is converted into useable energy. How do they do this? The answer lies in that element called Silicon. Electrons are found in silicon atoms; silicon atoms in turn can bond with other silicon atoms in order to share electrons which are an important component of solar panels.
Take note though that the said element (Silicon) still has to be mixed with something else in order to successfully generate electricity. This is where sunlight comes in. Photons that are found in the sun, when combined with silicon would result to the creation of electricity. Many solar cells are needed, however, for a great amount of electricity to be produced and for that produced electricity to last long.

If you think that having solar panels in your homes are impossible, then you'll be glad to know that there are solar panel kits out in the market nowadays made by a number of manufacturers that are very easy to use. Those kits even include inverters which are tools that would make the solar panels' produced power into forms that are applicable for home use.

You can build and install your homemade solar panels and cells, but there are a lot of factors that would affect how solar panels work such as the angle of the roof of your house, whether you have trackers for your panels to be able to face towards every direction of the sun, etc.

Learning about how solar panels work would more often than not encourage people to rely on solar power. Today's modern times even show that homes are not the only ones that benefit from solar power. Lighthouses, traffic signs, street lights, and a lot more now use solar power, not only to conserve energy but also because of the reliability it provides plus the fact that solar power only requires a bit of maintenance.

Now that you have ideas on how solar panels work and the many advantages they offer, you can now search for ways to make your home harness solar power and see the amazing things it can do for you, for the environment, and for your wallet.

Did you know that it is very possible now to build your own solar powered home easily and with little cost? You can help save the environment and also your wallet.

Visit this site now http://www.FullEarth4EnergyReview.com to find out on how to do this and to find out the many other advantages you do not know about solar energy.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alrey_Cruz

Home Solar Panel Savings

There are many advantages of installing home solar panels on your roof, and not all of them are to do with saving the planet. Lower utility bills, energy independence, maybe some future carbon credit sales, the list is pretty hefty. The trouble is that your wallet isn't going to be so hefty if you go down the normal route of employing professionals to set you up with a complete system, which can cost US$3000 and up. Luckily there are some great ways to get around burning a hole in your pocket.

If you live in Europe there are plenty of government incentives for setting up a solar panel system. You can find out about these incentives by checking your state a federal government environment ministry website. For those of us who don't live in Europe it's a little trickier.
In the USA, solar panel laws and incentives vary greatly from state to state. Some of the better states to be in this regard are Arizona, California, Delaware, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Pennsylvania. Some of those listed offer up to $5.50/Watt rebates for energy independent households (that's a lot!), whilst some offer a tax credit on the total cost of the installed solar energy system. In New York state this is a 25% tax credit. Again, you'll have to check with your local governing body for exact details.

Knowing that there are so many ways to decrease the cost of installing solar panels is a great incentive to take action now. A popular alternative for having solar panels professionally installed is to build your own solar panel. All it really takes is an easy to obtain guide (you can get them instantly and cheap on the Internet), a few materials from the local hardware store, and some time (1 day, 2 days maybe). Many have found this to be a great alternative, and the least expensive homemade panels can cost as little as $150.

If you're serious about building your own solar panels or wind turbines, check out this how to build a solar panel review site, which has some more information and links to point you in the right direction.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Preston_Lore