Archive for December, 2009
Roskam: Alternative Fuels Needed for Airlines
Posted by Admin in Alternate Fuels on December 30th, 2009
Congressman Peter Roskam discusses his solutions to our energy needs, and the disappointing lack of bipartisan efforts to bring relief to American families. Congressman Roskam offered an amendment to HR 6063, the NASA Authorization Act, that would have struck from the bill plans for a Deep Space Climate Observatory and instead would have created a research and development initiative for an alternative fuel for commercial aviation. The amendment directed the initiative to consider the need to reduce our reliance on foreign sources of energy, provide stability to the airline industry, and reduce emissions. This effort would have brought energy relief to US consumers and businesses by harnessing American innovation and directing it toward energy solutions for the aviation industry.
Duration : 0:3:23
Can people tell me about solar panels and power in the UK and all around the world! read more please!!!!!!!!!!?
Posted by Admin in Solar Power Panels on December 29th, 2009
for example: Germany: solar power is making up for 40% of the country there and for Africa and India: they are developing countries and need reliable resources.
please guys! I really need your help!
It’s true that solar energy plants (both direct absorption and reflection generator) need… solar energy. I’ve never been to the UK myself, but solar might not be an effective alternative. However, wind and wave would be an excellent choice. In fact, I believe that there are large wind farms and wave grids off of the east coast of Scotland.
In developing countries of Africa and even the more developed country of India, the problem with renewable/sustainable energy is the same one that people here in the USA complain about, which is why it isn’t yet being implemented on a large scale. Reason being, it is a very cheap source of energy – however, each one of the sustainable energy capture mechanisms (geothermal, wind, wave, solar) requires a fairly high initial up-front cost to actually build and implement. Once it’s built, it costs almost nothing, but it is a large initial pay-out. For developing countries, it’s "better" to just burn coal and oil (not many natural gas resources like we have, in general), because it allows their economy a better chance to grow.
Also, they’re not bound by the Kyoto Protocols to reduce their emissions (speaking specifically of China and India in this case), even though they have signed on to them as a promise. Their "developing nation" status exempts them, so that they can use the cheap fossil fuels.
Which is incidentally why the US has not signed on, and will not ratify, the Protocol. We’re competing against Indian and China in a very hot trade war, and being bound by the Protocols would be like getting in to a marathon with them, but shooting ourselves in the foot before the starting gun is fired.
Why is it that solar panels for solar energy is not mass produced like cars.?
Posted by Admin in Solar Energy Panels on December 29th, 2009
Solar energy should have been cheaper if respective governments legislated to mass produce solar panel to be less dependent on oils abroad.
Mostly the answeres are right. But it seems that research and development is not vigorously done in designing other cheaper materials to lower the cost. Just like computers, when it first came out on the market years back, it was big and expensive. Just look at it now?
Solar panels are mass produced, they are not individually crafted.
At the moment oil is unrealisticly cheap because the cost does not reflect the replacement of a finite resource and the cost of pollution – oil spills, climate change, particulates.
the easiest way for a government to get people to change is to tax oil for all these unaccounted costs. but in a democracy such a government would not stay in power long.
High energy use/waste lifestyles are addictive, think how hard it is to get people to stop smoking.
the real solutions are not technical fixes or government legislation but changes to society away from unsustainable industrial growth models, what has been termed "the Great Turning"
oven – how to save energy?
Posted by Admin in Reduce Energy Usage on December 29th, 2009
is there anything that I can put inside my large oven to reduce its size and so its energy usage, such as a non-heat conducting box?
I already cook extra items at the same time but sometimes this is not an option.
Never heard of anything like a box.
Your best option would be to invest in a smaller table top oven, or a combination microwave.
i’m trying to build my own solar panel?
Posted by Admin in How to Build Your Own Solar Panels on December 29th, 2009
i’m doing some extensive research about solar panels because i’m an inventor and i have an idea about creating a more efficient solar panel, but i’m having trouble finding out where to buy the different parts i’ll need. can someone help me with this puzzle? thanx, Al
Radio Shack, Edmunds or an electronics supplier.
What is the cheapest way to harness solar and wind energy to power your home?
Posted by Admin in Home Wind Power on December 29th, 2009
I live in a very hot and open area, so solar energy will work perfect since the sun shines the whole day with no shadows from trees, and since it is open it is also windy at times too
One of the cheapest ways is to take advantage of any passive solar energy you can. If you have any south-facing windows, keep those curtains open all day to warm your home.
Solar hot water can be done very cheaply with a simple system that uses coiled black hoses on your roof. You pump the water up into the hose, it warms as it flows through the hose on the roof, then back down to be used as warm water. (that is a very simplistic explanation, but you get the idea)
For about $200 – $250, you can get yourself set up with a solar panel system or a wind power system, if you’re willing to learn how to do it yourself. This is the method that will save you the most money in the long run, as it will eliminate your power bills. You can get the installation guide to do this here: http://www.solar-powered-home.com/solarpowerhomereviews.php
A proposed way to look at things…?
Posted by Admin in Do it Yourself Solar Systems on December 29th, 2009
When people say "look at all the things, the mountains, the trees, etc., how can you not believe?" why don’t they look further?
Look at the universe and how there may be even more universes. It’s huge right? of course. So, most people agree that there is life else where other than our planet. And we can see how planets and stars evolve from gases and particles and energy. We see other solar systems and have found a rocky planet similar to us. (it is way too hot for life, though) And one thing about all the process to making anything in nature and also in how our brains make judgments is alga rhythms. patterns that can be changed but all fit in the same formula.
So, when we see all this, and as we understand more so many people still cling to these worldly religions.
What does the religions of this earth matter once you’re past the our atmosphere?
And why do we let it be acceptable to insult our own abilities and intelligence claiming that god thinks in ways so high we will never understand? Sounds more like a pacifier to me.
Please answer me seriously and no scripture. I want you to answer to your gut belief. If not here than to yourself.
i dont think so my religion only tells me about worldly things. i m a hindu and i believe in life on other planets. and its there in many books if you read it. now does that make my religion worldly or as i see it its trying to make me realize the truths of the world. i ask you to see and know the religion is in a different way. i haven’t found any scientific contradiction with my religion till now. i am studying engineering. even the end of world is stated when god will seperate electron, neutron and proton. and my religion is supposed to millions of years old.
also, faith and belief are two important things to lead us to do right. now religion is nothing but your convenient truth but i feel any independent can deny to believe and try and actually know the truth with an open mind. w/o having prejudices about religion/science/satan or whatever.
Can a solar charger work using a regular power supply?
Posted by Admin in DIY Solar Panels on December 29th, 2009
I’m trying to build a DIY Uninterruptable Power Supply to run some electronics in a remote location with intermittent grid power. I plan to use two 115Ah deep cycle batteries attached to a two stage battery charger. When grid power is on I want to charge the battery bank with grid power, but I also want to supplement with solar panels. I purchased a 30A solar charger (Sunforce), a 16v 20A regulated power supply (Samplex), and a battery isolator (to use when I get solar panels to keep them isolated from the power supply). I thought that the regulated power supply would power the charger when the grid was up, and solar panels (added later) would charger in the absence of power. PROBLEM: When the regulated power supply gets over about 5 amps, the charger basically stops working. The output voltage starts fluctuating and it eventually shuts off. Is there some way to get this working???
Oh and I know I could just get a higher end solar charger that will do all this, but the costs are very high. . .I’d like to spend under $300, thus the DIY aspect.
Thanks for the response, but not that I already purchased a batter isolator to prevent backfeeding either the panels or the power supply. Also I don’t have any solar panels right now, just the power supply, so solar panels aren’t the issue. I think there must be something fundamentally different about the DC that is coming out of my regulated power supply and a solar panel! Another interesting note, the solar charger says right on the side, "Only use with solar panels, do not use with other power sources". . .but WHY???? Seems like it should work to me. . .?
Sounds like you have the power supply in parallel with the solar panels, feeding the charger, right?
If so, you’re putting power into the solar cells and the charger at the same time. If those are 12V panels, you’re putting 16 volts on them and probably back-biasing them. The solar panels are designed for direct connection only when they are a higher voltage than what they’re feeding.
The simplest way to fix this is to use a power contactor (large relay) — DPDT. One side to the solar cells, the other to the power supply. Have it pass the power supply to the charger when the grid is on and the solar cells to the charger when the grid is off. That’s what you’re trying to do any way, right? Since your electronics are running off of the batteries either way (right?), the momentary switch shouldn’t cause any problems.
Here’s one for 20A at 28VDC for $16 from digikey.com. The coil is energized with 100VAC, so it just hooks to the main (if you use 120). I’m sure there are similar relays with 240 VAC coils, if needed. You could put two in parallel if you need a higher rating than 20A.
Can a gasoline vehicle be converted over to alternate fuel?
Posted by Admin in Alternate Fuels on December 29th, 2009
Can a gasoline vehicle be converted over to natural gas, ethanol, or propane? Is it costly to do this? And where can I go to get it done? Is there a kit I can buy? What type of shop does this kind of work?
Yes. However, since the gasoline engine wasn’t designed for the alternative fuel, it won’t pass some states’ requirement as an alternative- fueled vehicle so you can ride in the HOV lanes. The conversion is expensive. I did mine to CNG and it cost over $2,000. The tank held only 6 gallons, but you could only fill it at the public station with about 4 1/2 gallons because the public station wouldn’t allow it to go to 3,000 psi. (I guess either for safety, or because of the cost for a compressor to pump that high.) As far as getting it done somewhere, talk with the suppliers of the fuel you want. By the way, my second converted vehicle was a van and it uses propane. The fuel is much more expensive, $3.50/gal., than gasoline, and the mpg is about the same … 10 mpg. I don’t use it any more … it just sits.
what is better hydro electricity or solar powered panels for the earths new source of power?
Posted by Admin in Solar Power Panels on December 27th, 2009
About 4-6 months ago there was an article in Scientific America. The authors proposed a large network of solar cells in the US mid-west, where there is lots of sun. The authors gave a timetable and costs, and seemed quite accurate. I don’t remember the numbers, but I think it was $40B and 2020 and we would get a large portion of our electric power from these arrays.
Hydro is all used up, we will get no more from that.
Wind power will probably never be a major player, but it can contribute a fair hunk of cheap power to the grid.
Nuclear is probably the leading contender for electric power, being proven technology and pollution free.
Don’t forget geothermal, wave power and tidal power. They all can contribute a fair amount of power.
Another contender, being explored in Japan, is a large solar array in space, possibly at one of the Lagrange points, where it can get continuous sun. This would beam power to earth where the microwaves are converted to electric power.
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