The Solar Electricity Handbook is a practical and straightforward guide to using electric solar panels. Assuming no previous knowledge of solar panels, the book explains how solar panels work, how they can be used and explains the steps you need to take to successfully design and install a solar electric system from scratch using photovoltaic solar panels. This is an update to the 2010 Edition of the book with even more diagrams, details and up-to-the-minute information on t (more…)

Glass Pyramid-Shaped Solar Cells (image from CASE)

Instead of bulky photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, one day soon you could instead go with a “Dynamic Solar Facade.”  The technology will include a glass front with pyramid-shaped solar concentrators which capture light, magnify it by up to 500 times and then redirect it to solar cells.

The Dynamic Solar Facade could have a 60-80% efficiency ratio, using not only UV light, but also thermal heat from the sun, captured with a heat sink.  In short, the pyramid-shaped solar cells can generate both electricity and provide energy to heat water, much like a thermal solar panel system. 

A good looking, dual-function, highly efficient solar panel system?

Yes indeed!  While CASE is still years away from commercializing the product, we could see it by the end of the decade.  That wouldn’t be a minute too soon, as attractive clean energy sources are in high demand, particularly for landlords who lease office space.   The overall appearance of a building – both inside and out – can increase rents, while saving energy and cutting down high utility bills.

Figuring out what solar panels cost

Its the first question most people ask when considering renewable energy: “what do solar panels cost?”  These five simple words do not necessarily lead to a straightforward answer.

In short…. it depends.

There are a number of things that affect the cost of solar panels, from energy requirements to the type of system you are considering.  Before you install solar panels, you’ll need to consider various factors to decide how to best (and perhaps most cheaply) generate solar electricity.

Fortunately, in 2010, there are still government tax incentives and rebates to help ease the upfront burden.  In fact, some cities and counties may even help you finance solar panels through relatively small increases in your property taxes.

The more people that install solar panels, the cheaper they are!

Across the board, the cost of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels per watt has dropped significantly over the past decade.  According an article at Science Daily, “average installed costs, in terms of real 2007 dollars per installed watt, declined from $10.50 per watt in 1998 to $7.60 per watt in 2007, equivalent to an average annual reduction of 30 cents per watt or 3.5 percent per year in real dollars.”

And what a difference two years can make!  In 2009, the $1 per watt barrier was claimed to have been broken by First Solar.  But experts state that the true cost is closer to $2-4 per watt, when you include mounting costs and other necessary equipment.

Aside from the hard costs for solar panels, what can you do to minimize or reduce the actual financial outlay?  Plenty!

First, minimize your energy usage.  The less electricity you use, the less you have to generate.

Second, look for a package deal.  Some manufacturers will offer reduced pricing if you and several other property owners purchase at the same time.  You could either negotiate your own deal, or use a site like One Block Off the Grid to work out the details for you.

Third, consider long-term, as well as short-term savings.  Over time, your costs per watt will not rise, even when the utility companies raise their rates.  There is real value in this regard.  According to the Appraisal Journal, you can increase your property value by $20 for every $1 saved each year in electricity bills.  That means that a solar energy system that saves $400/year will add $8,000 to the value of your home.  It could pay for itself within just a few years!

You could wait to see what the solar panels will cost in 2011, or you could start saving some serious cash on your monthly bills right away.  No time like the present, I say!

The Solar Electricity Handbook is a practical and straightforward guide to using electric solar panels. Assuming no previous knowledge of solar panels, the book explains how solar panels work, how they can be used and explains the steps you need to take to successfully design and install a solar electric system from scratch using photovoltaic solar panels. Accompanying this book is a solar resource website containing lots of useful information, lists of suppliers and on-line so (more…)

Solar Thermal Power (image from afromusing on Flickr)

Solar thermal power, also known as concentrated solar power, is used to make solar energy more efficient – in other words, you get more electricity from the same amount of sunlight. Unlike photovoltaic solar panels which you might have seen on rooftops or powering traffic signals, solar thermal power is generated by huge satellite dishes that are fitted with special mirrors.  The curvature of the mirrors focuses sunlight into a small, 7-inch area.  As you might imagine, this focus area is blisteringly hot.  Actually, unimaginably hot: the equivalent of 13,000 suns!

At the Solar Thermal Test Facility, owned by the U.S. Department of Energy, at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico, six solar thermal power dishes stand in the desert near Albuquerque.  The official site notes:

The primary goal of the NSTTF is to provide experimental engineering data for the design, construction, and operation of unique components and systems in proposed solar thermal electrical plants planned for large-scale power generation. In addition the facility can provide: high heat flux and temperatures for materials testing or aerodynamic heating simulation; large fields of optics for astronomical observations or satellite calibrations; a solar furnace; a rotating platform for parabolic trough evaluation.

How does solar thermal power work?  As the focus area in the center of each dish is superheated, the energy runs a “Stirling engine,” the operation of which is described in a San Francisco Gate article:

“The heat . . . creates mechanical energy from an external heat source, as opposed to the internal fuel combustion that powers most auto­mobile engines. Hydrogen gas in a Stirling engine’s four 95 cc cylinders expands and contracts as it is heated and cooled, driving pistons to turn a small electric generator. The configuration of the dish and engine represent the fruit of more than a decade of steady improvements, developed in collaboration with Arizona-based Stirling Energy Systems.”

Concentrated Solar Power

In general, concentrated solar power is said to be 25% efficient, more than double the average 12% efficiency rate of ordinary photovoltaic solar panels.  However, the dishes at the Solar Thermal Test Facility exhibited a 31.25% conversion efficiency – the highest ever recorded in a commercial solar device.

What’s equally exciting is that the energy comes from the heat of the sun, not the sunlight itself.  Heat can be better stored so that solar energy continues after the sun goes down.  The Solar Thermal Test Facility in New Mexico is just the beginning.  More solar thermal power is coming in the future in Arizona, and additional concentrated solar power plants exist in the Mojave Desert in California.

The Department of Energy predicts that solar electricity will be less expensive than than grid prices by 2015.  That’s just six years from now.  We’re starting to see what the future of solar power looks like!