Pete Phelps asked:


In this age of rising electric bills everyone is feeling the pinch. Unfortunately, too many people think that rising utility cost is just a fact of life that can not be changed. Yet, you can save money on electric bills by making your own solar power for the home. Solar power used to be an expensive option, but not anymore. More and more people are installing their own solar power and saving money on their electric bills or cutting out the bill entirely.

The central component of making solar power for the home is the solar panels themselves. You can make the solar panels with a few simple components or purchase a kit, either option will save you hundreds over the cost of pre-made panels. The basic materials used in a solar panel are plywood, glass, copper wire, silicone, UV protectors, and of course, the solar cells.

Solar cells are what turn light into electricity, thus saving you money from not using the grid power. This is why the cells are the most important part of creating solar power for the home. While solar panels are available for purchase, they are often pricey and the upfront costs alone may negate any potential energy savings for years to come. By making your own panels in order to provide solar power for the home, you can reduce the upfront costs and begin recouping the cost of your panels much sooner.

Making your own panels in order to provide solar power for the home is not complicated and only requires modest skills that most people can learn quite easily or already possess. While electric rates continue to rise every year, a solar panel made today will continue to produce electricity for at least thirty years, all for the cost of the initial investment. Solar power for the home is inflation proof and will leave more money in your pocket over the long run.

With a small investment, a single solar panel can be built in order to supplement utility company electricity. While you will still be drawing energy from the grid, you will not be using as much. This alone can save hundreds of dollars over the cost of electricity every year. When building your own system in order to create solar power for the home, you have the additional benefit of adding to it and enlarging it as time and finances allow, instead of purchasing a large and expensive ready made system out right. You have a lot more freedom to grow your system as your needs and situation allow.

If you are building a home in a rural area that is not currently already hooked to the grid, you will pay thousands of dollars up front just to have the electric lines laid to your home. In this case, it is always less expensive to make and install solar power for the home. A solar panel kit you build yourself is much less expensive than bringing electricity in from the power company and will continue to save you money every year there after. Solar power for the home is the best option in rural areas that would otherwise be prohibitive in cost to run power to.

Solar power for the home is also a sound environmental option. Many states and the federal government offer programs to reimburse some of the initial costs of installing solar power. This can offset the initial investment of switching to full solar power dramatically, thus making your energy savings more evident in a shorter time period. All in all, solar power for the home will save you money on rising electricity costs in very little time and with very little effort.



Joann

Manjari Peiris asked:


 

 

 

 

The 52nd Session of the International Atomic Energy Authorities’  (IAEA)General Conference was held recently in Vienna.

 

At this meting three new member countries, namely, Oman, Papua New Guinea and Lesotho joined the IAEA.

 

Dr. Giammi Ghisi, Ambassador of Italy was elected as the President of the 52nd General Conference of the IAEA.  The outgoing President was Mr. Mouin Hamza of Lebanon.

 

Professor Tissa Vitarana, the Minister of Science & Technology who participated at this conference emphasized on the importance of IAEA which undertakes its role to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, based on the safe use of technology for economic and social development. “We believe that balanced, impartial and non-political pursuit is essential to ensure global peace, security and sustainable development in partnership with all the member states. It is heartening that the IAEA withstood much of these pressures and acted in an impartial and objective manner.” said the Minister.

 

The Minister highlighted the fact that the world is faced with a huge energy crisis with the impending end of the era of fossil fuels.” Research to advance sources of renewable energy holds great promise. Nuclear energy has cheaper ways of trapping solar energy, the main established technology that can meet the increasing demands for adequate power.”

 

Professor Vitarana stated that every country should have the right to obtain the benefits of nuclear energy through fission in a responsible manner, avoiding the grave dangers of the misuse of this technology. “To enable this IAEA should actively support and supervise these efforts.”

 

“The correct environment for progress in this field would exist only when all nations destroy existing nuclear weapons and sign an agreement for a total ban on the production and use of nuclear weapons.” Professor Vitarana urged all governments to speedily move in this direction. He stated that without commitment to this, in the context of global power struggles, the implementation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons becomes difficult. “However it must be ensured with the cooperation of the IAEA.” He said.

 

Professor Vitarana stated that the assistance of the Agency through technical cooperation has enabled Sri Lanka to develop capacity building in major sectors such as industry, agriculture, human health, nutrition and radiation protection. According to him during the past years Sri Lanka has obtained technical assistance for the important national areas such as improving micronutrient health status of adolescent girls through dietary modification and improving the quality of radiotherapy services in Sri Lanka. “The technical assistance obtained for the molecular diagnosis of major infectious diseases has contributed to benefit the people of Sri Lanka directly as its technology and trained manpower has been effectively utilized to diagnose the outbreak of diseases such as Dengue, Malaria and Chikungunya.

 

He pointed out that  cancer incidences in Sri Lanka is increasing and suggested to launch a Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy to curb and reduce cancer in Sri Lanka. The Minister also stated that the government of Sri Lanka has already made it mandatory for screening of females over 40 years of age and in the initial stage all female teachers working in government schools have been screened for cancer at government expense. “The Atomic Energy Authority closely coordinates with the Ministry of Health and the National Cancer Control Programme to implement the recommendations given by the PACT mission.” The Minister mentioned that Sri Lanka provides free medical facilities to all its citizens and stated that considering the importance of the health sector for the people of our country. Hence the assistance of the Agency is required for future development initiatives.

 

The Minister pointed out that the government of Sri Lanka needs further technical assistance from the IAEA in a number of areas such as a programme of nuclear power planning with technical cooperation to solve the energy crisis.

 

The INSServ mission is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka from 6-10 October 2008 and the outcome of their mission will be important to the country programme in regard to nuclear security.

 

Sri Lanka has already signed and ratified the UN Convention for Suppression of Nuclear Terrorism. The country has also taken several initiatives to prevent illicit trafficking of nuclear materials through Sri Lankan ports. It has also taken measures to inspect and monitor radiation materials and strictly adheres to licensing procedures for the physical protection of such materials in the country.

 

Professor Vitarana also suggested that IAEA provides assistance for developing national capabilities of Sri Lankans to respond to radiological emergencies which Sri Lanka considers a high priority. He said that the establishment of a national centre for environmental radiation and monitoring facility to meet radiological emergencies has become important. “Sri Lanka is one of the first four countries to collaborate in coordinating international assistance in case of radiological accidents, as was reported at UN headquarters in February 2008.”

 

According to the Technical Cooperation report, the implementation rate of the programme was 74.9% for 2007 and a large portion of funds to the Agency has been allocated to areas related to human health and food and agriculture – 28.3% and 12.8% respectively.

 

“The Technical Corporation Fund Target is not sufficient to meet the needs of developing countries. We believe that sufficient and predictable funds must be allocated to the Technical Corporation Fund.”

 

Professor Vitarana stated that signing of the agreement with an Indian supplier to purchase the Multipurpose Gamma Irradiation Facility is a milestone of the government’s effort to harness nuclear technology for socioeconomic development.  “The government of Sri Lanka has given a high priority for this programme and Sri Lanka needs further assistance from the Agency for the successful implementation of this project.”

 

The Minister explained that Sri Lanka hosted three international events in Colombo related to IAEA, RCA and RCARO activities of the Agency. He stated that Sri Lanka looks forward to host similar IAEA events in the future.

 

He emphasized the importance of discussing and debating further about the recommendations made in the report.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Francis

Bryan Wong asked:


Most power plants in the United States and all over world are using fossil fuels to operate and generate electricity. They have been used as an energy source as long as man has learned to generate power. These traditional fuel sources have been around for ages and when man started using this energy sources no one though about the consequences. Fossil fuels will eventually run out and there will be a shortage of it in near future. This shortage in will have its affect on our daily live and various industries. Today we see some of these affects already, prizes are raising and electricity is becoming more expensive. Although these fuels are more scares, the need will still be here and will not decrease in near future. To solve this shortage we will need to look for other possibilities for our energy demand.

Fortunately, alternative energy sources are growing in interest. For instance, locations with high water falls are experimenting on building a hydro-electric power plant, which turns out to be successful. Other locations with high wind speed make use of a power wind mills that can convert wind power into electricity. Also thermal and tidal powers are good alternatives.

Solar energy is also one of the energy sources that is gaining in interest. This form of energy has steadily been growing. Today it is widely used in the US and other parts of the world and the advantages are numerous. Our solar energy source, the sun, its life span is estimated to be another 4.5 billion years. It is fair to say that this energy source is almost endless.

Rate of Energy from the Sun

The sun’s radiation reaches a certain unit of area in space in the region of the Earth’s orbit and is estimated to be at 1,400 watts per square meter. Out of this, photovoltaic cells (also known as solar cells) can capture 19 to 56 watts per square meter (for 15% efficiency) or an equivalent of 0.45 to 1.35 kilowatt per hour (kWh) in an annual day and night average.

Therefore, if there would be more area that will be covered by several solar panels, these panels can produce slightly more energy in the form of electricity than what is currently available from oil, gas, and other sources of energy combined (assuming 8% solar cell efficiency).

Conversion of Solar Energy

There are two ways of conversion of solar energy. First is the direct solar energy which involves only one conversion into a usable form. For instance:

* Sunlight hits the solar cell, converting it into electricity. * Sunlight hits the absorber surface of a solar thermal collector, converting into thermal energy which can be used to heat homes during cold season.

The second is the indirect solar energy which involves more than one conversion to reach a usable form. For instance:

* Plants use photosynthesis to transform solar energy to chemical energy, which can be burned later as fuel to generate electricity (also known as bio-fuel technology).

* Hydro-electric dams and wind turbines are indirectly supplied by solar energy through its interaction with the Earth’s atmosphere.

Pros and Cons of Solar Energy

Just like any other types of energy resources, this energy source has its pro’s and cons.

Pros:

* Pollution-free. * Solar facilities can be run with little extra input or maintenance. * It is abundant. As mentioned earlier, most of the inhabited areas here on Earth can be reached by sunlight.

Cons:

* Although it is abundant, some areas receive little sunlight. Thus, power that will be produced in these locations is a minimum. * Only available during daytime, thus a need to conserve to energy for use in night time. * Photovoltaic cell technologies generate direct current (DC) power which needs to be converted to alternating current (AC) power used in distribution grids.

Once massive development of the use of solar energy is materialized, expect that every household or industry in the world will now be powered by solar energy. It is not just a dream, it will be a dream come true.



Bradley

martin lewis asked:


Many families around us spend a healthy part of their money for heating water for daily uses. Hot shower, bath, cleaning clothes and a lot of other things is done by electricity or gas supplied by large companies. However the energy we are using is not renewable and may go dry in the long run. The average household consumer finds electricity bills going up steadily above inflation figure. Thus everyone is looking for a suitable alternative source of energy. So the best way to extract this alternative source of energy is from solar energy. Solar power is an effective way to heat water and has been successful for close to 100 years now.

Solar water heating is a heating process during which water is heated up with the solar energy. It is possibly the simplest application of solar energy. It is the process of harnessing the thermal rays of the sun and applying it to water. The question that remains to be answered is “Where to place the water heater?” The possible answer could be that place the solar water heater at a place where you can extract maximum sunlight from the sun. Maximum sunlight should be received by the solar heater. One popular location could be roof where the solar water heater receives maximum sunlight.

You place it in the center of tank and when you use water, it touches the heater. Solar water heating heats your water before that it reaches the taps. The heater keeps on revolving around the water. Water will move in circular path around the heater as a result, it will be heated up. Thus, solar water can be beneficial not only because of its easy usage but also because it is cheap and helps you to save a lot of money in the form of electrical bills. Solar energy is free and it reaches all homes. You just have to buy such heater which may heat up your water within the tank by using solar energy. So, use heater which use solar energy for heating water and save your money for whole life.

Purchasing and installing a solar water heater will cost a about €5,000 but the maintenance cost is low and it could last anywhere from 20 to 25 years. You should always buy heaters for solar water heating from companies which sell solar panels. These companies sell heaters which can heat up water within your tanks. You just have to order heaters for solar water heating and the company will give you a heater. They can fit heaters in your tanks which may use solar energy and may heat up water of your tanks. They are professional people and have more knowledge than you do. So always take the services of such companies for purchasing and installing solar water heaters. The company can tell you some special instructions which can increase the age of your heating and can help you to make maximum savings. They own the responsibility of repairing or replacing it if anything happens to the heater.

AEI

Alternative energy Ireland is the company which provides you with the benefit of owning a solar water heater and getting it installed at your home at an affordable price.







Sandra

Tina Metcalf asked:


Seventeen years ago, two Cal Arts professors started the Side Street project, a Pasadena, California-based arts organization which every year reaches 1,000 children ages 5-11 and teaches them how to use tools and create unique objects out of wood.

Operating from mobile units, or travel trailers, these hands-on teaching programs are so economically conservationist, 80 percent of donations go directly to delivering services. To stretch the money even further, a year ago Side Streets purchased solar panels with a $50,000 grant from The Ahmanson Foundation – installation overseen by Side Street’s staff and volunteers.

This 3,000-watt solar array delivers needed power to light the mobile teaching units and to power tools and other electrical units within the trailers. The teaching trailers currently reside at 730 North Fair Oaks, on unused land donated by the city, but when this lease expires they are mobile enough to take up residence elsewhere, displaying what one Side Streets worker has dubbed “stability through mobility”. Like turtles in their shells, the trailers can move on a moment’s notice if need be, though they have one advantage turtles lack; mobile power through solar energy.

Side Street’s programs are becoming increasingly important as cash-strapped school districts, confronted by decreasing enrollment, lowered funding and an increasingly negative economy, are forced to close on-site art programs.

The combination of mobility and solar energy has allowed the organization to reach more children in a timely manner at less expense. Without the cost of office rent and electricity, Side Streets mobile units are now focused on expanding their services to include high school students, and expand program offerings to include art media other than wood.

To fulfill this objective, Side Streets plans to purchase two more trailers, hopefully also solar-equipped, which they will also convert to classrooms with interchangeable work stations. That way, they can reduce student costs more than 30 percent and still quadruple capacity.

This sort of thinking, so far outside the box it is mind-boggling, may represent a wave of the future in which mobile teaching units serve smaller and smaller but geographically disparate student bodies more effectively. Given the cost structure of modern school districts, it may in fact be an idea which has found its time.



Jay