Tina Metcalf asked:


The ultimate solar home has to be the International Space Station: three hundred and seventy five square meters of solar cell goodness, providing thirty kilowatts of sweet solar energy to run one of the most amazing feats ever assembled by man.  Of course it’s not all cheery, in space maintenance is a bit tricky, and the commute to work takes ages.

One person who knows of both trials is astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, who had an unusual accident while working to repair the station’s right solar wing.  The solar wings have motors which move them to point at the sun, ensuring maximum energy absorption.  Or rather they usually do, one joint on the wing jammed, locking the panels in place and cutting down on the power production.

While fixing the problem, Heidemarie was distracted by an exploding grease-gun and put her tool bag down for a moment.  Except, of course, in space there is no real “down” and the untethered tool bag promptly floated off into the great black yonder.  There are a few reasons this isn’t a serious problem for Earth-bound panels:

1)  Earth panels don’t usually move to track the sun – except in special systems, the energy cost of moving the panels against gravity is more than you’d gain.

2)  Tool bags on Earth don’t usually float off into space.  If you’ve got a tool bag that can do that, please contact a scientist immediately.

3)  Regular tool bags don’t cost a hundred thousand dollars.

Yes, the escaped equipment cost a whopping hundred grand, the bag being full of customized NASA-grade goodies.  Don’t be expecting a free astronaut baggie to be dropping in from above though,  the small package will burn up harmlessly on re-entry.  The mission continued with no other problems, and the astronauts now await tests which will tell them if they’re back to full power.



Paula

pratibha asked:


We all know how effective Solar Power is in this age of awareness, where we all want energy sources heavily and at the same time easy and cheap at cost. We are quite well versed with solar power now and so we need to know how this solar power system works, what it is actually and how can we use it effectively. Especially, the residential consumers should focus their minds more to understand it, because they have to deal with on daily basis and all the time. So a better understanding of things always helps.

Starting with the main source, it’s always better to use the roof, since it goes well with the usual solar power installation criteria. But, there are many independent residential solar power systems users who install who install panels to posts, grounds or wall. It depends on the consumer’s preference.

Coming to the volts, generally household uses more and less 110 volt (AC) power and that is where we have converters, as it easily turns 12 volts to 110 volts, which is pretty enough for home usage. Solar panels collect sunlight at 12 volt (DC) energy which is then transferred and stored by the deep cycle batteries. There is a regulator that is planted to make sure that the batteries are not under or over charged. This control system also adds to the life of the batteries.

In this transferred and stored form the energy will run any appliance or device that uses 12 volt powder or that has a plug that fits into a vehicle cigarette lighter. But, we should make ourselves clear that a 12 volt power does not run most household appliances pr electronics.

Now comes the high tide part, the cost, well it depends on your consumption requirements. Liberal use of insulation always helps in the long run, whether it concerns with keeping in or out the heat, insulation is your biggest card to play. Besides there are all kinds of other ways to make your home energy efficient including conserving energy at home? Energy efficient designed home is going to be future’s ideal, so u better start thinking about it.



Charlie