thesolarpanel | 
07 9th, 2008| 
Interesting chart shows just how much ice we are losing worldwide from the large sea ice sources. Yes, there are a few spots with increasing sea ice, however, as you can see the vast majority of large sea ice sources are decreasing in size and rapidly. Ah, just another reason to get hoppin’ with that solar panel installation . . .
Jul
9
May
7
Here’s a great video on how solar panels are made. I found it on Youtube and I thought that it would be interesting to share. There are other videos too on this topic but this one seemed the best.
Here it is:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYeynLy6pj8&hl=en]
Apr
11
Can solar balloons be the next big thing in renewable energy? I think that it’s possible. At least these would save the trees that are cut down because of shading the other types of solar panels.
This is how these architectural wonders are described:
helium filled platforms constructed from a new fabric coated with photovoltaic solar cells.
Read more here
Apr
9
I found some interesting products worth checking out.
- Solar Rolls:
Read more here
- Solar Powered Notebook:
Read more here
- Solar Powered Hat Radio
Read more here
- Safari Hat With Solar Powered Cooler
Read more here
- Solar Charger For iPod:
Read more here
- Solar Powered Motion Detector
Read more here
- Semi Transparent Photovoltaic Module
Read more here
Mar
27
I came across a post today about the Sanyo Building from Japan and I had to share some pictures with you because it has one of the coolest solar panels ever made.
Here are the pics:
To read more and see more pictures click here
Mar
14
Materials you will need The solar cell is made from these materials:1. A sheet of copper flashing from the hardware store. This normally costs about $5.00 per square foot. We will need about half a square foot.
2. Two alligator clip leads.
3. A sensitive micro-ammeter that can read currents between 10 and 50 microamperes. Radio Shack sells small LCD multimeters that will do, but I used a small surplus meter with a needle.
4. An electric stove. My kitchen stove is gas, so I bought a small one-burner electric hotplate for about $25. The little 700 watt burners probably won’t work — mine is 1100 watts, so the burner gets red hot.
5. A large clear plastic bottle off of which you can cut the top. I used a 2 liter spring water bottle. A large mouth glass jar will also work.
6. Table salt. We will want a couple tablespoons of salt.
7. Tap water.
8. Sand paper or a wire brush on an electric drill.
9. Sheet metal shears for cutting the copper sheet.
Read more here
Mar
13
Here are some negative facts about the use of solar energy:
Outfitting a house to harness solar power requires a few more calculations than plugging a home into a utility’s electrical grid.
Installing solar panels is expensive. In the typical residential scenario outlined below, it would take 14 years for a solar system to pay for itself. Customer demand is expected to rise, however, as technological advances make solar power more affordable.
3 kilowatt solar panel energy system
-Produces: 3,450 kilowatt-hours per year
-Size: Panels cover about 300 square feet
-Materials and installation: About $20,000
-Savings: $327.71 per year, plus $13,500 rebate
Read more here
Mar
12
A very suiting title for a campaign called “lighting a billion lives”.
One billion people can get electricity for the first time for little more than the cost of one month’s war in Iraq, said Rajendra Pachauri, the head of a Nobel peace prize-winning U.N. panel of climate scientists.
Pachauri is supporting a campaign “lighting a billion lives”, led by India’s Energy and Resources Institute, to furnish people without access to the grid with electric lanterns powered by solar photovoltaic panels.
To read more on this topic click here
Mar
11
I found a post called ‘the ugly side of solar panels’ which is a bout the negative effects of creating the solar panels.
Looking at the best case scenario, you say that a square metre of solar panel will cause 7,527 kg of emissions, given an emission intensity of 20.5 g/Kwh. That implies that the panel generates 7,527/0.0205 Kwh over its 30 year life time (the 30 years comes from the study).
Read more here
Mar
7
Husqvarna designed a lawn mower that is totally based on solar energy and it’s the first one of this kind.
This electric solar-powered hybrid robotic lawn mower is said to be the first of its kind in the world. It delivers a professionally cut lawn every time the sun is shining. Apparently it can clear 2,300 square meters of grass and is programmable to work only at certain times or days of the week. The battery lasts only for 40 minutes till you need to recharge it for another 40 minutes.