The greatly-underestimated public bus shelter is the latest subject of a creative solar power makeover. When competition winners were announced on June 30, 2016, an innovative new set of designs entered the high-tech highway to solar-powered shelters. With solar-powered glow-in-the-dark lighting, the top prize-winning bus shelter offers way more than just protection from the rain. […]
smartflower POP+ enables anyone to start their own personal energy revolution. The integrated power storage unit makes this all-in-one solar power system – the only one of its kind in the world – up to 100% independent of the grid day and night. How does smartflower work? With the first rays of the sun, smartflower […]
New home shoppers say they want more energy efficient homes and are willing to pay more to get them according to a survey by the National Association of Home Builders.
There are plenty of things that can make a regular building into a “green building”. And, whether we’re talking about a white roof, a green wall, a heavy use of recycled materials, or just some new, energy-efficient windows to help homeowners save some money, the one thing that almost everyone thinks of when they think […]
Market research firm IHS says home energy storage will explode from 90 megawatts this year to over 900 megawatts by 2018. That’s a growth rate of 1000% – a staggering increase, if true. What’s driving this trend toward more in-home energy storage? IHS says its all about rapidly falling costs. The vast majority of people with solar […]
Conventional wisdom says that panels should be installed facing south to get the most solar exposure (in the northern hemisphere). South-facing panels create the most power in the morning and mid-day, but peak demand for electricity typically occurs in the late afternoon. Because of that, a number of solar experts have begun to say that […]
40% of all the energy consumed in America every year is used for heating or cooling homes and commercial buildings. Modern insulation, fiberglass composite windows and draft reducing doors combined with passive solar design and the use of solar panels could cut that energy usage in half. So why aren’t more people insisting on higher energy […]
Texas, the largest energy consuming state in the nation, wants to reduce carbon emissions by 195 billion tons over the next 18 years- and it’s looking at an innovative program that will allow local businesses to renovate existing commercial and public buildings to lead the way. It’s called Property Assessed Clean Energy or PACE, and it’s made […]
Yingli Green Energy, the largest vertically integrated photovoltaic module manufacturer in the world, known as “Yingli Solar,” announced that they have successfully completed trial production of monocrystalline ingots for solar panels using new material technology. Instead of using traditional graphite crucibles when pulling monocrystalline ingots, Yingli experimented with crucibles made from a carbon-carbon (C-C) composite […]
For those who like infographics, this i a fun one to read through. The home of tomorrow will certainly continue to get better, however, much of it is already here today. Thanks to Eurofit Direct for providing this.
Bosch has decided to step up to the plate and construct an integrated solar power supply system called the BPT-S 5 Hybrid. Almost everything is integrated into it. The company integrated an inverter, Saft lithium-ion batteries, and an energy management system (charge controller) into a single unit which is certified and safety tested for domestic installations. […]
Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) is introducing some very exciting lighting and renewable energy discoveries. Source: Clean Technica [repostus hash=2b6157b160a567e20ed0d15b9b71f11d title=Taiwan%26%238217%3Bs+ITRI+Introduces+Award-Winning+Green+Tech%2C+Including+Low-Cost%2C+High-Efficiency+Concentrating+Solar+PV+Film%2FPanel host=Clean+Technica short=1rahV snip=%C2%A0+Taiwan%E2%80%99s+Industrial+Technology+Research+Institute+%28ITRI%29+is+on+a+bit+of+a+roll+when+it+comes+to+winning+awards+for+new%2C+innovative+green+technology+that+reduces+carbon+emissions+and+energy+consumption.+ITRI+in+recent+years+has+focused+its+efforts+on+developing+new+%E2%80%9Cgreen%E2%80%9D+technologies.+The%26hellip%3B thumb=3129705 jump=1]
With the cost of solar power installations coming down, the ability to expand a solar infrastructure from experimental to more lasting energy production was stimulated in 2010 by government policies for feed-in tariffs. Feed-in tariffs for solar power effectively pay users and businesses a small amount for the energy they produce, and offer contractors long-term contracts on a guaranteed purchase basis over 25 years.
The choice of components is a critical one. If you pick the wrong pieces of equipment, you may encounter unexpected problems, such as premature failure of the components or a low efficiency of the panels themselves. A reliable system will lower your energy bills for years to come, even to the extent that you might make money selling the surplus power. A poorly constructed system will cost a small fortune, as you need constant repairs and replacements.
It’s becoming increasingly important to make your house greener. Benefits include helping the environment by cutting down on the amount of CO2 emissions released from your home, as well as committing to recyclable materials. At the same time, it’s possible to make your house greener by cutting back on bad habits when it comes to using power, while keeping an eye on the kind of products that you use. By doing so, you can make a contribution to environmental health. These approaches, and more, are detailed below: