8Feb

8 Top Resources for Installing Solar in 2012

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8 Top Resources for Installing Solar in 2012

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By Britt Mauriss


Going solar is a beautiful thing. It not only saves money on your electrical bills for decades to come—it conserve the earth’s precious resources as well. But where to turn for current, insightful resources on solar panels, pricing, financing and incentive options in 2012? How to know how much energy your home consumes right now, and how much you can save down the road with solar-powered renewable energy?

I’ve gathered eight amazing resources to get you started on the path to solar independence. Here’s how to go solar in 2012.

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7Feb

Solar powered battery chargers to help reduce grid energy consumption

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Solar powered battery chargers to help reduce grid energy consumption

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Over the last decade, the number of electronic gadgets in use across the globe has risen dramatically. With the growth of the personal electronics segment, the demand for electricity is growing at an unprecedented rate. However, since the infrastructure that produces and distributes electricity, called the grid, cannot be upgraded at the same rate at which the demand for the electricity is increasing, alternative methods of electricity generation are being investigated. Since around a third of the electricity produced is lost in transmission. This additional dependence on fossil fuels too can be lessened if more sustainable methods of electricity production like solar power are made more accessible to the public.

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7Feb

Best solar powered watches for greener times

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Best solar powered watches for greener times

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Green is the way to go and now you can look for ‘greener times ahead’ by sporting an eco friendly and green watch. You no longer need to worry about your battery weakening, as you can power them with solar energy. Batteries keep getting disposed in the most inappropriate manner and eventually end up overspilling landfills. You can show your responsibility toward the environment by buying yourself a battery free watch. Not only are these solar powered watches eco friendly, they are visually cool too. (more…)

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6Feb

MIT Researchers Find a Way To Make Solar Panels from Grass Clippings

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MIT Researchers Find a Way To Make Solar Panels from Grass Clippings

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What if generating solar energy at home required little more than mixing some grass clippings with inexpensive chemicals? That’s exactly what MIT researcher Andreas Mershinhas found to be the case. The scientist says creating a solar cell could be as easy as mixing any green organic material (grass clippings, agricultural waste) with a bag of custom chemicals and painting the mixture on a roof. Once the efficiency of Mershin’s system is improved, this type of solar technology could make cheap energy available in rural places and developing countries where people don’t have access to affordable energy. Read on to see a video of Mershin’s findings

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4Feb

Solar Powered Vehicle for a green ride in deserts

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Solar Powered Vehicle for a green ride in deserts

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Designer Omer Sagiv’s futuristic Solar Powered Vehicle (SPV) is an ideal vehicle for long rides in deserts or other open lands. The SPV is a typical solar vehicle design. The aluminum structure mounts plenty of flexible thin film modules, which can generate much energy for long rides. In form, the SPV almost resembles Nuon solar car, developed by Delft University.

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3Feb

Mexican student envisions energy generating satellite

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Mexican student envisions energy generating satellite

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As our conventional sources of energy are about to go extinct, scientists are developing unique and indifferent technologies to meet the global demand of energy. Carl Peart, a Mexican student, entered the ‘Create the Future Design Contest, 2011‘, with this unique design to produce clean energy. Named ‘Solar collection and Transfer Satellite’, it uses the system of Electro Mechanical Batteries to store energy, which is collected by the solar panels installed on the satellite. EMBs are simple and have amazing potential to store energy.

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3Feb

125 MW solar power plant to land in Arizona by end of 2013

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125 MW solar power plant to land in Arizona by end of 2013

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Maricopa County, Arizona is set to play host to a 125 MW photovoltaic solar power plant, according to an announcement on Tuesday from Fluor Corporation. The company has won the separate contracts to build and maintain the facility, which upon completion will fleetingly join the ranks of the the world’s largest photovoltaic solar farms. The project, known as Arlington Valley Solar Energy II (AVSE II) will be built on 1.8 square miles (4.7 sq. km) near to the Arlington Valley Combined Cycle Facility, a 577 MW natural gas plant also designed and built by Fluor.

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1Feb

Solar car hits U.S. in round-the-world jaunt

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Solar car hits U.S. in round-the-world jaunt

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Last October, the SolarWorld GT solar-powered car set out from Darwin, Australia on a drive around the world. It has since driven 3,001 kilometers (1,865 miles) across Australia, logged 1,947 km (1,210 miles) crossing New Zealand and been shipped across the Pacific Ocean. This Friday, it will embark on the U.S. leg of its journey, as it sets out across America from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

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31Jan

Device Could Drive Down Solar’s Cost

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ArrayPower_x220

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As solar panel manufacturers try to harvest more of the sun’s energy for less, they face increasingly diminishing returns. At roughly $1 per watt, the cost of solar modules now represents less than a third of the total cost of commercial solar installations. To cut the total cost of solar power—currently $3.00 to $3.50 per watt—bigger gains will have to come from improvements in the power electronics, wiring, and mounting systems required for solar installations.

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30Jan

CHIP House powered by solar energy, controlled with Xbox Kinect

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CHIP House powered by solar energy, controlled with Xbox Kinect

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The CHIP House – which stands for “Compact Hyper-Insulated Prototype” – was started with the goal of creating a net-zero energy home (i.e. one that requires no external energy source), and it looks like the designers exceeded that target. The house actually generates three times as much energy as it uses thanks to solar panels and a host of energy saving measures.

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