Rainbow Solar Inc. (RSI) has produced a transparent, photovoltaic glass window producing power 80-250 watts. Although this is not the “first solar window,” it seems that the RSI has taken a big step forward.
Initial concept of light tubes developed by the ancient Egyptians, namely by direct use of natural light tubes with reflective material. This is the concept of the oldest and most widespread type of natural lighting of interior space.
Light tubes are also known as “tubular skylight”, “SunScope” or “Tubular Daylighting Device” allow natural light into the darkened interior room of buildings and houses. The people enjoy the natural lighting provided by skylights. However, skylights are often not evenly distribute the light, is the loss of a significant source of energy, and UV light can cause damage to the carpet and furniture. Light tubes, on the other hand, using the sun for lighting interiors without the shortcomings associated with conventional skylights. To prevent the danger of ultraviolet radiation (UV) from the carpet and furniture fading, UV inhibitors formed a dome roof on most models. Another bonus when choosing light tubes is that they provide far more heat slightly, as did the standard skylights. Because of the lack of acceptance of this heat, tubular skylights to save money on air conditioning bills during hot months.
Taking advantage of free sunlight as much as possible, the pipe hole collect sunlight from the roof dome light collector consists of an acrylic lens, bounce it to the bottom of a tube with a highly reflective interior coating, to pull the lens cap is similar to conventional recessed lighting equipment and diffuse sun light evenly throughout the interior rooms. The tube can be bent and adapted to drive around the garret or ceiling obstructions with small loss of light transmitting and can often be installed in less than three hours. Not like the ceiling of need roof to the ceiling of the timber-framed shaft and covered with drywall or wood panels, and the need for structural modifications, so installation is simple and relatively inexpensive.
Roof mounted dome made of high quality acrylic resin specially formulated to enhance the impact strength, chemical, weather resistance and high clarity.
Light tubes can be installed on almost all types of roof materials, including wood and asphalt shingles, concrete and ceramics, and metals. Thanks to a highly reflective coating on the rod, the tube can work efficiently from sunrise to sunset.
Most of the producers of glass tubular solar roof offers a 10-year warranty against defects in materials and post-installation cracks or discoloration. Tubes solar installation contractors generally offer a 2-3 year warranty for the installation of weatherproofing and storm protection.
The average size of the tubular skylight ranges between 10 and 21 inches (254 and 533 mm), diameter, which effectively light of 100-600 square feet (30,48-182,88 meters), interior space. The main factor in choosing a general measure of the distance between the roof rafters and / or ceiling beams.
Prices range from around $ 171.00 to $ 423.00. Installing a solar tube usually cost between $ 500 and $ 800. Both depend on the size of tubes and features installed.
Light tube options include:
Energy-efficient light tubes is an important part of the house and environmentally friendly buildings. Natural light effects on your physical, emotional and psychological well known as the rooms benefit from natural sunlight free will positively impact our environment for future generations. They are environmentally-friendly way to naturally brighten every room, a smart alternative to skylights and artificial lighting.
Home solar power could actually fun, modern, and even interesting. Limited electricity does not mean sacrificing convenience and comfort provided by the air heater, water heater, and air conditioning.
The design of home solar will save electricity because the walls, windows and floors designed to absorb and store heat energy during the winter and distribute them. And dissipates heat during the summer. Therefore comfort provided by the heating and air conditioning can be displaced.
Here are five basic elements that must be interconnected with each other in designing a home solar.
home solar system
Collectors
The large glass windows that are directly related to the sun should be facing 30 degrees to the north and should not be obstructed by other buildings or log starting at 9 am to 3 pm.
Absorbent
Walls, floors and partitions are objects that can absorb and store heat.
Thermal mass
Thermal mass is a material that can store heat from solar energy and is located behind the surface of objects that can absorb heat like the floor.
Distribution
Heat that has been collected and stored, then distributed or in circulation from one room to another. Method to distribute this is conduction, convection and radiation.
Setting
Control tools should be used to utilize energy use that has been collected, such as a thermostat to check the temperature so that it can turn on and off the fan.
The fuel needed to heat water can be reduced by solar water heaters because it capture renewable energy, the sun. Many solar water heaters use a small solar electric (photovoltaic) module to power the pump needed to circulate the heat transfer fluid through the collector. Use of these modules allows solar water heater to operate even during a power outage.
Solar water heaters can also be used for hotels and motels, car washing, swimming pools, restaurants, and others.
There are many designs for solar water heaters. But, in general consists of three main components:
1. Solar collectors, which convert solar radiation into heat.
2. Heat exchanger / pump module, which transfers heat from solar collectors into drinking water.
3. Storage tank to store solar hot water.
The most common types of solar collectors used in solar water heaters is a flat plate and evacuated tube collectors. In both cases, one or more collectors are installed on the south facing slope or roof and connected to the storage tank. When there is enough sunlight, a heat transfer fluid, such as water or glycol, is pumped through the collector. When the fluid through the collector, he is heated by the sun. Fluid which is heated and then circulated to heat exchangers, which transfer energy into the water tank.
When the owner of the home using hot water, cold water from the main water into the bottom of the solar storage tank. Solar hot water at the top of the storage tank flows into the conventional water heater and then to the faucet. If the water at the top of the solar storage tank hot enough, no further heating is required. If the solar-heated water is not too hot (because the clouds long enough), a conventional water heaters heat water until the desired temperature.
In general, energy sources are categorized into two parts namely non-renewable energy and renewable energy. Fossil energy sources are among the first group that the bulk of activity in the world using these conventional energy.
It is no doubt that the solar photovoltaic is one source of environmentally friendly energy and is very promising in the future, because there is no pollution produced during the process of energy conversion, and more widely available source of energy in nature, namely the sun.
Fundamental issues in solar cell technology is a very low efficiency in turning solar energy into electrical energy, which to date the highest efficiency can be achieved no more than 20%, and even then in a laboratory scale.
For that in developed countries, research on solar cell is a very big concern, especially with the issue of environmental clean.
From light into electricity
In a simple solar photovoltaic consists of the p-type and n junction semiconductor material (pn junction semiconductor) that if by the sun there will be a flow of electrons, electron flow is well known as the electric current flow. While the structure of the solar cell is as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Structure of a thin layer of solar photovoltaic in general
The main part of the energy changes of sunlight to electricity is the absorber, however, each layer is also very influential on the efficiency of the solar cell. Sunlight consists of various types of electromagnetic waves in a spectrum can be seen in figure 2. Therefore here absorber is expected to absorb as much solar radiation derived from sunlight.
Figure 2. The spectrum of solar radiation
More detail can be explained that the sun consists of a photon-photon, if it happen to solar cell surface material (absorber), will be absorbed, reflected or simply passed (see Figure 3), and only photons with certain energy level that will liberate electrons from atomic bonds, so that electrical current flows. Energy levels is called band-gap energy which is defined as the amount of energy required to discharge electrons out of its covalent bond so that there electric current flow. To free electron from its covalent bond, photon energy (hc/v) must be slightly larger or above than the band-gap energy. If the photon energy is too much of the energy band-gap, then the extra energy will be converted in the form of heat in a solar cell. Therefore it is important to the solar cell to regulate the materials used, namely by modifying the molecular structure of the semiconductor used.
Figure 3. Radiative transition of solar photovoltaic
Of course, that the efficiency of solar cell can be high if the photons from sunlight to be absorbed that as much, then reduce reflection and increase recombination and conductivity of the material.
To be able to make that a photon is absorbed can be as much, then the absorber must have an energy band-gap with a wide range, making it possible to absorb sunlight so energy has a variety of these. One of the many materials being studied are known CuInSe2 is one of the direct semiconductor.
So many advantages of solar photovoltaic as described above was not a polemic and not just stop, saying there was a solar photovoltaic is true when the energy change process there is no pollution produced, but have we calculated how much pollution has been generated in the process manufacturing, small compared to the resulting efficiency. Now the challenge here is indeed how to increase efficiency, which would affect its economic value.
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Flat collectors, and even concentrator is a tool used to collect solar radiation energy so that thermal energy produced can be used in more practical for a variety of processes. Flat solar collector consists of a transparent cover, absorber and insulator. Solar radiation that falls on the surface of the transparent material in the short wave will be forwarded by transparent material and then absorbed by absorber. Black color have an ability to absorb a larger radiation so that most of the sun radiation will be absorbed. Absorption of this radiation will create a high temperature absorber. Heat radiation emanated by absorber but in the form of long waves. Most of the transparent material has an opaque nature of long wave radiation and therefore part of the long wave radiation reflected back by this transparent material to the absorber. Some radiation is absorbed will be reflected back and the rest will experience the same process that is part reflected back to the absorber. Thus, the loss of heat due to radiation can be minimized by flat collector. In addition, the transparent cover also functions as a heat loss barrier carried by the air above the absorber to the environment.
Heat from the absorber is used through heat exchanger to the media of heat carrier. Media of heat carrier commonly used can be air or water. When using water as the media, absorber will conduct heat to the surface of the outside pipes. Then take heat conduction from the outside surface to the inside surface. With the process of convection, heat will move from the inside surface to the water that flows in the pipes, so the water temperature will increase. Water with a high temperature and then used in the other parts of the outside collectors flat. A similar process occurs when air is used as a medium of heat, but in this case the pipe is rarely used. The air above (or below) the absorber heated through convection due to direct contact with the absorber. High temperature air is then flowed out of collectors than used in processes that require hot air.
The performance of a solar collector will depend on the absorptivity characteristics of the absorber, transmissivity of transparent material, overall heat transfer coefficient of the insulator, the transparent material and the absorber.
Absorptivity is the portion of light that is absorbed by an object; transmissivity is the portion of light that is forwarded by an object, while the overall heat transfer coefficient is a power of heat transfer or the opposite of heat resistant.
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Utilization of solar energy in architecture can be done in two ways: passive and active. Utilization of passive do when solar power does not need to converted first into electricity. Deep utilization of the passive is also included on space heating (using the greenhouse gases) for the region with temperature of the air low, and water heating. Also, techniques to prevent heating the air in the room on the building in the area, including Tropical into the use of the passive type, where component of sunlight, which consists of: light and heat, only used on components’ light ‘it – the need for natural lighting in buildings.
Passive design strategies will be very different between the buildings that are on climate Tropical and climate Sub Tropical / cold. At the Tropical climate, direct radiation from the sun tend to be avoided by building in order to heat gain in the building to be low, so the increase of air temperature in the building can be prevented. While in Sub-Tropical climate, the design strategy is a passive step of the Tropical climate strategy in the acquisition of heat sun tend to be maximized (except in the summer), solar radiation through that fall directly on the building so that temperature increase occurs in the building, considering the air temperature around is low.
In utilizing the solar actively using the photovoltaic, should also simultaneously architect implement the strategy of passive design. Without the application of passive design strategies, energy use in buildings very likely remain high when visual and thermal comfort must be achieved. In situations such as this, the electric power comes from solar power conversion by solar cells does not become too much meaning. With dimensional solar cell panel which needs large electricity for the achievement of thermal comfort and visual on the building difficult to fulfill. Still electrical energy required for engine cooling air with a large capacity, because the air temperature in a high building, also required electricity for lights in the torch-lighting building a dark room when the strategy passive design that lead to the energy savings are not applied. Role of solar power to replace electricity necessary to achieve the building comfort (thermal and visual) finally failed because the building was not designed in such a form so that comfort achieved without the many electric energy consumption. Electricity generated by the photovoltaic possibility will not be large enough to cool down and illuminate the building. In other words passive design considerations for the use of energy in buildings in this case can not be ignored.
In the passive design, objectives of architecture work that would be achieved – that is comfortable and aesthetic, are generally made integral. Each step in the preparation of the components to form the jacket, simultaneous will result in the achievement of buildings comfort and aesthetic. Be not so with the case where the design of active solar cell panels can be arranged separate components with the preparation of building casing. In other words, the achievement of building aesthetic in active design done in a more flexible and separate with the strategy of comfort achievement, although in fact the architects are required to thought to integrate a comprehensive comfort needs with aesthetics – between needs using a solar cell panel with place them on the integrated shroud of the building so that the panels at once can be a building aesthetic element.
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Executive Summary about Solar Hot Water by Anna Williams
Solar hot water heating systems are a great way to effectively conserve energy and reduce your energy bill.
Important Facts about Solar Hot Water Systems
Types of Solar Hot Water Systems
There are two types of systems, “active solar water heating systems” and “passive solar water heating systems.” With a passive system, the water storage tank must therefore always be positioned above the solar water heater collector.
Active Solar Hot Water Systems
There is also the direct circulation system, where water is simply passed through solar heat collector and then routed to the water storage tank for use.
Passive Solar Hot Water Systems
Passive solar water heating systems are usually cheaper than “active solar water heating systems,” as they do not need controls or pumps to circulate the water.
If you live in a warm climate, a passive water heating system might be all you need. Essentially, solar water heating systems consist of a water storage tank and its solar collectors. The solar collectors are used to collect solar energy (which heats water), and the tanks store the heated water. 75% of the energy consumption of the average home is for hot water and heating. The most economical and effective way of using solar power is through the use of solar heating, and solar hot water heaters.
Homemade Solar Hot Water Heater – One of the Easiest Home Renewable Energy Systems You Could Make?
Executive Summary about Solar Hot Water by Denzil De Vries
Installing a solar hot water system is one of the easier projects to undertake if you are keen to create your own home made renewable energy systems.
The key to the solar hot water system is the solar collector. It is just a tank that has been modified to absorb thermal energy from the Sun. So it may be painted black on the external surfaces and have insulation on the internal surfaces to prevent heat loss.
The flat plate solar collector design uses the same principles but is designed to squeeze even more juice out of the Sun. The plate is painted black to again absorb solar radiation and heat. Along the plate is tubing that will hold water. The tubing exposes far more water to the heat than the ordinary old solar collector. This means more water is heated or made hotter.
Where you place your collector is vitally important but is dictated by two factors. It needs to get as much Sun as it can, so a south facing location in the home is best. But it also needs to move water to the boiler system in the home. So the nearer it is to the boiler the better. If the boiler is well located you could position the solar water collector above the boiler and let gravity move the water from boiler and back to collector based on the heat of the water.
A solar hot water system can be a simple as a solar water collector that has no moving parts or electricity to worry about and a connection to your boiler system.
Most people look into a solar hot water heater because they want to save money on their heating bills. With this in mind a solar hot water heater will help to reduce your bills by pre-heating water that goes into your traditional boiler.
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Executive Summary about Solar Heater by Michelle Bery
A solar heater literally harnesses the energy of the sun. The sun’s core holds enormous energy in the form of radiation; the energy that reaches the earth is considered solar energy.
In the case of a solar heater, we literally “collect” the solar energy that makes its way to earth. Flat plate collectors are thin panels that trap, store, and convert solar energy. When the sun hits the flat plate collector the solar energy is contained inside and used to heat coils within the collector. Those larger structures that are using solar energy find this type of solar heater far more effective for their purposes.
Solar Water Heaters
Executive Summary about Solar Heater by Shweta Rai
Solar water heaters are extremely useful household appliance. These heaters provide ample warm water. Unlike other water heaters, these do not harm the environment. Researches too have proved that these water heaters are quite beneficial. Due to these advantages, solar water heaters are recommended every where.
How solar water heater works?:
These heaters come with storage tank and solar collector. The water is passed through the storage tank and it is heated due to sunlight. There are two pipes, which connect the solar water tank to water heater inside the house. Outlet pipe carries warm water from solar heater to standard heater. The second pipe carries the water in opposite direction. The water heater is painted black, to absorb a lot of light.
How to install these heaters?:
Consult the buyer before buying these water heaters. Make sure that these heaters are placed facing the sun.
What can be approximate cost of these heaters?
Solar water heater cost vary to a large extent.
What are major benefits of these water heaters?
These Water heaters have a number of advantages. They are environment friendly and do not cause any pollution. Secondly, they reduce your electricity expenditure to a large extent
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