Advantages and disadvantages of solar energy.

[Cooper]

There are just too many advantages of solar energy over the non-renewable resources like oil. Solar energy is healthier than oil. The burning of oil releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into our environment. The average home produces more than twice the amount of carbon dioxide than an average car does.

Solar energy Australia is free. The sun provides it which will power thousands of generations to come. Therefore solar energy is a renewable source of energy; oil on the other hand is not a renewable source. Once exhausted, it cannot be retained. The main reason why most companies don’t use it is because they can’t charge the person for something that’s available free of cost to everyone.

Solar panels are cheap to build. All you need is a reliable Do It Yourself kit and a guide that will guide you every step of the way. Or you can consult a solar energy Australia company to do the same for you. Solar cells are extremely quiet. They power your home without making a sound.
You can create your own solar power for just below $200. Some countries offer tax rebates and tax reductions through implementing solar power solutions in your home. The countries include Australia and America. It's possible to "sell back" power into the grid and pay less for your electricity bills.
As you can see there are many advantages of solar power. On the other hand there are also some disadvantages such as:
Buying factory made solar panels can cost thousands. But there are Do It Yourself kits to show you how to build solar panels. Solar power cannot be created at night. However, that's why there are wind generators or hydro power. They are mostly abundant in countries with a high number of hours exposed to the sun. So, cold countries in the northern or southern latitude will create less solar energy.

[startfresh]

hi cooper great 1st post.a lot of houses were i clean windows have these. freshy

[mexytl]

hey
i install domestic solar heating and hot water sytems for a living. in my opinion this is not a thing for DIY . as there are many problems that can arrise if not done correct .But one thing a will say even in a cold part of the country bt still with sunlight they work amazing.maybe you dnt alwasy get it at night or when ever bt a would rather have al least most of it for free than paying for it all.

[awake n aware]

hey can anyone tell me EXACTLY how efficient a solar cell/panel is please??...having trouble finding a figure.
someone mentioned to me the other day they convert around 75-85% of the suns energy??

[mexytl]

hey can anyone tell me EXACTLY how efficient a solar cell/panel is please??...having trouble finding a figure.
someone mentioned to me the other day they convert around 75-85% of the suns energy??

the efficiency of a PV (photovoltaic) solar panel is much lower than you might expect. It’s actually around 15 to 20%.

While PV panels will never be as efficient as Solar Thermal panels, it’s important to remember that the 15% efficiency figure still represents a significant improvement on PV solar panels of the early 90’s.

Those early solar panels worked at efficiencies of around 3 or 4%, so in just a few years the efficiency of photovoltaic solar panels has more than tripled.

That’s all thanks to scientific and technology advances – and already breakthroughs are being made that could take the efficiency of PV panels to an unprecedented 40%.

While it will admittedly be some time before we see panels of this efficiency rating used in domestic installations, you can rest assured that solar is now big business – with energy departments all over the globe continuing to plough money into its development.

Solar thermal (hot water) systems offer efficiency levels more in keeping with what we might expect from a renewable technology. These panels (flat plate collectors and evacuated tubes) are up to 90% efficient.That means 90% of the solar radiation which hits the plate ends up heating your domestic water – only 10% is wasted in the process.

[awake n aware]

hey can anyone tell me EXACTLY how efficient a solar cell/panel is please??...having trouble finding a figure.
someone mentioned to me the other day they convert around 75-85% of the suns energy??

the efficiency of a PV (photovoltaic) solar panel is much lower than you might expect. It’s actually around 15 to 20%.

While PV panels will never be as efficient as Solar Thermal panels, it’s important to remember that the 15% efficiency figure still represents a significant improvement on PV solar panels of the early 90’s.

Those early solar panels worked at efficiencies of around 3 or 4%, so in just a few years the efficiency of photovoltaic solar panels has more than tripled.

That’s all thanks to scientific and technology advances – and already breakthroughs are being made that could take the efficiency of PV panels to an unprecedented 40%.

While it will admittedly be some time before we see panels of this efficiency rating used in domestic installations, you can rest assured that solar is now big business – with energy departments all over the globe continuing to plough money into its development.

Solar thermal (hot water) systems offer efficiency levels more in keeping with what we might expect from a renewable technology. These panels (flat plate collectors and evacuated tubes) are up to 90% efficient.That means 90% of the solar radiation which hits the plate ends up heating your domestic water – only 10% is wasted in the process.

cheers for that info mex....most enlightening. so basically get the flat plate collectors and evac. tubes and use it to heat your water......seems the most efficient use to me.

[mexytl]

A evacuated tube 21 tubes in a pannel (they vary in size) depends on your house) would be more than enough to heat a hot water tank for a normal size house and give you free hot water in the summer.The winter its hit a miss tho.We fit just evacuated tube systems for the hot water and its seems to work perfect and are quiet good but i would only suggest geting them if you plan to stay for a while as it takes a while for you to get your money back on them considering the price.But just like everything am sure it will cum down in price and will have to be fitted into every new built or renovated house.
need any mre info let me know
peace

[goodwood1969]

Hi all, I ve looked into electric solar panels for when I build my house. There are 2 basic sorts, crystalline and silicone. Crystalline produce more lekky in direct sun but suffer in the cold in terms of electrical output whereas silicone (flat matt black in colour as opposed to the sheen of crystalline panel) produce less electric than crystalline in direct sun but produce electric at lower light levels and can be fitted to less than optimum roof angles and direction of orientation. If I were ready to buy then I'd go with the silicon panels. EBay has some excellent prices and look for the write ups for the difference between the two sorts.
Cheers G

[e11]

In the UK, you are better with Silicon, but in order to make "efficient" solar panels out of silicon semiconductors yourself you would need to have the capability to heat the silicon up to a stable temperature (below its melting point) to add the other materials required into it as they have to slowly diffuse into the silicon in order for it to be effective at being conductive. Melting them all and simply mixing it all together won't give you very efficient solar panels because the impurity atoms wouldn't "set" correctly. Slow curing so to speak.

I was looking into the possibility of creating PV solar panels, but never really worked out all the costs to see if it would be achievable or worthwhile

[Etype]

I am totally for off grid living. The plan is coming together bit at a time.