Off-Grid Residential Solar Power System

There are three main solar power systems - grid-tied (on-grid, grid-connected), off-grid (stand-alone power system (SAPS), and hybrid solar (battery storage with grid-connection). Since I’ve already written about grid-tied systems, in this post I’ll give some basic information about off-grid residential solar power systems.

An off-grid solar power system is a solar panel system not connected to the grid. This means that you are completely independent of the utility grid and your solar system produces clean electricity for all your energy needs. The system consists of solar panels, an off-grid inverter, charge controller and rechargeable battery storage. An off-grid backup generator is an optional component. 

Before buying and installing an off-grid power system you should know your daily power needs. This will help determine which size system is appropriate for you. You can check out this off-grid system calculator to determine the size of the system for your off-grid home. Your solar panel system can be mounted on the roof or on the ground. 

The off-grid solar power system just like the other solar power systems works by generating electricity from solar panels. That electricity is direct current (DC), so it is converted using an inverter to alternative current (AC) and then it powers your home electronic appliances. AC is the standard form of electricity for anything that “plugs in” to utility power and it is a necessary form for the household appliances to work. 

When solar panels generate excess electricity it charges a solar battery (DC) via a charge controller. The charge controller is an essential component because it regulates the voltage and current that solar battery storage receives, to prevent overcharging and damage. And by saving the solar power in battery storage, it is possible to run your home appliances with energy from the sun, even at night or on cloudy days when solar panels produce less electricity. 

The off-grid solar power systems are much more expensive then on-grind systems due to the high prices of the batteries. It is suitable for one family home if you would like to gain complete energy independence, holiday houses, and especially for houses and farms in remote areas far away from the electricity grid. But although the off-grid solar power system is expensive this is a long-term investment that will save you money and deliver green, reliable power for decades.

See also: Solar Power Calculating Tools Online

Solar-Powered School in Copenhagen

This is one more interesting news that represent another effort to be developed colored solar panels.

The International School in Copenhagen is using custom-built colorful solar panels as a featured architectural element. Each panel is individually angled and the result is really cool impression. The materials that were used in the new building are entirely natural. Thus the school made both an aesthetic and sustainable decision.

The campus of the cosy school is covered by 12,000 solar tiles making it the largest solar facade in the world. On sunny days the solar panels generate electricity that is contribute to the grid and to the school itself.

The solar panels are spanning over an area of 65,100ft2 and provide it with 300 MWh of electricity per year, meeting over half of the school's energy needs. One of the key vision of the school is to educate thair students of a sustainable world.

The unique building stands out because the panels are a distinctive sea green, the same of Copenhagen’s symbol - Andersen’ mermaid, which welcomes tourist in the Danish capital. Although no pigments were used to make them, the color comes from a process of light interference developed over more than a decade in the labs of the Ecole Polytechnique Federale in Lausanne (EPFL).

Based on a new technology developed in Switzerland the process that produced color of these panels is a similar to the effect seen in soap bubbles.

The researchers developed special filters, which they applied to the glass panels in nanometric layers. This filter determines which wavelengths of light will be reflected as visible color. The rest of the sunlight is absorbed by the solar panel and converted into energy.

“The iris effect creates a colorful rainbow on a very thin layer. We used the same principle and adapted for glass,  said Jean-Louis Scartezzini, the head of the Solar Energy and Building Physics lab at EPFL.

The school building won the 2017 Iconic Award - an international award program for architecture and urban planning professionals in the architecture category.

Orange Solar Concept Tent for Campers

The United Kingdom mobile company Orange recently unveiled their concept for the "tent of the future", called Glastonbury. This tent will allow avid campers to keep in touch and power their essential gadgets such as GPS or mobile phones. 

The Orange Solar Concept Tent was designed with help from the American product design firm Kaleidoscope and it harnesses solar energy to charge the gadgetry through a wireless charging pouch (no plug in!).

The solar-powered futuristic tent captures the rays of the sun via “photovoltaic fabric" - specially coated solar threads woven into conventional fabric. The Solar Concept Tent uses this revolutionary new technology to full effect with three adjustable glides, which can be rotated throughout the day to follow the sun and capture the most sunlight. Not only that, the tent has a wireless control hub to provide WiFi, wireless charging, and a touchscreen LCD display that keeps track of the energy generated and consumed.

Another advancement is a cool feature called "glo-cation technology". This enables campers to find their tent using an SMS message or automatic active RFID tech. So if you’re having trouble finding your tent, sent a text, and the Glastonbury will glow gently for you, guiding you back to your sleeping bag.

There is also a feature known as groundsheet heat. This is an internal heating element controlled by the central hub and it is embedded within the tent’s groundsheet. The underfloor heater will automatically come once the interior temperature drops below a certain level.

Well, let's hope that the Orange Solar Concept Tent could soon become a reality.

Source: Orange Unveils Solar Powered Tent for Staying Connected While Camping in Luxury

Racing Car Made of Vegetables and Powered by Chocolate

This news is not related to solar energy but it is an interesting piece of green news and I think it deserves to write a post about it.

The WorldFirst team, a team of UK designers from the Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre at the University of Warwick, Britain, have created aninnovative racing car made entirely of vegetables and powered by chocolate. The car, named the WorldFirst F3, uses plant-oil based lubricants and a bio-diesel engine that can run on a mixture of chocolate and vegetable oil.

Chocolate-Powered Race Car Made Out of Vegetables

The futuristic eco car, with a top speed of 145 mph, has a body made of potatoes, a steering wheel made of carrots, and a seat made of soybeans. Car parts are produced by mixing vegetable fibres with resins and the oils in the chocolate are refined to produce fuel. It has also an emission destroying catalyst that purifies the air as you drive on.

At the moment, the engine fails to meet current regulations because of its unusual fuel. However, the WorldFirst team, hope that official racing rules will be changed so that the car can compete in championship races next season.

The WorldFirst F3 is the first Formula 3 racing car designed and made entirely from sustainable and renewable materials.The team, from World First Racing, hope that environmentally-friendly technology used in their car will be adopted by Formula 1 teams such as McLaren and world champions Ferrari.

A team spokesman said: "We hope the Formula 1 teams will see that an environmentally friendly car is not necessarily a slow car. We expect our new materials to be used by the Formula 1 cars of the future."

Sources: Inhabitat & Greener Design

Solar-Powered Ski Jacket by Ermenegildo Zegna

It is winter time here - time for chilling temperatures, snow, but also white beauty, skiing and much fun. So, news like this could be interesting for all environmentally-conscious and geeky skiers. The first "ecological" luxury solar-powered ski jacket designed by Italian designer Ermenegildo Zegna is able to recharge your cell phone, iPod and other gadgets on the go. Italian clothing manufacturer Ermenegildo Zegna, has joined hands with a German company called Interactive Wear, a firm that specializes in "smart" textile technology, to develop the world’s first ski jacket that gets its juice from solar energy.

The jacket uses Microtene material that makes it water resistant and has integrated discreet solar cells placed in neoprene collar, which converts sunlight into renewable power to charge your electronic gadgets while you're outdoors. An hour of direct sunlight will charge up a phone for about 35 minutes of talk time. The battery requires four to five hours for a full charge. Good thing is also that you can take off the collar anytime, so you can use it to charge your gadgets even when you are back at home.

Although this jacket doesn't seem to be very innovative, since it looks like they’ve just stitched a couple of solar cells into the jacket’s collar, I think that all trials in the field of "intelligent" clothing deserve our attention and should be admired. And it is one more opportunity to promote your green ideas to the world, well... if you can afford it - Zegna Sport Solar Ski Jacket retails for about $1,350 at all Ermenegildo Zegna boutiques.

www.zegna.com

Solar Christmas Lights for a Greener Christmas

In accordance with the Holiday Spirit this post is all about having an environmentally friendly and green Christmas just by purchasing a set of outdoor solar Christmas lights to illuminate your home.

Solar Christmas lights can help you save electricity and money, and they are convenient to use because they don’t have to be plugged in and there are no wires to worry about. Solar Christmas lights use LED or Light Emitting Diode technology instead of filament bulbs, which not only saves power and creates vivid light, but also stays cooler than typical bulbs and thus eliminate danger of fire.

When buying Solar Xmas lights you should be aware of charging times and lighting times. On average the outdoor solar lights will illuminate for about 7-8 hours while a few brands tout 12 to 15 hours of illumination time. Keep in mind that illumination time is affected by how fully the solar panel is recharged during the day. Also, an exceptionally cloudy, dark day will reduce the nightly illumination time.

Solar Christmas lights are becoming very popular, which has led to increased availability and design choices. They are available in many different shapes such as stars, bells, hearts, snowmen, snowflakes, Santa designs, and more.

If you want to impress your friends and neighbors you may look for some really impressive solar Christmas lights - those that come with a remote control and with options that allow you to create your own light show. Some solar Christmas lights even let you change the level of light output or change the color of the lights with the remote control.

So, buy a set of cool energy efficient solar Christmas lights and enjoy a Greener Christmas with your family and friends!

China's Solar-Powered City Rizhao

Since I found this information interesting and inspiring I decided to publish one more post about China and solar energy, this time featuring China's solar-powered city Rizhao. China has a major problem with pollution, largely as a result of the country's rapid industrial growth and a large increase in energy consumption, which is primarily provided by coal power plants. So, I think that projects and strategies like this one in Rizhao deserve admiration and popularization.

Rizhao is a "small" coastal Chinese city of nearly three million, located at the southern end of Shandong Peninsula and bordering on the Yellow Sea. It is a rising seaport and tourist city, with golden beaches, mild climate and lots of sunshine - Rizhao receives an average of 270 days of sunlight every year. Recently, Rizhao has gained much popularity because of using sun's light and heat to provide energy, thus limiting the city’s carbon emissions and urban pollution. By using the simple, cheap solar devices that sit on the almost all of Rizhao's rooftops, the city has cut its yearly carbon dioxide emissions by about 53,000 tons. The features of a coastal city with “large green space, gardenable, open and ecological” are also obvious. The public green space per capita is up to 16 m3.

In Rizhao City, which means "City of Sunshine" in Chinese, an incredible 99% of households in the central districts and more than 30% do so in the outlying villages use solar water heaters. Also, six thousand houses have solar cooking facilities and 60,000 greenhouses are heated by solar panels, reducing overhead costs for farmers in nearby areas. Almost all traffic lights, street lamps and park illuminations are powered by photovoltaic solar cells. In total, the city has over a half-million square meters of solar water heating panels, the equivalent of about 0.5 megawatts of electric water heaters.

Rizhao Municipality has made great efforts to build Rizhao into a modern coastal Ecocity. Mayor Li Zhaoqian explained: "It is not realistic to subsidize end users as we don't have sufficient financial capacity." Instead, the provincial government heavily invested in the local solar panel industries to achieve technological breakthroughs, which increased efficiency and lowered the unit cost.

Since 2001, Rizhao City officials have been educating people and implementing building regulations to promote the use of solar panels. A combination of investment in the industry, regulations and public education spurred the broad adoption of solar heaters. The city mandates all new buildings to incorporate solar panels, and it oversees the construction process to ensure proper installation. To raise awareness, the city also ran public advertising on television and held open seminars.

Rizhao has been granted many honorable titles, such as National Model City of Environmental Protection, China’s Outstanding Tourism City, Environmentally-friendly National Model City, and National Garden City.

Sources: Renewable Energy World, Worldwatch Institute

Going Green with a Solar Water Heater

Utilizing energy of the sun to heat water is one of the oldest forms of solar technology available. The first commercial solar hot water heater was patented by Baltimore inventor Clarence Kemp in 1891 (he called his solar water heater the Climax), and since then improvements in performance, design, and level of complexity have made solar water heaters the perfect choice for homeowners looking to go green and create more sustainable home.

There are several different types solar water heaters, including those with pumps and those that work passively. Basically, solar water heating systems have two main parts: a hot water storage tank and some type of collector that absorbs solar energy. The most modern solar water heaters mount flush with a home's roof and resemble skylights. Geographic location, collector orientation, and collector size will determine how much energy can be provided for domestic hot water heating.

On an average single-family residence, there will typically be one or two solar collector panels on the roof. Some homeowners use the solar water heating system exclusively (sometimes with a gas or electric tankless water heater as a backup energy source), while others pair them with other systems as pre-heaters.

Solar water heating systems cost depends on a number of factors, such as the size of the system and the particular system manufacturer, the number of people in the household, the current hot water usage, the type of roof it is going to sit on, trees causing shadows, etc. The typical solar heating system costs in the range of $2,000 - $6,000. Any solar rebates and other incentives available in your area will reduce the total cost. You can find more detailed information about it at www.dsireusa.org (for USA customers).

Using solar energy to meet part or all of your home's domestic hot water needs have a good economic payoff and can be a valuable and cost effective option to invest. When correctly installed, a solar hot water system can reduce your water-heating bills 50-80%, depending upon water consumption. With a solar water heating system, you'll get the hot water your household needs, save electricity which means saving money, reduce your dependence on coal-fired power and benefit the environment. Saving electricity means reducing emissions created by burning fossil fuels and water consumption at power stations, thus taking steps to save the environment. When a water heating system is combined with an electric water heater, pollutant emissions are reduced by about 2,800 pounds per year. A solar system replacing natural gas will reduce pollution by 1,200 to 1,600 pounds annually.

Solar water heaters pay for themselves in four to eight years and should function for 20+ years.

Solar-Powered Umbrella - Unique Light for your Patio or Backyard Area

Solar-powered umbrella is an excellent idea and a really cool summer gadget that already exist on the market and you can buy one for your patio, backyard, or garden.

This item is great for providing shade during the day and lights for your patio or backyard area at night without adding to your energy bill. During the day, it utilizes and stores energy from the sun in a solar panel located on top of the umbrella. When the sun goes down, the solar patio umbrella lights automatically turn on, proving sophisticated, gentle illumination. It is perfect for those outdoor summer gatherings and romantic dinners.

Solar-powered umbrella has a hi-tech solar panel attaches at the finial (top) of the umbrella to power the white LED's which are located on the ribs. Most models have also been designed with a center hub light that includes several LED's inside. The batteries inside the solar panel are replaceable and the LED's are also replaceable. The panel will charge in direct sunlight and fully charged provides 6-8 hours of light.

Solar-powered Tech Chair on the Beach

The solar-powered Tech Chair is definitely an interesting idea thought up by experts from the UK-based computer retailer PC World. It may easily become the summer favorite possession especially for the geeks as it boasts all the essential ports for various gadgets to hook up to while you're lying on the beach and tanning under the summer sun. Keep in mind, however, that you should place all your gadgets in a shaded area or under an umbrella, since the direct exposure to sunlight is incompatible with electronics.

The major feature of the chair is that it is solar-powered, harnessing energy from the sun so you can plug in all your gadgets. The overhead shade maker is equipped with solar cells to power the docks for your phone, MP3 player, camera, video recorder, and laptop, plus there's a game console holder, LCD screen, speakers, and headphone sockets. An interesting feature also is the automatic sunshade which follows the sun to keep your face shielded. The special solar fabric will provide protection from sun, wind, sand, water and suncream.

Perhaps most useful is the built-in long-range WiFi and Bluetooth antenna for keeping you connected. Another nice thing is a sliding laptop table which is available so you can work in the sun. And at the foot of the tech chair there is even a GPS device.

Anina Castle, spokesperson for PC World said: "We're also looking to incorporate a mobile text reservations system, whereby the Tech Chair can be booked by text and located via GPS so Britons don't have to worry about getting up before their early-rising European cousins."

"The Tech Chair unites a number of electrical products in a lightweight portable package that can be folded into a compact suitcase design small enough to take as carry-on luggage.", a PC World spokeswoman also said.

The solar-powered Tech Chair is still a concept design and experts have not yet worked out how much it will cost to buy.

Sources: The Design Blog, Sky News, Metro Headlines

Mandatory solar panels in German town of Marburg

The central German town of Marburg is the first in German to make solar panels mandatory for almost all rooftops of private and commercial buildings. The controversial new law requires a solar panel for every new building and every old building that is being renovated. The historical buildings such as the Marburg Castle, Marburg's City Hall, and the Elisabeth Church will be exempt from the requirement.

The solar law was approved by the town's council on June 20, and will take effect Oct. 1. According to the law, a 1 square meter (10 square feet) panel must be installed for every 20 square meters (200 square feet) of surface area. Installing the panels could cost homeowners up to €5,000 ($7,800). The cost would be paid off through savings in energy bills over a 15-year period, the town's mayor, Franz Kahle, said. Those violating the law will face fines starting at €1,000 ($1,500).

The town is home to Marburg University and has about 80,000 residents. Most of the residents support the decision made by the Social Democrats and Greens, but the opposition leaders say that to force people to equip their homes with solar panels equates to a "green dictatorship," and that "nobody dares to say anything."

"Sometimes you must force the hand of consumers for their own good", says the specialist in solar Vajen Klaus, a professor at the University of Kasel.

Applications of Photovoltaic PV Power Today

PV power, definitely, is not just the energy of the future. Thousands of PV systems are used in the world today for a variety of applications because they can be easily adapted to suit any requirement - large or small. Virtually any power need can be met with photovoltaics, although some are more cost - effective than others.

PV cells have been used for many years in our daily lives to power small applications such as watches and pocket calculators. Today there are available numerous small, medium and large-scale PV applications for residential and industrial purposes. This includes PV power plants, stand-alone PV arrays, building-integrated PV systems, PV solar lighting applications, PV water pumps, solar powered cell phone chargers, and other solar accessories for our homes and businesses. In general, though, PV is not used to generate electricity for space heating, hot water, electric cook stoves or ovens, or other applications with high power needs.

Lighting is one common use for PV systems. Cost-effective applications of lighting powered by photovoltaics include garden lights, lighting for recreational areas, street lights, etc. Remote monitoring, telecommunications equipment, highway construction signs, and navigational warning signals are also excellent applications for PV.

PV systems are an economical option for remote residences and rural areas. In most remote places, it is impossible to connect to the electrical grid and in many such locations, photovoltaic technology is the least-cost option for meeting remote energy needs.

PV systems are used effectively worldwide to pump water for plants, livestock, or humans. Since the need for water is greatest on hot sunny days, PV is a perfect fit for pumping applications. Water can be pumped into a storage tank during daylight hours, then distributed by gravity whenever it is needed. In the developing world, entire village water supplies are powered by photovoltaics.

PV systems offer a number of unique benefits that have led to their rapid growth in popularity in recent years. This growth was particularly impressive in countries such as Japan, Germany and the US.

First Solar-Powered Speedboat

The world’s first solar-powered speedboat Czeers Credit: Czeers

Recently was announced that two Dutch researchers at the Technical University of Delft - Nils Beers and David Czap managed to develop the world's first solar-powered speedboat Czeers MK1. (a combination of their last names makes Czeers, pronounced "Cheers").

The speedboat was made from 100% black carbon fiber and covered with 150 square feet (14 square meters) of solar cells. The solar vehicle can approximately reach a top speed of 30 knots (about 35 miles / hour or 55.5 km/ph). The solar powered motor allows the boat to operate quite gentle.

The whole décor is luxurious: the boat has a LCD touch-screen control system and a fine leather interior. The approximate price is seven hundred thousand euro, or about $1.1 million.

Sources: FoxNews & Uberreview

Archives

The table below contains archive links to all previous posts published on "Solar Energy - Green Lyfestyle for You" blog.

2019 Monthly Archives

December Indoor Light and Organic Solar Cells - Energy Without Sunlight

November Organic Solar Cells Break New Efficiency Record: 17.3%

October Organic Solar Cells (OSCs)

2017 Monthly Archives

November

• Transparent Solar Panels - Another Innovation in the Solar Technology

October

• Solar-Powered School in Copenhagen
• Green Colored Solar Panels

2010 Monthly Archives
June

• Solar City Tower Waterfall for Rio Olympics 2016
• Solé Power Tile – Integrated Solar Panel Roofing

2009 Monthly Archives

October Power Your Home with Solar Roof Tiles Solarpro’s Yankovo PV Power Plant Put into Operation August Sun-Heated Solar Outdoor Shower

July

• Orange Solar Concept Tent for Campers

June

• Solar-Powered Electric BlueCar soon in Europe

May

• Solar-Powered Electrical Plug-in Station Unveiled in Chicago
• Racing Car Made of Vegetables and Powered by Chocolate

April

• Solar Pool Covers/Blankets
• Types of Solar Pool Collectors
• Earth Day Celebration
• Solar Pool Heaters

March

• Turn off lights for Earth Hour 2009
• Solar-Powered Movie Premiere in London
• Sun Jar

February

• World's Leading Photovoltaic Companies

January

• Solar PV Power in Cold Climate
• Solar-Powered Ski Jacket by Ermenegildo Zegna
• Beginning the New Year with a Blog Award

2008 Monthly Archives

December Solar Christmas Lights for a Greener Christmas Estimate Your Roof's Solar Potential with RoofRay Solar Power Calculating Tools Online Calculating Your Solar Power Requirements Basic Things to Consider Before Buying a Solar Electric System November Lemonade Award Solar Energy and Solar Power Solar Heating Panels on the White House Roof Cellular Base Stations Powered by the Sun October Thin-film Photovoltaic (PV) Cells Silicon-Based Solar Cells for Flexible and Transparent Solar Applications September Solar Fashion: Solar-Powered Purse for Ladies Solar Hot Water Systems in Israel Solar Water Heaters Types China's Solar-Powered City Rizhao August China - a World Leader in the Solar Water Heating Market "Green Olympics" - Beijing 2008 Going Green with a Solar Water Heater July Solar Energy from Saharan Sun Could Power Europe Solar-Powered Umbrella - Unique Light for your Patio or Backyard Area Solar-powered Tech Chair on the Beach Rotating Skyscraper Powered by Wind and Sun in Dubai June Mandatory solar panels in German town of Marburg Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Panels Applications of Photovoltaic PV Power Today Dream Big: Solar Future First Solar-Powered Speedboat The Flight of Solar-Powered Aircraft Helios More Key Steps in Photovoltaic History May Bringing PV Cells from Space back down to Earth Photovoltaics and the Space Industry Photovoltaic History - Key Milestones in the 1900s Photovoltaic (PV) History - the Beginning European Solar Days Photovoltaic Cells Passive Solar Energy Designs Active Solar Heating Passive Solar Space Heating Solar Heating Systems Passive Solar, Active Solar and Photovoltaics April Solar Energy and the Ancient World Solar Energy: from Sun to Earth What Does Solar Energy Mean?