Hola Internets! Good to see you again!
So this week let's look a little deeper into the solar technology, since that seems to be the topic of the most questions last week.
Here is a site that tells how solar panels are made. Go take a look:
http://www.solarpanelinfo.com/solar-panels/how-are-solar-panels-made.php
and here is a page on the same site that tell about inverters, which is the spiffy technological thingamajiggy that turns the sun into electricity:
http://www.solarpanelinfo.com/solar-panels/inverters/
and here's a link to the Department of Energy page on photovoltaics:
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/photovoltaics.html
Spend some time on these sites, particularly the Department of Energy site (I thought it was really thorough). Come back and give me an opinion about how this stuff is made, about how it could change our lives, about how power is converted, etc. Any answer relating to solar energy will get credit. "That's cool" OR "I really don't care" as always, will not gain you credit.
Talk to me . . .
98 comments:
Yeah solar panels are cool but I think that we can do without them. But then again it saves the resources of this planet. But I'm not a very environmental jockey. But oh well. lol. I have thought mostly that we have done better with the solar panels.
The most interesting part of this, to me, is about the amorphous silicon solar panels and how the silicon cells are developed in a continual roll, with each minute layer specializing in a different part of the absorbtion of the solar spectrum. Because of this revolutionary design, this specific type of solar panel is especially effient. The cells are so hypersensitive that even in complete shade, they can extract solar energy and continue to function. Things like these show great strides in the conversion from the use of expendible fossile fuels to the infinite opportunities provided by alternate means of energy cultivation.
solar panels! solar panels! Oh, how we do love our solar panels! but why do they have to be so gosh darn expensive!?! Yeah,Yeah i know WHY they are expensive, so don't answer!(MONIKA, that means you!)
.......and by the way.......KATI! YOU'RE IT!
i think these solar panels are really cool.its a great way to help our environment instead of harming it.i care about this because,im becoming..and environment freak,i've even considered becoming a vegan. o.O
but whoever invinted solar energy is a genius.
I don't really know what to comment about, the solar panel is indeed interesting and good for helping the earth,but they're so expensive that some people are like "whatever". I hope that they become cheaper, where they'd be more popular, for if it's not at a cheap price and isn't absolutely nessecary the general public won't buy it. A disadvantage is that if you live in a shady neighborhood it wouldn't work as well
solar pannels are expensive and all but you got to remember that they are used to make a free source of energy since our other resources might run out some day. Plus the Crystalline Silicon Solar Panels are reallly easy to use and convinient.
the solar pannels are really cool... they are made by these crystal sillicon thing. and they are cut into little squares which are less than a cenimeter thick...
ya ya the world is going to end due to global warming all though "global warming" is exagerrated...so we spend oodle and oodles of money on solar pannels and very little changes...il keep my money and buy food and healthcare since "someone" isn't keeping his promises.
Thats all cool...but i really dont care... JK! Its me again, live from little White Oak, TX.
All of this was interesting to read about, but with all the long, confusing, scientific jargon, I essentially learned nothing.
I think that solar panels are good alternative to something such as nuclear, or nucular power as bush would put it. But their are still in my opinion not as efficient or common as wind energy, or hydroelectric power.
I remember watching on discovery channel a show about a family in England moving to the country side and going 100% green, they powered their entire house with one turn wheel placed in a river by their house.
Solar energy is only plentiful in certain places at certain times of the year, how ever the wind blows year round, and water flows year round.
It is amazing to see such a delicate process taken place to create solar panels. It was mind consuming to hear all the layers upon layers of glass but cool that a concrete slab protects the glass from the sun!! Wow the watts in these panels can be anywhere from 100 to 8000. I wonder if enough energy comes from the stenkin blue shiny thingy!!!!!!!!
Am I alone as I look at this long, drawn out, and EXPENSIVE process wondering why, if they take so many pains to make them, are solar panels are so inefficent?
Tyler! OMGosh! So good to "see" you! Yeah, White Oak is pretty tiny. And having been raised right up there in neighboring Gladewater I can tell you that you will now be viewed as a snobby rich kid cause you go to White Oak. Not that it's really that way anymore, but that perception has been ongoing since the 80's when White Oak was COVERED UP in oil money (see all the pumpjacks / christmas trees around town?) and the rest of the surrounding towns were hurting for money for their schools. Snobby. Rich. White. Kid. Which you very clearly are not. Well, 'cept the white part! LOLOL
Seriously, we miss you and it's not funny anymore. Come home now.
And I see your point about wind and water energy.
In Frisco, Texas where my uncle live, about 20 percent of the million dollar houses there have solar panel on the roof.
Lately our society has been all about "going green" and saving the environment. The use of solar energy could be one of our biggest steps toward reaching that goal of a cleaner, healthier earth, and could in turn have a major impact on our lives.
"PV systems produce no air pollution, hazardous waste, or noise, and they require no transportable fuels."
PV systems will help prevent air pollution, global warming, and other dangerous effects of the fossil fuels we use now. These improvements alone will benefit not only us, but the plant we live on.
quote from:
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/to_environment.html
Solar Panels are a great alternative for energy.Our school over the summer invested in a solar panel, so that there is not as much expenses electrical wise.
Well solar panels are costly and I think that they are kind of good but kinda bad. But oh well cause I really don't think that learning about that kind of stuff really makes me care. So I don't have any idea on how to think on that kinda stuff. Well there are more important things that are going on in my life besides talking about solar panels. Like my sister and sister-in-law are both pregnant and they both are having their baby July 7th so I'm more worried about that then solar panels. Sorry Mrs. L but it's true.
If I could afford the solar panels, I'd love to use them instead of paying so much for the electric bill in summer :P.
I wonder how much they cost for the household................hmmmm brb XD.
.....They don't even want to say it on their web sites, they want you to call in first :P...Sec..
There we go, thanks Wikipedia!
1 kW system X $12.00 per W=$12,000
2 kW system X $10.00 per W =$20,000
4 kW system X $9.00 per W = $36,000
6 kW system X $8.50 per W = $51,000
Ha....Nty, but still awesome if you can afford it.
Solar panels are great, there will always be sunlight, at least for billions of years, so we will always have energy. But they are too expensive right now and the panels don't always have access to sunlight. Good alternative though.
Gotta love the idea about passive indoor heating. Keeping homes warm in the winter without electricity? That's awesome!! The only way I can see these walls being used in, obviously, in the winter.
Yea, solar panels 'wow'...no, not really. They're useful but I doubt any of us will have them at home any times soon. Especially now, the sun is like covered up by clouds!!
Eh, for the time being that random solar panel out in the middle of the green area here is USELESS!! It powers at least a microwave...How sad. Oh well, we should just all go green and make the Earth happy ^^
i think we could really use solar pannels.we could really save the planet by using this. now im no environmentalist(a.k.a tree hugger) but we need to preserve the planet. might as well preserve it since we gotta live here. but i think we should use solar pannels so that we can get away from what we usin now
I think it will change our lives, the solar energy protects and help reduce the risk of losing something. The amorphous silicon solar panel is powerful and it helps you less damage any system.
I really like the solar panels but they're way to expensive...like the one we have at the school...it cost 60000 dollars and theres only enough energy to start up a microwave...thats crazzyy...people won't start buying them until they become cheaper
I really don't know what to say about this... this topic really doesn't interest me... but it is cool that we can save energy by using this... but i do agree with everyone its to expensive... the process it takes to produce a solar panel is a lot of work... so i'm for saving energy... =]
For the expense thing, I don't see why they just don't make them cheap, that way more people would be able to afford it, then that would offset the net income, still allowing there to be a profit. Also, more people need to care. The solar panels would be a welcome change and more efficient than the standards that we are used to. Plus, there are no by-products. YAY!!
I blogged 1st period there's nothing much 4 me to say 2nd period about solar panels
Solar panels save the resource of the planet and i think that its a great alternative.
i think that solar power is now the leading thing that can replace our useage of gas, but it also has a down side the pannels cost some money and not just any money big money. the only way to make solar pannels work is that if they lowered the cost and made it afordable for regular people to use then may be we can still safe the plannet from the burnning gasses in the atmosphere.
The Synchronous Solar panels are very useful and make basically everything equal. These panels will store your excess energy that you have not used and sell it back to the company you are paying, and vice versa in a way that if you don't get enough from your panels it will get the energy your lacking and make up for it, not charging you a dime for the extra you may need. While these panels are very useful, they are expensive and so the question that arises is, are they worth it?
Solar panels are expensive, but so are wind mills. Wind mills are extremely large (emphasis on extreme, please) and cost a bunch to get hauled out and it's probably very troublesome. Solar panels seem like the easiest energy source seeing as how the sun rises every day, so why not take advantage of it? The sun doesn't shine every day - clouds, rain, SHADE - there are things that keep our sun away from us. And speaking of taking advantage of - why don't we take advantage of Niagra falls? Lots (emphasis on lots) of energy there for water mills.
I think that we should not focus on just one alternative source of energy, but have multiples at our disposal. Some regions are just better fitted for one type.
I must say reading about "crystalline silicon" solar panels and "amorphous silicon" solar panels has confused me even more. I think i will just stick to knowing the basic definition of what a solar panel is....sunlight converted to electricity...simple enough. Theres a reason I'm not going to be in any kind of field that involves science in my future career-WAY to difficult for me. All I can say is that it looks and sounds cool and thats all I can do.
Solar panels are indeed a great way to conserve energy and help the environment. I am an Eco freak and i would definately install solar panels on every square inch of my house of I had the money. although it says that they use electrical energy to use the energy they have saved, do they use unmade energy or do they use the energy the panels themselves have produced.
The benefit of the solar panels in this economic time of crisis is the fact that when you produce more than enough energy, the energy companys like TXU will pay you. It is beneficial to the people with solar panels because not only do you save money on your monthly energy bills, but you also get paid as your house sits in the sun.
It is great that the school has taken part in the Go Green process and purchased a solar panel. If all schools would take part in other ways to produce alternate energy then maybe we could save the enviornment faster than we are killing it right now.
SOLAR PANELS code word for LOTS OF MONEY. I dnt know y everyone is so stuck on them there are other ways of capturing out planets natural resources but solar panels just happenps to be the most popular but i have a comment to make... When elplaining how solar panels work USE SIMPLER TERMS i have no idea what Crystalline Silicon or Amorphous Silicon Solar Panels are and that dont mean try to explain it in even more complexing way. But i will say that im more for the hydroelectric and geothermal power because those are the to things that the earth will have Forever or at least until 2012 gets here BEWARE!!!!! :)
ive read an article about working on the production of an infrared solar cells that could promis a very powerful cell but the tec. right now is really expencive and not all of that inefficient
Wow. Photovolataics were first used in the 1800's?? That's crazy. Of course, I think the whole idea of solar enregy is amazing. The idea that we can capture the energy of the sun (without Sunny D) is amazing. Solar radiation can be extremely harmful, but we have learned to harness it for good use. Instead of being victims of the possible maladies of such radiation, like cancer or...problems with heat...we can use it to reverse our problems. And it can be widely used. Even in areas where there is little sunlight there is enough radiation bouncing around all over the place to fuel those cells. And although it's pretty expensive, the benefits far outweigh the initial costs. Clean energy = safer planet = safer us!
I really thought that the roof shingles that generate electricity are pretty cool. If everyone would use them, we could all save so much money. But one thing I dont understand is like hybrid cars and energy efficient things are so expensive! Aren't we supposed to be saving money?
They like need to get more solar panels in California because I heard they were banning flat screen t.v's because they are using to much energy...
i like the roof shingles that are coated with PV cells made of amorphous silicon. This way peopel don't have to find open space to put a panel where it stays out of the shade. Instead it'll just be installed on your roof.
No wonder these things are so darn expensive...I see why their made by these crystal silicon things that are cut in little squares less than a centimeter thick pretty fascinating takes knowledge to come up with such an invention...yeah yeah I see howw its all in favor to help the earth but personaly I dont really think that much of a diffrence is made..
If the solar panel works really well for our school we just might have them even at stores which may cause us to use less elctricity when the solar panels gain enough power to light the whole house, store, or building on the other hand that make dissapoint the electric company's because they would be loosing money
If the solar panel works really well for our school we just might have them even at stores which may cause us to use less elctricity when the solar panels gain enough power to light the whole house, store, or building on the other hand that make dissapoint the electric company's because they would be loosing money
the solar panel is very protective over the sun. i think the solar panel can do alot of cool things just than protecting the sun. the pannel is easy to look at. the most interesting thing about the pannel is how the cells are developed in a continual roll. the pannel is very good for the environment.
Well i hope they don't try to band flat screens hear because i love my 72" tv and i'll fight someone if they try to tae that from me.
The use of photovoltaics really started back in the 1800?? That's weird to think that we used that kind of technology back then. It seems so long ago. The tech wasnt as advanced as it is today of course, but still! That's awesome. Our technological advances are growing by the second, and these solar panels are a prime example.
I just think it's fascinating reading about the scientific ideaology behind the solar panels. It's interesting how, when the radiation from the sun hits the solar cells, it's the electrons being knocked off there orbits that creates the energy. It makes me glad that the idea of renewable and green energy is becoming more accepted these days because through the use of it, economies, lives and nature could be saved.
I personally think that solar power is a waste of money and space. to make our homes completley solar powered we would have to turn our roofs into GIANT solar pannels, and if we do that..then where is santa going to land!?! I think that wind and hydro power is WAY more usefull because we can turn otherwise useless land into wind farms and use great untaped resources like Niagara Falls (thank you colleen). but no matter what we do money is going to be a HUGE factor
the solar panel is a good way to save the environment n not harm it. im not to into the enviroment thing like that. but i know this would be something good to save r planet
We need solar panals in the world they help the environment to bad they cost to much but worth it...
i think solar panels are cool but i dont see why we really need them.
i like how solar panels help the environment,and saves resources for the planet. they are expensive but i think they are worth it. solar panels are creating a major impact in our lives.
First of all, i'm all for hydroelectric and geothermal power; these are resources that are all around us and can also be reused. However; solar panels are expensive. end of discussion.
its amazing how we can use solar technology in different ways. i especially like the PV coated roof shingles.
Alternative energy is a way of saving Earth for our future generations. Do I believe that we'll ever run out of fuels or energy sources in our lifetime? No I do not. But the more we use these alternative energy sources the more the generations of New will be able to enjoy the wonderful sights and wildlife our planet has to offer (that I believe many people nowadays take for granted).
I think that solar power will change our lives for the better.I think that solar panels will do our planet alot of good because the sun is just sitting there.Its a good thing that they came up with something that the sun can be used for because it is just sitting there waiting for us to use it.Even though im not a tree hugger I think that this should become a big thing now!!And if it doesnt I think people are wrong for wasting something that is free!!!
i think instead of using electricity for everything we should use something thats good for use and also our environmet. with a solar pannel we would be haveing the same type of lifestyle as we have now with electricity and all that stuff. so it really wont hurts us to try it, matter of fact it would be better for our earth tooo.
I saw on a tv show once that there was a house that had solar panels on the roof and powered itself day and night because the power that wasn't used during the day was stored somewhere to be used at night.
Here is a question for the experts:
If everyone uses the solar panels would that affect the sun itself and cause it to die faster?
Solar panels are really interestinb but... TOO EXPENSIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!! but they can help us save more energy, I overheard one of my classmates and Mrs. L sayinog something about electricity companies paying people who owns solar panels and produce more nergy than what they use!!! AWSOME!!!
I already commented once...but I juat wanted to add that I read something about the basics of Photovoltaic energy production and its some pretty cool stuff...our world is going green, and technology being produced by the U.S. Department of Energy and its partners can certainly help us out.
*I think the solar panels are cool even though they are expensive and they can be reused over and over again.*
pv systems provide power for communications satellites, water pumps, and the lights, appliances, and machines in some people's homes and workplaces. Many road and traffic signs along highways are now powered by PV. In many cases, and the thing is its the least expensive way to pay for. I guess in the long run its worth switching over to.
i think the solar panels are a good source for alternative energy because the sun is continuously giving off energy and most of it just bounces off the earth anyway. it seems like they're trying to make solar panels more affordable and usable now.the thick panels with the crystal silicon are very expensive and probably aren't very efficient. the amorphous silicon is more efficient and it's easier to manufacture in one continuous roll. i bet it's cheaper too. i want to see a house with the solar panels that look like shingles. anyone with that on their house probably doesn't worry about electric bills...hmm...that sounds nice
I think its good that our society is striving for a better, more healthy environment. Like the PV systems which doesn't cause air pollution, hazardous wastes, and can help stop global warming.
Solar panels can save a lot of money for a household but,the price of the solar panels is a big concern with most people that can not afford them at this time, but in the future WHEN we convert to solar panels the price of them SHOULD go down, im not saying they will but the more people use them, the greater the income, the less the price should be.
Here is something to think about:
If we use electric cars, using the electricity from the panels, there will be less pollution and we would save a lot of money not having to buy oil, and that money we save we could put toward our national debt.
What do YOU think we should do?
i think solar panels have a strong effect on the environment and i think they are really cool and they are interesting to know about....
I am concerned for the environment and I highly recommend that we start to gradualy get off of fossil fuels and improve and work on reusable resources like solar panels. they are efficiant enough to supply us with with a little electricity but if we devote ourselves to the cause we could improve on our origianal panels. they have got better ones for that space project but they say its to expensive. I just hope america will stop being ignorent and selfish enough to do it. (Iraque war)
im not really interesting in solar panel because they not important to me. yes,the save resouces in all but i can care less IM HERE NOW AND THE ONLY PERSON CAN CHANGE THAT IS THE MAN UPSTAIRS
Even though all this energy saving stuff doesnt really effect me i think its good that you can get free energy off of a very exspensive machine,At least we know that the energy won't run out any time soon.
why are solar panel soooooo expensive the world will never knowwwwwwww. is the world going down because of global warming the world will never knowwwww!!!!!!!!!!!
I think that these solar panels are cool and benfit the movement for a "Green Planet." Its cool how they work and I like the Amorphous Silicon Solar Panels because they can detect light even in the darkets shade, which we should probably get on our solar panel because its in the shade most of the day.
This whole solar pannal thing is way over my head. When i read about it I feel like an old person not knowing how to work the DVD or VCR. Its so confusing! Plus they are so expensive for just enough power of like less than a room.
Solar panels are obviously a huge plus to the environment. The only problem right now is that they are very expensive but I can see this price eventually declining to where almost anyone could afford one.
Solar panels just seem to be the craze, huh?? lol
but man, they sure are expensive. Their a great alternative, wouldnt you more of them to be around
The making of solar panels seems to be a complex topic far above my understanding... XD I don't need to understand it to know that people think it would be a good thing to switch to solar energy and save our fossil fuels and cut down on green house gas emissions 'and stuff'.
In the Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum games, one of the cities features streets covered with solar panels, and in the Uglies Series by Scott Westfield the roads are actually a magnetic grid that cars hover over. I wonder if there would be anyway to combine the two ideas and make the world a cleaner place, as far as fossil fuel and energy use goes.
solar panels seem to be a good way to alternative energy. but they are also really expensive. but could they provide enough energy to power a whole house? and what about days when the sun doesnt come out how woukd that work?
none of this intrest me, the web sites we boring to read and didnt much appeal to. i can live without solar pannels i have better use for my money
Solar Energy is really cool, and it's been used for such a long time. I'm definitly gonna research this alot more now. Out of all of this about solar energy, extract solar energy has to be the most interesting.
I think it would be pretty nice to have solar cells in your shingles that are constantly gathering energy and lowering your electricity bill. It would be much more useful than that solar cell outside the school.
I think that well, its going to take forever for the green house effect to kill us or do any real harm, so why not spend all this time and money to find a way to make all this stuff cheaper rather than spend so much money exchanging all the stuff we already have for this overly expensive object that will give us a few more seconds of life on Earth.
i understand that we need to focus on new ways for powering everything... but i think we can improve on the solar panel design, i mean cant we do something about how it looses its effectiveness because of dust build up on the panel. i just cant take anything seriously that won't work if it gets dust on it.
I didnt realize that photovaltaics were discovered back in the ealry 1800's. Thats pretty cool. I hope this is enough comment to count for a grade. Cuz i dont remember what else happened Tuesday. But yeah solar electircs in the 1800's- Blowin my mind
Although solar panel technology goes way over my head, i do think it can be very useful for energy purposes. Im not real sure if theyre worth the money or not though.
I think its pretty cool how the photovoltalic has such a low payback time. It is also good that we are developing these ways to make energy in order to diversify our energy output, and not rely on only a few ways of energy prduction.
Okay, now that the point of Nuclear energy has been brought up, (Liles) I have to say that it actually isn't as chaotic as people would lead you to believe. Given that you don't hire nimrods (Just saying) you should not have any huge problems. It does come with risks, but if everyone does what they should, they are itty bitty.
i dont think that solar panels are a good idea but to make them so high price is not that smart because of the recccesion were in right now i dont think too many people are going to buy that much solar powered equipment but it would be nice to have it
i wonder why solar panels are so expensive? doesnt it work by getting sunligt?i agree this solar panel is good for our environment which doesn't harm our planet.
Both of the alternative energy sources are useful, but I think that the Solar Power energy converter will be more productive due to the storage of power in battteries in smaller appliances like laptops.
So the theme in this stream of consciousness is that "solar is expensive". Well, here's a question for you. What has happened with the cost of solar panels in the last 5 years? 1 year? 3 months? What has happened to the price of electricity?
On another different but the same line of thought...even if you weren't concerned about the environment, what about the need for more power now that Texas is growing? Do we have enough power to keep growing or will we have brownouts and blackouts when everyone turns on their air conditioning, PS3, Wiis, and plasma TVs?
What if electricity prices are so expensive that solar panels are totally worth the money but Texas has no experience with the technology because we've focused elsewhere?
Finally, what if someone comes up with a breakthrough that makes solar cells cost $1/watt? How will this affect your life? How will this affect the economy?
About wind and water. Wind blows best at night and along the coast. These are places away from places where people build stuff and live. The best wind in Texas is on the gulf coast and in West Texas. There aren't that many people in West Texas so they try to move the electricity to Dallas, Austin, and Houston. There aren't that many transmission lines there so they have to spend $1 billion dollars to build more. It's like drinking water out of your bathtub with a sippy straw. It's very hard and you're bound to lose some water.
As for hydroelectricity, there are some controversies on the environmental footprint of dams. The 3 river gorges damn in China, for example, forced millions of people to move. The Colorado River damns are being removed because it disrupts the ecosystem there. With every decision we make, there are consequences. Using electricity wisely is the best path.
Cris, solar panels are expensive because the crystalline silicon is hard to find, mine, and is very delicate. They also have to pay for the labor because if one thing goes wrong in prossesing and manufacturing, the solar panel wont work and they wil have to scrap it and start all over. ^^
I think solar panels are a great way to help save unrenewable resources. It will just take a while for people to get on the bandwagon. The function of solar panels is hard to explain to people who may just be confused on how they work and therefore aren't willing, for now, to buy them, but I think solar panels will soon catch on and will ultimately benefit the environment and man kind.
Solar energy's cool and all, but I think the whole concept is kind of interesting. People get mad at the gasses and whatnot eating away our ozone layer, but then the same people want to turn the sun into energy... well if us hairspray users didn't make a hole in that there layer thingy fer ya, you wouldn't have no fancy shmancy solar energy now would ya? WOULD YA?!
I just heard that the lowest price for solar panels right now is $5.50/watt and range from $5.50/watt to $7.00/ watt. A year ago, solar panels were running around $8/watt. Wow!
What's driving this price collapse? There's a surplus of panels on the market. There's a lot more supply than demand at the moment.
The reason panels were so expensive is that there were few dedicated panel manufacturers until recently. The raw silicon needed for the panels were all taken by the electronic and computer chip manufacturers and panel producers were using scraps from these industries. Now, there's a lot more people making the raw silicon just for solar.
I love the fact that solar panels have a less impact on the environment then using coal or fuel. There is no pollution in the air or surrounding area which is better for all humans (along with the plants and animals) living on this planet. The sun will always be here; the coal and fuel may not be. There is no danger of them running out immediatly but I think we need to be prepared. The major deciding factor for people is probably going to be cost.
over how such a reaction occurs, or how it can be duplicated consistently. After the initial announcement by Pons and Fleischmann in 1989, scientists the world over tried to duplicate their results and a hasty consensus emerged from the scientific establishment that cold fusion couldn't be demonstrated. In fact, the "conventional" scientific establishment (in some cases) still regards it as a complete hoax or at the very least badly performed science. How this occurred is an interesting study of a weakness of the scientific system.
itsi think its nice that they are making more resources that help our energy since there are so many people on the earth today.
I think we should start using more solar energy because the world keeps getting bigger, and were gonna run out of our old energy some time. so yeah lets have a game plan.
Post a Comment