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Residential solar energy systems are at the forefront of efforts to switch to clean energy - not because they're popular among people who want to conserve the environment, but because they've become an affordable and money-saving alternative to powering homes. These four facts will broaden your perspective on how tremendous of an impact solar panels can make in your life.
1. THE WORKING AND MIDDLE-CLASS ACCOUNTED FOR OVER 60% OF SOLAR PANEL INSTALLATIONS IN CALIFORNIA LAST YEAR. Homeowners with median incomes -ranging from 40,000 to 50,000 are leading the rooftop solar revolution: middle-class neighborhoods make up the fastest growing areas for solar panel installations in California. Why is this? Protecting the environment is not the only reason that people "go solar." In one poll by a California solar company asking why homeowners purchased solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, 74% of them said that they did it to save money, not to make a statement about being environmentally friendly. Saving on power bills can be a deciding factor for those who are especially concerned about rising electricity costs.
2. A HOME SOLAR POWER SYSTEM CAN RAISE THE VALUE OF YOUR HOME. A study performed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that solar homes sell 20% faster and for 17% more than non-solar homes in California. New homes with PV cells, costing 380,000 to 500,000 sold for as much as 600,000. And although they were expected to sell in 3 years, they sold within just one.
3. SOLAR PANELS REQUIRE MINIMAL MAINTENANCE. 97% of Americans overestimate the cost of installing a solar energy system, including the cost of maintenance and repairs. Other than a semi-annual cleaning, solar panels don't require a lot of maintenance because the PV modules have no moving parts, and they are also designed to hold up against all weather conditions. Although most solar companies offer a manufacturer's warranty of 25 years for the panels, some systems may last 40 to 50 years.
4. INSTALLING THE RIGHT SOLAR SYSTEM CAN RESULT IN A 0 ELECTRICITY BILL. California home owners can save hundreds of dollars each month by installing a residential solar system. Many local energy companies, such as Solaire, report that their customers end up with a 0 power bill by eliminating electricity costs. It can even take as little as 5-7 years for the solar system to pay for itself.
Are you weighing your options for the right solar system? We're here to help - contact us for more information on solar panel installation.
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Recycling makes sense. It's common knowledge that wastefulness is a vice, not a virtue, and this reasoning usually keeps us tossing soda cans into the bin and washing out peanut butter jars. However, motivation to clean peanut butter jars, a time-consuming and annoying task, could benefit from more potent motivation, something more inspiring than our own moral improvement. It would profit us to consider the fact that recycling has an far-reaching impact on the environment.LANDFILLSLandfills could regenerate within a century if not for aluminum, plastic and glass. Aluminum takes up to 200 years to decompose, plastic bottles take 450 years, and glass does not degrade whatsoever. Some cities separates garbage prior to dumping and run a flea market for larger items. They compost everything they can and resell the compost to local nurseries. They even shred tires to compost them. On average, recycling everything possible would reduce a landfill's size by 50%. GLOBAL WARMING Reducing greenhouse gas requires more than auto regulations. Making paper with recycled and not raw materials creates 73% less pollution. Doing the same with glass produces 20% less. The gassiest culprit is landfills. The landfill's anaerobic decomposition releases the harmful gas methane. The E.P.A. reports that landfills account for 37% of methane emission in the United States. But happily, some communities have converted landfills into power plants by drilling into the landfill, installing pipes to capture the methane gas, and feeding it directly to combustion engines which run generators to produce electricity. This brings us to our next topic, energy.ENERGY RESOURCESOften, making products with recycled items requires less energy. Making recycled glass requires a lower melting point than raw materials for new glass. The lower temperature requirement for the furnace results in a savings of 10 gallons of oil for every ton of glass. Recycling aluminum takes a whopping 95% less energy than producing it from bauxite. Also, since plastic is a petroleum product, all production of new plastic depletes our supply of fossil fuel. HABITATS Recycling reduces forestry and mining expansion, thereby reducing invasion of habitats of plants and animals. Recycling plastic bags keeps the bags out of the ocean, where they break down into plankton-sized bits that start to attract toxins and endanger marine life.WATER SUPPLYRecycling helps protect our water supply, both from overuse and contamination. Recycling one ton of paper saves 7,000 gallons of water. Recycling clothing, wearing and giving hand-me-downs and using old clothing for rags saves water. It requires 50 gallons of water to manufacture one cotton t-shirt. Recycling also protects water quality. As plastics and batteries degrade, harmful chemicals leech into the groundwater. Manufacturing paper, clothing and countless other products releases chemical by-products into the water supply. Motor oil is particularly harmful to the water supply. Many mechanics offer a recycling program.All these facts should give us hope for the future. As scientists and newscasters report environmental disaster, we don't have to just sit and worry. We have something we can do.Informational credit to http://www.egtireshredders.com. Follow Dude, Sustainable! on Twitter or Pinterest, or subscribe to our newsletter.
A School With A Social Conscience Has Taken A Leading Role Reconnecting With Its Community And Helping The Planet. Sydenham-Hillside Primary School Teacher Lisa Crossley Writes About Student Work Promoting Renewable Energy, And The End Of Year Sustainability Party! Sydenham-Hillside primary want to empower their students and bring about a change that starts with their local community. As part of the Grade 6 Science curriculum, students have been engaged in understanding the benefits of living sustainably. Students have developed their understanding of the long term benefits of renewable energy, consequences connected to the greenhouse effect and the importance of maintaining the delicate balance of the Earth's ability to continue being a self-sustaining ecosystem. To conclude the unit, students were given the challenge of designing and creating a 3D model of a product/building/structure which uses renewable energy and sustainable components. Each student developed models to represent sustainable schools, caravans, homes, kitchens, farms and transport vehicles just to name a few. They also developed a marketing campaign to promote their product to the school community which included a poster/billboard and a television commercial. To celebrate the students' endeavors the school hosted the first 'Sustainability Party' which showcased real life examples of products such as electric cars, biofuel generator, wind turbines and a solar heated water system. Students experienced first-hand how sustainable practices can be realistically applied to products we use and benefit from every day. During this day, students were able to speak to engineers, architects and environmental groups about a range of community projects. It is the school's mission to become the next 5 Star rated sustainable school. We now have a sustainability officer who is working toward an impressive goal of implementing as many sustainable strategies as possible with the ideal aim to be self sustainably 'off the grid'. We are welcoming any support from businesses, government departments or individuals within the community who can help us with our goal of becoming the next 5 Star rated school. We are eager to develop a 'sister' relationship with any other primary, secondary or tertiary schools which have first-hand experience in the implementation of sustainable practices. ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO GET ON BOARD WITH SYDENHAM-HILLSIDE PRIMARY SCHOOL'S MISSION CAN CONTACT LYNNE COMBEN: SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER ON (03) 9361 5400 OR ALTERNATIVELY EMAIL COMBEN.LYNNE.K1@EDUMAIL.VIC.GOV.AU.
Reference: battleforgreenearth.blogspot.com
Concerns have been raised about the uncertain regulatory envrionment for offshore wind projects. Since the federal government has never reviewed an offshore wind proposal, how long would it take to formulate guidelines, let alone actually offer findings?
Not so long, as it turns out. The "Boston Globe" has the story:
The nation's first proposed offshore wind-energy project cleared its most formidable hurdle yesterday as the US Minerals Management Service declared that the wind farm off Cape Cod would have little lasting impact on wildlife, navigation, and tourism.
The draft Environmental Impact Statement finds that the impacts of the proposal to be mostly "negligible" or "minor," with an occassional "moderate" thrown in. In no particular, did the MMS find that the project would have a "major" impact. Volume I of the report runs to 712 pages and covers 120 categories of potential impact during construction and operation of the wind farm. The Cape Wind project is similar in scale to the Bluewater Wind proposal, with 130 turbines instead of 150. As for those who worry about the lifespan of the equipment in the open water, the report points out (on page E-2) that turbines might last longer than comparable land based equipment:The wind turbine generators have a stated design life span of twenty years. However, this estimate is based on experience generated from land-based machines which are subject to higher levels of turbulence and arguably experience greater wear and tear than can be expected offshore where winds are less turbulent. It is possible that the proposed action could be operational beyond the minimum design life of twenty years.
By the way, Mitt Romney opposed the project while he was still governor of Massachusetts.
The MMS is accepting public comments through March 20 and is expected to issue a final decision on the project by early next year.
Credit: bio-energy-today.blogspot.com
GULFNEWS.COM
June 7, 2010
Dubai: Excessive power developers from Japan are flimsy for feed-in tariffs to be introduced in the UAE to fabricate the siding with of renewable energy sources and to mild go on the shift headed for get parity where solar energy may be able to economically lane furthermore fossil fuels.
Feed-in tariffs take companies and isolated producers of energy from renewable sources the confirmed to feed the electricity they convey arrived the confusion get and get productive existence toll for any kW hour (kWh) they spread, or feed arrived the get. A Japanese reliant from Sanyo Exciting unveiled a hybrid photovoltaic solar system on try-out proof in Trakhees-Environment, Health check and Guard (EHS), the narrow arm of Trakhees -- Ports, Way of life & Accommodating Region International (PCFC), in Dubai this week.
Anyway Own
The photovoltaic system soul collection energy to light the carry out accept page and power two LCD televisions at the accept, the main gossip volume clarification and moreover the LCD projector in the gossip corridor. Around 1,300 kilograms of CO2 emission soul be saved annually. The system includes Sanyo Electric's HIT (Heterojunction furthermore Inherent Well-worn reservoir) technology panel leeway uncouth furthermore a frenzied efficiency solar inverter from SMA Excessive Germany and is appointed to limit 2,400 kW hours of energy.
Takashi Hirao, Improved Community Manager for Europe, Focal point East and Africa at Sanyo Exciting Den FZE, handed better the system to Trakhees-EHS. Hirao appealed to the concern worried to fabricate natural scientist energy solutions by concession feed-in charge programmes strict to natives in Europe. So far feed-in charge policies halt in better 60 countries plus Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Singapore, South-Korea, Japan and South Africa, as aptly as assured states in the US.
Zest Strategy
"This soul without doubt drive UAE's power generation requests from location based system to greener photovoltaic based energy solve to limit the CO2 emissions and to so bestow to drop the relevance of indiscriminate warming," he said. In Abu Dhabi, Masdar PV, the solar photovoltaic businesswoman, is moreover pending a promised energy policy to established subsidies for renewable power. According to media information the obliging had reasonable to arise get-together on a split panel manufacturing wood in Abu Dhabi by the end of view year but overdue it due to a contradiction of subsidies to vile the frenzied meaning of renewable energy.
Sanyo Exciting is overdue the Excessive Ark capacity in Japan -- a feature of the company's landmark of achieving a "clean energy work." It is an ark-shaped, solar photovoltaic power generation capacity that is 315 metres massive, 37 metres tall and located in Gifu State, in the raw centre of Japan. Stationed at the centre of the Excessive Ark is the Excessive Lab, a museum of solar energy.
IRENA: 9 Era Spread Geothermal Popular to Get away from coarsen Catastophe' (PV-Tech)
Geothermal employment wishes to upsurge 9 era finished by 2030 to entrust "coarsen breakdown", a identify by the Multinational Renewable Urge Charge (IRENA) has warned.
Launched in New York opinion week, the identify, 'REmap 2013', aims to play a part a 36% share of renewables in the energy mix by 2030 is achievable, inexpensive and tendency alleviate coarsen control risks - continuation carbon pollution below 450ppm to stock all the rage a unharmed 2 degrees Celsius able-bodied in indiscriminate temperatures.
Based on the IRENA motif, wind energy wishes to upsurge the utmost, by a respect of 15, and solar instant, by a respect of 12. Geothermal wishes to develop nine era finished, hydro to deputy, biomass by a respect of 1.5 and tidal generation to upsurge by under than 0.1.
IRENA has thoughtful the switch to renewables any provides US740 billion of nest egg what's more court on simple duty from burning fossil fuels - cancelling out the investments duty border on to go away 36% renewables.
Read Spread......
MEDIA RELEASE: BIG END OF TOWN LEAVES REGIONAL AUSTRALIA OUT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY REVIEW
"Monday 17/2/2014"
Investment in regional Australia from new wind energy projects is up in air after the government announced that the panel to review the Renewable Energy Target will be made up primarily of big business representatives.
The panel will be chaired by senior business figure, Dick Warburton, and also includes former Managing Director of WA-owned coal and gas electricity generator, Verve Energy, Shirley In't Veld and fossil fuel industry lobbyist, Dr Brian Fisher.
"The Renewable Energy Target has delivered jobs and economic stimulus to towns all across regional Australia through wind energy projects and solar panels on roofs," said Andrew Bray, State Coordinator of the Victorian Wind Alliance.
"Regional communities throughout the country depend on the RET for crucial wind energy investment so it's disappointing there are no panel members from country Australia.
Reference: battleforgreenearth.blogspot.com
An imperfect graphene structure with tiny holes in it could lead to improved fuel cells.
The major challenge in fuel cell technology is efficiently separating protons from hydrogen. In a study of single-layer graphene and water, researchers at Northwestern University found that slightly imperfect graphene shuttles protons -- and only protons -- from one side of the graphene membrane to the other in seconds. The membrane's speed and selectivity are much better than that of conventional membranes, offering engineers a new and simpler mechanism for fuel cell design.
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"Imagine an electric car that charges in the same time it takes to fill a car with gas," said chemist Franz M. Geiger, who led the research. "And better yet -- imagine an electric car that uses hydrogen as fuel, not fossil fuels or ethanol, and not electricity from the power grid, to charge a battery. Our surprising discovery provides an electrochemical mechanism that could make these things possible one day."
Defective single-layer graphene, it turns out, produces a membrane that is the world's thinnest proton channel -- only one atom thick.
"We found if you just dial the graphene back a little on perfection, you will get the membrane you want," said Geiger, a professor of chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. "Everyone always strives to make really pristine graphene, but our data show if you want to get protons through, you need less perfect graphene."
In the atomic world of an aqueous solution, protons are pretty big, and scientists don't believe they can end up driven through a single layer of chemically perfect graphene at room temperature. (Graphene is a form of elemental carbon composed of a single flat sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a repeating hexagonal, or honeycomb, lattice.)
When Geiger and his colleagues studied graphene exposed to water, they found protons were moving through the graphene. Using cutting-edge laser techniques, imaging methods and computer simulations, they set out to learn how.
The researchers discovered that naturally occurring defects in the graphene -- where a carbon atom is missing -- triggers a chemical merry-go-round where protons from water on one side of the membrane shuttle to the other side in a few seconds. Their advanced computer simulations showed this occurs via a classic "bucket-line" mechanism first proposed in 1806.
The thinness of the atom-thick graphene makes it a quick trip for the protons, Geiger said. With conventional membranes, which are hundreds of nanometers thick, proton selection takes minutes -- much too long to be practical.
Next, the research team asked the question: How many carbon atoms do we need to knock out of the graphene layer to get protons to move through? Just a handful in a square micron area of graphene, the researchers said.
Removing a few carbon atoms results in others being highly reactive, which starts the proton shuttling process. Only protons go through the tiny holes, making the membrane very selective.
"Our results will not make a fuel cell tomorrow, but it provides a mechanism for engineers to design a proton separation membrane that is far less complicated than what people had thought before," Geiger said. "All you need is slightly imperfect single-layer graphene."
Source: battleforgreenearth.blogspot.com
