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Archive for November, 2009

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We are talking about snow levels here and how changes in the climate will affect our ski weather for the next ninety years; we are not looking for global warming solutions or going near the politics.

Forgive the pun, but whether we like it or not, there’s no doubt the world is warming up faster than ever known. Bring in heavy and sinister orchestral music with thunderstorms, tornadoes and tsunamis and we could easily be sucked into the end scene of an apocalypse, but that’s not my purpose here. It’s the effect that global warming will have on snow levels that interests me as a skier. Last winter had some of the biggest snow dumps ever – check this clip which demonstrates the current snow levels trend.

In the space of the next hundred years there maybe a maximum increase of up to 6.4°C in worldwide temperatures, which is approximately five times the surge during the whole of the last century. A lot of people think that the snow will melt away, like the glaciers are doing, all together, and rain will be predominant, or that there will no rain either, but this is not the case.

We’ve only time to discuss quite briefly and simplistically here how ‘precipitation’ (rain or snow) affects ski weather. Surface water at the equator rises into the atmosphere as water vapour heated by the sun, and is propelled northwards (above the equator) and southwards (south of the equator) by the earth’s rotation. As the water vapour cools down it falls and forms the huge circular weather systems we are familiar with.

North of the equator, for example, the major weather systems make their way from west to east because of the earth’s rotation and precipitation mainly occurs as these systems hit the land. And the landmass we are looking at here is the west coast of America (the Rockies) and the west coast of Europe (the Alps). As we all know, the warm moist air rises up over the Rockies and the Alps where it either snows or rains.

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Now we can be fairly certain, because the earth is getting warmer, that there will be more water in the form of vapour drawn up from the equator. But will it metamorphose into rain or snow after it’s long trip to the mountains?. If the Earth’e temperature rises by 6.4°C this century it will mean that the rain snow boundary on a mountain will move upwards. If for example the snow level on a mountainside is at 1000 metres, by the the end of this century it will have risen to 2000 metres because the temperature falls by roughly 6.5°C per 1000 metres. The precipitation will be more pronounced and the rain/snow level wil be moving up the mountain at a speed of roughly 10 metres each year.

Well, that’s it then – more snow. But it’s not that easy. What effect, for example, will the melting Greenland glaciers have on the Gulf Stream? There are other questions too, but this is the big one. Presently, this fast moving mass of warm seawater, coming up from the Equator, protects western Europe from the cold winters usual at that latitude. But thirteen thousand years ago an inland sea in Canada brought the Gulf Stream to a halt when it overflowed its banks, dropping into the Atlantic and starting an Ice Age in Europe. The same pattern could emerge if the accelerated melting of the Greenland glaciers pours unprecedented amounts of cold fresh water into the Gulf Stream and click – it switches off. Then we would have more snow than we bargained for…

For the full article and more visit Ski Jungle – Global Warming Facts

This isnt actually a brand new car I am talking about here, but a scooter which at least means that technology is moving forward.

It would seem that this scooter which was shown at the 41st Tokyo Motor Show was actually a major hit. Intelligent Energy are actually the brains behind all of this and of course they have recieved most of their backing from Suzuki to make this amazing scooter.

Having stunned the motorcycle world two years ago with the Crosscage fuel cell motorbike, Intelligent Energy and Suzuki have now applied this advanced fuel cell technology to a more accessible form of two-wheeled transportation.

This vehicle is obviously going to be city friendly and the Suzuki Burgman Scooter was showcased earlier thos month and could really show be the future for zero emission vehicles. Surprisingly, Hydrogen actually gives quite a bit of fuel which means the scooters actually have quite a good bit of riding range.

The scooter of course takes all the latest technology that is available and makes a clean fuel cell engine that is actually quite simple to mass manufacture.
“The zero-emissions Burgman scooter is the latest product of the successful commercial relationship between Suzuki and Intelligent Energy”, commented Dr. Henri Winand, CEO at Intelligent Energy.

These vehicles are not just going to be used for shows and they are sure to be hitting the mass market in the very near future. With a mass market of about 40 million units per annum, there is a lot to go after. Intelligent Energy and Suzuki are actually going to start working even closer on making these vehicles even better and will be holding various tryouts soon

So there you have it, the possible future for the car. Let us just hope that it does come to the car industry in the near future and doesn’t end up as a cheap Audi Of course for the time being you could go for a current car like the Audi R8 or the Audi TT Roadster.

One of the first things homeowners need to consider when deciding whether to install a solar power system for the home is just how many solar panels they need Even a small number of panels will make a big difference when it comes to your monthly electricity bills. Those who would like to forget about their electricity bills completely, though, will want to be precise in terms of how many solar panels they install.

First, you’ll need to determine how much electricity you use in your home per day on average. This can be done by referring to your monthly electricity bills from the recent past. (In some cases, you can find these records online if necessary.) Look at the monthly kilowatt-hour (kWh) electricity use line items, and find the typical monthly total. Your average daily usage can then be determined by dividing this figure by 30.

Another factor to consider is insolation. Insolation is a measurement of the quantity of sunlight which makes contact with a given surface area over time. Solar panels only produce electricity when they come in direct contact with sunlight. Different solar panels have different requirements in terms of sunlight intensity in order to generate power. The intensity and angle at which solar panels are exposed to sunlight on a given surface will vary throughout the year. Even throughout a single day, the amount of sunlight present at any given time can differ. The average exposure for a given location is reflected by its insolation value. Maps displaying insolation values can be found online. Then, divide the daily kWh of electricity from the first step by the insolation value to get the power capacity you’ll need from your system.

The last factor you’ll need to take into consideration is the amount of loss from your solar power system. Although the most recent systems are much more efficient than earlier ones, with any power system, there is always a certain amount of power lost in conversion. This can be difficult to measure accurately, but it’s generally safe to use the figure of 25%, so if you multiply the figure from the previous step (kWh/insolation) by 1.25, you’ll get the amount of power (including loss) that you need. Now you can see how many kWh of energy you need, adjusted for insolation and efficiency.

So, to find out how many solar panels you’ll need, divide that last figure by the kWh output of your solar panel of choice.

One of the initial questions a homeowner faces when choosing on whether to install a home solar power system is, “How many solar panels do I need?” If you want to know the answer to this question, head on to How Many Solar Panels Do I Need?

If you are interested in building your own solar panel, check this step by step by guide Build Solar Panel. A mini course on how to make your own solar power system may also sound appealing to you. Go to Solar Power Calculator to sign-up for a 6 part mini course.

This article will deal with the cost of solar panels. There are two important things to take into consideration: the cost of a single solar panel, and the cost of enough solar panels to power a house. Solar Panels are the part of the system that does the actual conversion of sunlight to current and are the most critical element in the systems ability to power your home. To learn more about the heart of any solar power system, visit Residential Solar Panels.

Something that a lot of people don’t realize is how simple it can be to build your own solar panels. All it takes is a few common tools, the right knowledge, and a little bit of effort, and you can put together your own solar panel for as little as 0. Can you build your own solar panel for less than 200 dollars? You can get more information by looking at this guide Homemade Solar Panel. In this guide, you will get specific instructions on what is best to build based on the size of your house and your location. Additionally, you will also get step-by-step diagrams on how to build your solar power system.

Also, it’s worthwhile to look into the various federal, state and local tax credits, rebates and incentives that can help homeowners pay for this kind of project. Incentives like these can, in some cases, help reduce the cost of establishing a solar power system by up to half. Check your local and state government websites for more info.

If you want to know how much power you need from your solar power system, you’ll need to know the amount of power your household uses. Your monthly electicity bills – may be offered online by your utility provider if you don’t have some old copies handy – will show you how many kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity you’re using per month. Multiply the kWh figure by 1000 to find the number of watt-hours you’re using per month. Divide this number by 30 to get your average daily electricity usage in watt-hours. If you then divide this number by the average number of hours of sunlight that you get in your location, you’ll arrive at the last figure you need. To be safe, it’s recommended that you use the number of hours of sun for the day in the year that has the least amount of sunlight, so that your calculation doesn’t come up short. This final figure represents the amount of electricity per hour that you’ll need your solar power system to produce.

An installed system will usually cost you somewhere in the -9 per watt range. Multiply the figure from the previous step by . This will give you an estimate of the cost for a number of solar panels sufficient to power your home.

I’ve created a solar power calculator spreadsheet to assist you with all these calculations. Just enter the kWh figure from your electric bill, and the speadsheet will give you a total for the cost of solar panels to power your entire home. The calculator is included in my 6 part mini course on solar and wind power for the home.

Now, you have an idea as to how much it will cost to power your home completely through solar power. It’s probably a fair amount of money; initial cost is one of the biggest complaints about solar power. Keep in mind that tax credits, rebates and incentives can reduce the price significantly. Also, building your own solar panels can bring the cost down even further.

What is solar power generation? To learn more about this interesting topic, you can go to Solar Power Generation.

With the increasing costs of electricity derived from fossil fuels such as oil and coal, people are thinking about alternative energy sources. One excellent way to reduce your reliance on fossil fuels is to produce your own power with a wind turbine. However, more and more people are finding out about how the small, quiet and efficient wind turbines of today provide a realistic, affordable answer to the challenge of rising energy costs.

There are a wide variety of wind generators available today, each with its own particular characteristics. Since they were first introduced, wind power generators have become exponentially more versatile and effective. Previously, wind turbines of all configurations had very large blades which needed unusually strong winds in order to rotate at all, not to mention vast quantities of open space just to be set up. These models had yet to be fully optimized for use in residential environments. Their high wind requirements meant that, usually, they could only be used effectively if they were mounted high above the ground. They also had to be aligned at a certain angle in order to catch the wind. Tail rudders were sometimes incorporated into the designs to help with the orientation process. Rotating the tail rudders into position also required strong winds in most cases, though. Residential locations don’t often provide the kind of strong, regular winds that early turbines required.

In the last ten years, however, wind turbine designs have been introduced which can provide significant amounts of power even with light winds, and as such are ideal for use in residential areas. They rotate at lower wind speeds, and since they’re smaller and lighter, they will also be aligned more quickly. Vertical axis turbines have also been introduced, and their ability to catch the wind no matter which way it’s blowing is a useful feature for users in residential settings. The power-to-cost ratio of modern turbines is perhaps their most appealing feature. Do you want to know the price range of the different types of wind turbines? You can check out wind turbines cost for futher info.

Wind turbines are now available which are optimized for use in residential settings and can be mounted easily on small towers, or even roofs. Advanced turbines have the extra advantage of eliminating the expense of installing and maintaining a tall tower. Although these types of turbines don’t have the same peak output as industrial models, they make up for this by turning constantly, in all conditions. Homeowners will like this consistency of output. The quiet operation of these modern wind turbines is also appreciated by homeowners (and their neighbors). The affordability and reliability of modern wind turbines mean that this is a great time to move to this clean, consistent provider of energy.

Do you want to build your own wind generator? It is quite possible to build your own wind generator if you have a good set of wind generator plans. For the best guides to building your own wind generators, visit Wind Generator Plans.

For another guide to building a diy wind generator, visit How to Make a Wind Generator.

A grid tie inverter is a specific type of inverter that will let you take the electricity you generate with installations like solar panels or wind turbines and sell it back to the power company.

US citizens have the right, as stated in the 1978 Federal Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), to sell renewable energy to their local power company. This law was introduced after the 1973 Arab oil embargo and is just as relevant today.

A standard power inverter simply converts DC electricity to AC, which is needed for appliances in the home. Inverters also convert the 12 or 24 volt electricity your installation is generating to 120 volts. While inverters are a basic part of any renewable energy system, you can’t use just any inverter to sell power back to the grid. The AC power that comes from an inverter, at 120 volts and 60 cycles per second, is basically the same as power that comes directly from the grid. However, it’s probable that the two sources of electricity are out of phase with one another. If your inverter’s electricity is cycling up when the grid’s is cycling down, sending your electricity there won’t be possible. The answer to the problem is a grid tie inverter. This type of inverter keeps your inverter in sync with the grid.

A grid tie inverter is useful in other ways as well. As a rule, electricity will flow from higher voltage to lower voltage. This is how battery charging works. The charger will have a higher voltage than the battery, so the electricity moves from the charger to the battery. This is why a 12 volt battery needs a charger of over 12 volts.

By that principle, it’s necessary to have electricity of a slightly higher voltage than that of the grid in order to send your electricity there. This is another way in which a grid tie inverter comes in handy, as it monitors and regulates voltage levels as well. Your excess higher voltage electricity will flow out to the grid, and your power meter will run backwards.

Grid tie inverters are more expensive than basic inverters because of their increased functionality. The opportunity to actually make money with your renewable energy system, though, means that a grid tie inverter is well worth the investment. A grid tie inverter will also provide AC power for appliances in your home as well, so it can actually provide a solution of all of your energy needs.

The idea of off grid living appeals to many people. You can get more information by visiting Off Grid Living.

For more information about the components of solar power system, visit Solar How To.

If you are looking for the best DIY charger plans with step-by-step videos, check out DIY Solar Charger.

A solar power system for your home is a great option if you want to lower or even eliminate your monthly electricity bill. The most recent solar power systems are very affordable, extremely efficient, and easy to install. Recently, something called a micro inverter has been incorporated in some solar panels, and this may prove to be one of the most important improvements of all.There are various kinds of solar power inverters. You can visit Solar Power Inverter to learn more about solar power inverters.

Most solar systems follow the same basic principles. Usually, the solar panels themselves will be placed on the roof of the home, unless there’s a nearby area that sees even more sunlight. When the panels experience sunlight exposure, they produce DC electricity.

This DC electricity is then sent to a large inverter, which is usually located near the home’s electrical panel. Devices in the home that require electricity use AC electricity, and the inverter converts the DC electricity to AC for this purpose.

Previous solar power systems had long wires moving the electricity from the panels to the inverter, and this would result in a fair amount of power loss. This kind of power loss affects low voltage DC electricity in particular. The only answer before now was just to produce more power to compensate for the loss.

The answer to the problem of power loss has arrived in the form of solar micro inverters. Now that solar panels can be equipped with built-in micro inverters, the conversion can be performed on the spot, negating most of the loss. This means you no longer need so much redundancy in terms of solar panels. AC electricity can move a longer distance while suffering less loss than DC electricity. This also means that it’s easier to expand your system, as you can simply buy panels as you need them, without having to worry about upgrading your inverter. The up-front cost of these advanced solar panels is a little greater, but they’re actually more affordable in the long run, as they’re so much more efficient.

Solar charge controllers are necessary for most solar power systems that use batteries. Solar charge controllers work to regulate the power moving from the solar panels to the batteries. To know more solar charge controllers, you can check out Solar Charge Controller.

For the best guide to building your own homemade wind turbine, you can check out Earth4Enegry Review.

Since the invention of the modern silicon solar cell, the effectiveness of solar cells has improved significantly. The first silicon solar cell was developed by Bell Labs and shown to the public for the first time on April 25, 1954. It had an efficiency of about 6%, meaning that it converted about 6% of the sun’s energy it collected to electricity.

While it may not seem like much, this was actually a major improvement over the previous generation of solar cell, the selenium solar cell. The efficiency rating for selenium solar cells was only about 0.5%.

Solar cell research since then has made a priority of both improving efficiency and decreasing manufacturing costs. It’s proven to be possible, using exotic materials, to produce cells with up to 40% efficiency. Unfortunately, using such materials significantly increases the production cost; these high-performance cells can cost over 100 times more than ordinary 8% efficient cells to produce. In order to encourage the adoption of solar power, reducing production cost is perhaps an even more important objective than improving efficiency.

The sun delivers around 1,000 watts of power per square meter under ideal conditions. This figure is the standard for defining the performance of a specific solar cell. Of course, there are a variety of factors that can impact the intensity of sunlight, such as weather, elevation, pollution, and dust. Certain events, like volcanic eruptions, can even reduce sunlight on a worldwide basis for periods of a year or longer. Low elevation also has a detrimental effect on solar cell efficiency. At higher elevation, the air is thinner, and there’s less dust and pollution between the sun and the solar cells.

At about 14-19% efficiency, multicrystalline solar cells are the most efficient cells currently available. However, this kind of cell is not expected to progress much beyond that point. Much of the current research being done involves amorphous silicon cells, which currently work at about 8% efficiency.

Assuming there aren’t any major gains in solar cell efficiency in the short term, what would it take to replace all fossil fuel-based energy generation in the United States with solar power? A little over 10,000 square miles of land would have to be dedicated to solar panels in order to supply all of the electricity currently produced in the US. Even now, there is enough unused desert in the US to meet this benchmark.

In order to have power even when the sun isn’t out, solar power systems need to involve some form of power storage as well. Many power companies are considering “smart grid” systems involving the use of battery banks to address this issue. Batteries may also represent an answer to the problem of spikes in demand presented by hot days.

Over the last 60 years, solar cell efficiency has increased substantially, from 0.5% to as high as 40%. They are also becoming more affordable, particularly in the last few years.

If you are looking into installing a solar power system, you need to consider the kind of roof panel that you are going to utilize. More information about roof solar panels is available at Roof Solar Panels.

If you are interested in building your own solar panel, check out these step-by-step guides Build Solar Panel and GreenDIY Energy Review.

Electricity-generating wind turbines have been around for about a century now, and they’re still evolving. Perhaps more importantly, their prices have gone down steadily. Each basic category of wind turbine, of which there are a few, has its own specific attributes and is suited to certain applications.

Since they were introduced around 1930, large, commercial wind generators have improved in a number of ways. Among these enhancements are superior blade design (which itself is mostly thanks to newly available materials), greater efficiency, and improved reliability. In order to handle high winds on a consistent basis and thus produce a large amount of power, these turbines are usually made from especially heavy materials.

For that same reason, wind generators of this type are usually set up in areas that receive the highest winds, such as shorelines. Reliability is key for these kinds of wind generators, as their out-of-the-way locations mean that frequent repairs aren’t an option. Large-scale turbines often exceed 0,000 in price, which is due in large part to these factors.

The other major class of wind turbine is those designed for residential use. Residential areas, due to the presence of buildings and other obstacles, often have regular shifts in wind patterns, and this was a tricky problem for early residential-use turbines to overcome.

Early models also had problems with regard to weight. They would usually need special support structures, and they were only really able to generate much power from very strong winds. Most homeowners considered these early models too expensive and inefficient to be appropriate for them.

These problems are addressed by micro turbines, which are the latest type of turbine to be used in residential environments. These turbines usually don’t require the use of a tower, as they are capable of generating impressive amounts of energy from even low winds. There are some micro turbines on the market now that can be mounted on the roof of a house. By turning at all times, even in low winds, these small units output a steady stream of power. Starting at about 0, these micro turbines are also relatively inexpensive and are well within the range in which the electrical bill savings they provide will quickly justify their price

Depending on a number of factors, wind turbine cost can vary greatly. Some homeowners are even building their own wind turbines, which makes them even more affordable. All it takes are some common tools and the right instructions, and just about anybody can put together a wind turbine, and get the lifelong savings that come with it.

For information about the advantages and disadvantages of wind power, go to Advantages and Disadvantages of Wind Power.

For the greatest guide to making your own wind turbine, including step by step videos, go to Earth4Enegry Review.

For another guide to building a diy solar panel, visit How to Build a Wind Turbine.

Asociación Empresarial Fotovoltaica (ASEF), Asociación de Productores de Energías Renovables (APPA), and Asociación de la Industria Fotovoltaica (ASIF) met in Madrid to reveal “Set for 2020” a paper by the European PhotoVoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) and A.T. Kearney articulating the below principal conclusions:

• Europe necessitates to dramatically raise the share of PV to meet its 20/20/20 energy goals.
• A 12% market allowance for Photovoltaics in Europe is a demanding, but realisable and worthy goal.
• Sustaining the increment of Photovoltaics is an investment that will yield important positive returns for the European economy.
• The deeper and earlier the penetration of PV, the greater the net interests.
• Mass penetration of Photovoltaics will sponsor European competitiveness, occupation and energy security of supply.
• PV is the fastest-growing renewable energy technology, and costs are expected to drop faster than those of other electricity sources.
• By end 2020, Photovoltaics can be competitive in as much as 75% of the European electricity market.

The EPIA study forms on a survey among more than one hundred industry analysts and caters various scenarios for the redeployment of Photovoltaics in Europe. The study suggests for PV a target of 12% of the total by 2020. This study asserts that Spain is set to lose her global lead in Photovoltaics due to bad rules of the industry.

Javier García Breva, president of APPA, described Spain’s management as short-sighted, ill-interested and short term. The principal snag is the yearly quotas set by current rules. Photovoltaics industry in Spain currently heels about 4% of the need or the equivalent of 8 combined cycle power plants. A reasonable goal for Spain would be instead 20GW or 12% of the national need by 2020, considering the cost of PV is set to decrease at a rate of 8% per year, over the next few years. Spain benefits from abundant and constant solar irradiation favorable to the redeployment of Photovoltaics, however the legal framework has become an impediment. The executive is about to present its 2010 National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP), this is a chance to include proposals to achieve the European goal of 12%.