The Cost Of Solar Energy
Solar energy is a natural source of energy that comes directly from the sun. When solar energy hits the earth it spreads over the earth's surface and provides warmth evenly. If you could capture the sun's rays into a particular area for a long period of time it would provide enough warmth for nighttime or on cloudy days. Learning where to find solar energy can help you to get started today. Solar energy does not cost anything because it comes from the sun. The source that you choose may cost some but in the long run it should be your only expense, unlike gas or oil heaters that you continue to pay for monthly in order to have power or gas heat in your home. Solar power can provide heating, cooling and ventilation.
If you want to make your own solar power to capture the energy for heating its easy to do if you can find a solar collector, which is anything that attracts the heat from the sun in a concentrated amount, such as glass or clear plastic. Getting into your car that has sat out in the hot sun all day long can be extremely hot and you have to roll down your windows to cool it off inside. That is because the glass has attracted the sun and the objects in your car, including your seats, have trapped the heat not allowing it to escape. When you roll your windows down you are allowing the heat to escape causing your car to cool down. The same thing is true about greenhouses. The glass or clear plastic can attract the sun and not allow it to escape causing the greenhouse to maintain the heat for the plants to grow effectively.
In order to heat your home using solar energy, you need to know the information on a passive and an active home. These two types of solar homes offer the homeowner options to choose from and your cost of heating may be down. Solar energy does not only heat your home but it also heats your water and if you use solar energy lights it can light your home at night.
Passive homes do not use any equipment to heat the home. Passive homes use windows that are made to allow the maximum amount of sunlight into your home. The sunlight is controlled by keeping the doors closed in the hottest part of the day not allowing any heat to escape. At night thick curtains may be used on these windows so that the warmth stays inside during the night. This allows the sun to naturally heat your home without any help.
Active homes do use equipment to help circulate the heat in the home. Some of the equipment that may be used includes pumps, blowers and an alternative heating source in case the sunlight was not enough during the daytime. In order to heat the home with sunlight these homes use special boxes on the outside that attract the sunrays to it. They are made from a dark colored metal to help attract the sun more. The water or air that is carried in the pipes and ductwork is heated by this glass box that has captured the sunlight. Then the heated water or air is then carried to the rest of the home.
In the long run, solar energy helps to heat the home naturally and without depending on a company to supply it for you. Solar energy can be found anywhere the sun is.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
QUESTION:
what is the cost of solar energy compared to natural gas?
i heard solar energy was about 1/4th of a dollar while natural gas was only 1/10th. can someone fill me in on this? (:-
ANSWER:
These are NOT comparable because they work differently. Natural gas used in home heating, hot water, stoves, dryers use gas as a DIRECT conversion of energy.Solar- active thermal, is where panels collect the heat and exchange it in a storage tank to preheat hot water for heating and hot water.
Solar- passive, is where the sunlight comes into a space and heats it during the day
Solar- electric is where there are 2 conversions of energy. One is changing the sunlight into electricity; then storing this electricity and converting into alternating current to be used for your household.
Solar-Thermal- Large scale. There are several major installations of solar-thermal-electric, and solar- electric the produce enough electricity to feed into the national grid. The problem with all solar projects is they shut down at night! Gas is available 24/7.
The efficiency of the solar ---> electric in watts/hr is about 23%. A regular toaster requires 1800 watts to run, so you would need to have enough square foot coverage just to use your toaster.
-
-
QUESTION:
Is solar energy worth it due to the cost of solar panels?
Is the energy required to manufacture solar panels significant enough to affect the cost-effectiveness of solar energy?-
ANSWER:
No matter where you are getting your electricity something has to be manufactured to create it. It isn't as if we have enough plants currently to satisfy demand. By building and installing solar we can reduce the number of coal or natural gas burning plants that need to be built to supply our growing demand. There is a lot of evidence that the large grid system that we have leaves us more vulnerable to disruption due to attack or natural disaster.From a personal point of view, it is more cost effective to produce my own electricity using solar panels. I will break even on my system in about 6 years, my system is guaranteed for 25, so I'll be getting free electricity for 19 years, plus I won't be affected by the rising cost of energy.
-
-
QUESTION:
What is your prediction on the material cost of solar energy in the next 5 years?-
ANSWER:
Current CdTe modules have 10 percent efficiency and an installed system cost of about per watt. My guess is this can be cut in half in 5 years.Here is a very good article "A Solar Grand Plan" - explains that government subsidy is likely required if the US is to become energy self sufficient by 2050.
-