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Decorate Your Landscape
One way to beautify your landscape areas is to dress them up with Solar Garden Lights. With the use of Solar Garden Lights
they really make your landscaped areas, walkway areas, deck and patio areas light up beautifully at night and get a full charge during the day, with the exception that these Solar cells do need to collect sun rays during the day. Almost all solar garden lights are made with different designs, shapes, colors, and for a multitude of purposes for lighting up different areas.
Let’s take a look at two basic kinds of solar panels ( also referred to as a PV- photo voltaic cell ) there is mono-crystalline and poly-crystalline. Each one has it’s own output characteristics. A solar panel made from Polycrystalline silicone yields a slightly higher charging output than a Mono-crystalline silicone cell in direct sunlight, slightly less in overcast conditions.
The solar panels I talk about here is rated at 90mA (milli-amperes), meaning it will put out 90 mA of power each hour in high intensity light or direct sunshine. In overcasts conditions, and even when the PV is not placed directly at the light source, the output is greatly reduced. They may go as low as 6mA on an overcast day, in the shade or indirect sun. This is important to know because they use NiCad batteries and each hold 800mA of power, most lights use two of these, for a total capacity of 1600mA. So, if the PV is putting out an average or 50mA per hour, it will take approximately 32 hours to fully charge the batteries. This, in turn, should power the White LED for up to 20 hours. As the batteries discharge, the output voltage will also decline slightly, along with the brightness of the light.
For this reason it is always good to keep the batteries charged, and to keep the PV exposed to light whenever possible, because that is what keeps the batteries charged up to full capacity. With the use of Solar garden Lights you can add beauty to the landscape and to your home, and also for security reasons too!
Second Generation Solar panel
Let’s consider a new source of making Solar Power
Energy with Thin Film Solar Panel. Thin Film Solar Panels are used to a great extent in making satellites. Thin Film technology is being extended to use in residential and industrial and was named one of the best inventions of 2008 by Times magazine.
Thin Film Solar Panels are bendable, unlike the poly-silicon cells that are found in conventional crystalline solar panels. Thin Film Solar Panels are considered being as a second generation solar power technology. If a poly-silicon cell is damaged with a crystalline solar panel then their is a good chance the whole panel is damaged and not functioning right, but with the Thin Film Solar Panel will continue to operate. Thin Film Solar Panels are bendable and can be molded to a lot of different surfaces with glue or screws. They can be placed in areas were the traditional crystalline solar panels can not be mounted to. They can even be sewed onto materials like a jacket or maybe a tent or tent cover to supply charge to your hand held electronic devises.
There is a downside to Thin Film Solar Panels, because they are thin they don’t take in as much energy. These panels are not as efficient as photovoltaic panels but they cost less. Thin Film Solar panels are a low wattage and need to have more space than the traditional panels but with that in mind, manufactures offer better warranties. Sounds like a good ideal for metal roofs.
A Must Have Gardening Tool
When your out to clean up the yard, no matter if your property is the size of a city lot or your property is 5 to 10 acres, their is always some brush, brier’s, small limbs to be cut back and keep cut back if possible . That lets your mower groom the grass up tight and close to the edges. Some brush, brier’s, and limbs are to small for the thought of getting out the big chainsaw to cut them back, and the thought of using a hand saw doesn’t sound like a good idea ether, maybe to hard to reach or may take to long or it maybe brier’s you don’t want to get to close to those sticklers ether, nor would I.
I found a solution that you may like, with this nice piece of gardening equipment might just be the right tool. It is called Earthwise 18 volt, 8-inch Cordless Chainsaw. It has an Oregon Chain & Bar, with an automatic Oiler, with a oil level window, weighs about 13 lbs. and comes with a plastic blade cover for safety when not in use. It also has a 18 volt Ni-Cad battery and Charger that comes with it. Sounds perfect for those medium to small sized jobs around the property, doesn’t use any gasoline, and you don’t have to run any extension cords to drag across the lawn in any direction.
No limit where you can take this Gardening Tool
, and the price is reasonable too!
The Newest Major
If you’re about to venture out to college this coming fall, it’s very likely that you’re a bit lost about what to study in school. After all, if you’ve come directly from high school, many people still don’t have any clue about what they eventually want to do with their careers or lives. And if you’re in this undecided area of limbo, consider going into an area of study that focuses on green energy.
In this way, you might just be a part of the team that manufacturers realistic, cost-effective alternative fuel vehicles or more efficient solar power for homes. It will be a field of study that’s certainly rewarding, but it is also very likely to receive a lot of funds and grants because of the potential for widespread application. Plus, you can be in on the ground floor for the next big technology, which means you could potentially have some serious financial opportunities.
Harvesting the Suns Power for Solar Energy!
A Home Owner that is enthusiastic about the environment and saving money, one good choice is harvesting the power of the sun for making Solar Energy. Solar Power Energy is a form of renewable energy that does not pollute the earth no matter how much you use. Harvesting more of this kind of energy will not in any way decrease the supply of solar energy on earth. It is a endless supply of a natural energy just waiting to be used in an environmentally friendly way, and can not be used to pollute or hurt our earth as for their is no left over waste that can be dumped into our soil or water system to pollute anything.
With your own set of Solar Panels, you can maintain the cost per watt of energy as long as the photovoltaic panels work for you. With conventional sources of energy, you are expected to pay more and more every year due to inflation and the ever depleting source of fuel, even as the costs for it just keeps rising.
Can you recall how much we had to pay on our energy bills 10 to 15 years ago? It absolutely hurts us today to see how much more were paying for it now. And can you honestly say that the price for energy may decline. I don’t believe so. That’s why if any time would be to start thinking about an alternative energy source then, NOW is the right time to start. Just taking baby steps toward the process of changing the way we think about harvesting energy could save us all a ton of money, I am sure we would like to use for the money for other necessary things.
Their are
many other amazing facts about Solar Energy that makes it the worlds preferred source of renewable energy. But how can we take advantages of harvesting the marvelous source of never ending power? There are many ways will talk about in later posts, but for now a good place to start is with Solar Panels for electricity.
There are many diy solar energy guides out their to help people understand that if your willing to learn and get your hands a little dirty you can build your own Solar Power Energy System at a fraction of the cost, as to hiring a solar energy company to install the whole system, which they would be more than happy to do so.
Make your own Mulch
It’s almost time to start mowing again. When you get the mower out and fill it up with gas, check the oil, check the tire pressure, and you think I’m ready to mow. As you look around the yard you see a few leaves over there stuck in some bushes, a few limbs laying around under trees, or maybe it’s time to do a little trimming on the trees and bushes. Well before you mow the grass you have to go out first and pick up what’s left laying around, and you might think to yourself,
” I wish I could recycle this rubbish instead of just throwing it away.”
Well you most certainly can- If you purchased a Gardening Tool
called a Chipper/Shredder that runs by electric ( No Gas ) you can shred leaves and limbs and brush into mulch to spread around plants, incorporate it into your landscaped areas to use as free mulch. And your free mulch will decay just like the mulch that you purchase at the store but you didn’t have to pay for it, like we do every year to beautifies our flower beds. I found this McCulloch 14-amp electric Chipper/Shredder that makes quick work out of twigs and small branches, It has a 3-way feed that makes it easy to reduce your yard waste in a minimal amount of time. You can save money by making your own mulch. McCulloch, Electric Chipper/Shredder has a 14 amp Motor, Shreds Brush and Leaves, Chips Limbs up to 1-1/2″ diameter, rounded discharge chute for easy clean up, Easy Maintenance, Maneuverability and Storage. Rated 4 stars.
You can take care of yard waste and do your part to help protect the environment. Every gardening tool has it’s place and this one is for making mulch.
Solar Power System Component # 4
Setting up a Solar Power System.
This component is a must have.
System Meter is the fourth component we can talk about in the series of components you’ll need to have to build
a Solar Power Energy System. A system meter measures and displays several different aspects of your solar-electric system’s performance and status, tracking how full your battery bank is, how much electricity is being used. Operating your solar-electric system without metering is like running your car without any gauges hooked up to track the performance of the engine, even though you could leave it out, but that would be unwise, you need to keep track of how much energy is being made, how much energy is being stored, and how much energy is being used.
Think of the component like this, it is your fuel gauge and you need to know how much energy is coming from your panels and how much energy is being used up. Some inverter manufacturing company’s now provide wireless meters to allow system monitoring from any room in your house, so you can keep an eye on the monitoring of the system at any time.
How could you know if your system was working to it’s full potential, or if you was making effective energy usage decisions?
Real Time Solar Monitoring. You can gain access to energy data to gain an understanding of how you could optimize your solar energy system. You can get connected to one of the web-based systems. Here’s how it works. Data from sensors at the inverter and the main electrical panel is sent to a communications gateway. The information is then sent out to the internet broadband, modem, or wireless, where it’s processed into data and is present on web pages for access. You can keep track of real time data on your home computer.
Solar Power: Efficient and Affordable
In the past, residential solar power was reserved for homes that were far off the beaten track. These were often ranch homes in the American Southwest where sunlight is plentiful and civilization relatively scarce. When you’re miles from the nearest access to the power grid, it just makes sense to become self-reliant. More recently, everyday Americans in cities, towns and rural settings are exploring the potential of photovoltaic cells.
Technology has improved over the last few years, and just as computers drop in price once they’ve been around a while, solar power systems are becoming less expensive and more tantalizing to the average homeowner. Once solar panels are set up and fully operational, they can reduce energy bills and provide real peace of mind. It’s nice to know that in providing energy for your home you’re not also leaving a carbon footprint.
Solar Power Water Fountain
It was a middle spring sunny day, and I was outside mowing the grass, when I looked over there across the road at my neighbors pond. There is a water fountain spraying water into the air and it is positioned in the middle of the pond.
I thought to myself, “What a peaceful beautiful sight that is to look at”. It is a very nice landscaped design that compliments his property, water spraying into the air, grass is mowed down and manicured around the pond, as the rest of his lawn is too! On one side of the their is a comfortable bench for relaxing, good place for taking a break, and some Brown Eyed Susy flowers planted behind and around the bench. Wonderful place to relax and collect your thoughts.
I wondered what does it cost to run that water fountain, and he has to plug in the power cord in the morning and unplug the power cord in the evening to turn it ON & OFF just so his family and other people can enjoy the beauty of it all.
One day I caught my neighbor outside mowing his grass, I went over to ask him, “Hows everything going”. I commented on how beautiful his landscape, looked and especially his pond with the water fountain spraying water up into the air. It just looked GREAT!
I asked “What does it cost to run your fountain day after day in a months time” he was polite enough to tell me that “Oh it cost me $10.00 to $15.00 a month for the size of my pump, it’s a 5 watt pump”, I said thanks for telling me and to have a nice day. As I drive around the county I started noticing a lot more ponds with water fountains in the middle spraying water into the air.
If people only knew that if they would purchase and use a Solar Power Water Fountain, then that is a one time cost, NO plugging and unplugging to operate it, Solar Power Water Fountains only runs when the sun rays hit upon the panel.
So Guess What- NO additional cost on your electric bill, with the very same purpose in mind, “Beauty”!
Solar Power System Component #3
Deep Cycle Battery-
Wither you hookup off-grid or on-grid, you need a Battery Bank for storage or a back-up presents. Your PV panels will produce electricity whenever the sun shines on them. If your system is off-grid, you’ll need a battery bank, a group of batteries wired together, to store energy so you can have electricity at night or on cloudy days. For off-grid systems, battery banks are typically sized to keep households electricity running for one to three cloudy days.
Gridintertied systems also can include battery banks to provide emergency backup power during blackouts, perfect for keeping critical electric loads operating until grid power is restored. Although similar to ordinary car batteries, the batteries used in solar-electric systems are specialized for the type of charging and discharging they’ll need to endure. Lead-acid batteries are the most common battery used in solar-electric systems.
Flooded lead acid batteries are usually the least expensive, but require adding distilled water occasionally to replenish water lost during the normal charging process. Sealed absorbent glass mat (AGM) batteries are maintenance free and designed for grid-tied systems where the batteries are typically kept at a full state of charge. Gel-cell batteries can be a good choice to use in unheated spaces due to their freese resistant qualities.
Either way you hookup a Home Solar Power System
, you should purchase a good quality battery bank component for storing your electricity. In the long run your saving money producing your own electricity, and in the times of blackouts from weathering storms you can fill good about the safety and security you will provide for your family!