Solar power systems

Now that we're seeing more refinement in solar power technology, we may be witnessing a rebirth in solar power systems

Solar power systems have been around for a long time. When the technology first became available solar cells where heralded to be the end of the oil crisis and the energy crisis.

We suddenly had plentiful free energy, all of it coming from the sun.

Within ten years solar power systems were predicted to heat and power our homes and businesses.

Some people even thought we would be driving solar-powered cars soon, with long, sleek shapes covered with solar panels.

The term solar power is used to describe a number of methods of harnessing energy from the light of the Sun.

It has been used in many traditional technologies for centuries and has come into widespread use where other power supplies are absent, such as in remote locations and in space.

Its use is spreading as the environmental costs and limited supply of other power sources such as fossil fuels are realized.

Unfortunately, the reality didn't quite match up with the dream.

Solar panels were expensive to manufacture, and unless you had a lot of panels exposed to a lot of sunlight, solar power systems didn't produce very much power.

However, now that we're seeing more refinement in solar power technology, we may be witnessing a rebirth in solar power systems, at least in certain environments.

Though solar panels still absorb solar energy when it's cloudy outside, they absorb much more energy and therefore produce more power if they're exposed to direct sunlight.

Solar power systems are therefore much more effective in Tucson, AZ, then they are in Seattle, WA.

Also, solar power systems produce more power during longer days, so short Alaskan winter days aren't very good for solar systems.

The ideal environment is in the desert, with long days and little cloud cover.

To be effective, solar power systems don't need to power an entire business community or even provide all of the power for a private residence.

Solar power systems are much more efficient at heating water than they are at producing power.

Since standard hot water heaters can consume over a third of a house's energy, replacing a gas-powered hot water heater with a solar powered heater can reduce a home's energy bill considerably, as well as making the owners eligible for a tax cut in select states.

Solar power systems are also very useful for providing power in locations which are hard to reach with standard power lines.

They're extensively used for cell phone towers and other reflective antenna arrays located on mountaintops and other hard to reach places.

Since these installations don't require a great deal of power or maintenance to run, solar panels can provide plenty of power without needing to be maintained or refueled.

Though we're probably still quite a ways from a completely solar-powered society, we'll likely see many more solar powered devices as solar technology becomes more refined and more efficient.

News from MIT (Massachusetts Insitute of Technology)

http://www.masstech.org/

There has never been a better time for businesses to purchase photovoltaic (PV) systems to provide electricity for their operations.

The Federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 increases the tax credit for business investments
in PV to 30 percent.

This 30 percent credit will continue for two years before it drops again to 10 percent in January 2008.

Massachusetts continues to offer generous PV subsidies to businesses to encourage
installation of PV systems.

The cost for purchased electricity is being driven up by rising oil and natural gas prices,
significantly improving the rate of return on PV investments.

I hope you'll find these informations useful!





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