Solar Power Energy

3 Ways to Light up Your Garden with Solar Outdoor Lighting

2011-02-14T10:18:00.000-08:00

Outdoor lighting is more than security lighting. Although it allows you to see whose coming up your walk it also can enhance your garden, save on electricity costs, and an be used all over your yard, not just on the walk way.

Outdoor lighting is lights that are used to light up the path to your front or back door. Some people call them security lighting. They come in a lot of different sizes, shapes, and colors. Plus some of them have colored lights and can be run on solar energy. But they can do much more than that! They do keep the number of home break-ins down but they can also be used to enhance your garden or your garden landscaping.

Landscape lights are the same type of lights as security lights or outdoor lights. The name suggests they can only be used for landscaping your garden but they can also be use as security lights on the path to your door or you can even mount them on the wall of your house. Even the solar landscape lights can be used as security lights. Sometimes you can get a better deal (money wise) if you buy landscape lights instead of security lights.

Solar landscape lights are very cost effective. They have rechargeable batteries in them that get charged during the day and they will light up all night long. Even when the rechargeable batteries are worn out in a couple of years (yes, they do wear out), you can replace the batteries and you’re good to go. The best thing about solar lights is they don’t need electricity, any time!

Another good deal about outdoor lighting is you can put them anywhere. You don’t have to put them just on the path to the front door. You can put them in the garden to highlight a statue or a plant that blooms at night. Or you can put mount them on your house to shine on an area such as a pond, or tree trunk, or any other garden ornament or statue. They work great as a spotlight to highlight your most beautiful bloom or plants.

They also come with sensors to turn them on and off when they detect any movement. Such as an intruder or deer than loves your garden, even rabbits eating your lettuce and carrots. When the outdoor lights come on it scares the critters away and that include human critters, too. So do yourself and your loved ones a favor and use solar outdoor lighting.

Six Benefits And Drawbacks Of Solar Power - Can You Afford Not To Have It?

2010-08-01T07:22:00.000-07:00

A controversial subject like solar power inspires strong feelings in a great many people, on both sides, for and against. Putting emotional feelings aside, it's best to evaluate both sides as logically and cool-headedly as is possible. An honest analysis would require a dispassionate study of each side as well as the reasons in support of positions. Let's examine solar power and the positions on each side, the Pros and the Cons:

Ready? Then let's start. First the Pro, in favor of/in support of:

The 1st point in support of solar power is it will be around forever. Unless of course, we blow ourselves up with nuclear bombs and block out the sun. However, even if we do there's always wind power. The nuclear dust will fade away eventually but it will take years.

The secondary positive point is most power companies will reimburse the money you spend on your solar power system. That's a big plus. There is also government program that can help you out with the cost.

The third supporting point is the extra power you produce can be sold back to the power company. That's right! After you use the power you need if there's any left over the power companies will pay you for it. You can't beat that kind of deal.

And on the other side, for balance, the Con side, against:

Firstly, the point against will be it's almost cost prohibitive. While supply and demand are low, solar equipment is going to cost you an arm and leg to put in your house.

And the second negative point is it's still on the bulky side. Although they have made solar equipment much small than when it first came out it still takes a up a good amount of space. Either on the roof of your house or in land space

A 3rd significant point against is solar energy is only able to generate electricity during daylight hours. However, if you use the power of the wind as a backup then you can have power 24/7.

So there you have it, the pros and then the cons, the points in favor and also the points against.

Finally then, what's the "bottom line" here? Is solar power something can you afford NOT to have? If we're to cut down on using fossil fuel we're going to have to go solar. As more people install it, and use it the price will come down but until then save your money and remember the power companies will buy back the extra solar power.

Solar Battery Charger Unhook Us from Grid Outlet

2009-04-09T07:17:00.000-07:00

Solar battery charger is one of these devices that became a necessity once we have all these electric devices that we use on a daily basis. Ipod, laptop, mobile phone, PDA, GPS etc' just name it. The more we use these battery based gadgets, the more our lives in the 21st century depend on. These battery-based portable electric devices need to be recharged pretty often which hook us to the grid outlet and reduce our mobility and portability. If we do not charge them they become useless. At this point the solar powered battery charger gives us back the freedom and releases us from being chained to outlet grid in order to charge our batteries.

Solar battery chargers are not a matter of fashion, they are gaining popularity with very good reasons. Solar charger is simple to use on the go, where ever you are, all it takes is some sunlight. There are bagpacks with solar cells on them, so they charge your batteries while you are on your daily activity without any need of your attention. There are portable flexible solar panels that you can place in your small bag and use them to charge your electrical devices' batteries when you need to without being attached to any electrical grid outlet. Most solar chargers are equipped with plug kits which match to variety of electric devices. The variety of solar chargers' sizes, shapes and uses continue to grow rapidly.

There is no usage cost when using a solar battery charger as opposed to the utility electricity charger. No pollution is released to the atmosphere when using portable solar charger and no chemicals are being leached into our ground water when discarded since we are using rechargeable batteries, so you contribute to keep environment clean, not to mention that you save money when you use a solar powered charger.

Article Source: http://www.solarpanelarticles.com

Top 3 Products In Solar Panels

2008-11-26T11:36:00.000-08:00

How To Build Your Own Solar And Wind Energy Generators

I’ve tried several products that instruct how to build your own solar and wind generators. And there are dozens of them around but...

A closer look after downloading and reading each of these products, these are the top three products that I found the most valuable.

Here they are:

#1 Home Made Energy

In my opinion this is the best product when you're interested in building a solar panel or wind turbines to save on your electric bill. The instructions are very straight-forward. Anyone could follow them and be up and running in a weekend.

Plus I liked the simplicity of the guide. They are clear and concise without leaving any stones unturned. If you want to buy a DIY guide for solar and wind energy generators, then look no further.

This is the one you’ve been looking for.

And the cost will save you a ton of money!

#2 Earth 4 Energy

This was my second book in my research for DIY guides in solar panels and wind turbines. It may sound like it’s very complicate but they show you how with step by step with videos.

Earth4Energyis a popular product with the videos and it gives very good directions for building solar and wind generators and also batteries. It contains a guidebook as well as videos showing step by step instructions to building a home solar panel.

No bonuses here but there is a discount in their membership area.

#3 DIY Power System

This book not only you shows you “how to” build solar and wind generators, but you’ll also learn how to build your own batteries to store the electricity you created.

This product is a little more expensive than the others but it delivers incredible value for the price. Everything is clearly explained and anyone can start putting the guides into practice right away. He say you can build a solar panel in a weekend

He also gives you 5 bonus books that show you how to use all the things you learned about solar power. .

Try one of them right away. I saw a difference on my energy bill from the first month.

Why Not Think Long Term Investment With Home Solar Panels?

2008-11-25T16:54:00.000-08:00

With power costs hitting the roof in February I was thinking it is time to put another home solar panel on the roof. Although I have one now and it does save me money on the power bill, it hasn’t brought my bill down to zero yet. I still have to pay the power company monthly. I look at this as a long term investment for my home.

My neighbor has one for her swimming pool and said it paid itself off the first year. But here in Florida you need a swimming pool; I think it’s a law or something. Anyway, the rest of the neighbors wants to put in a power plant just for this neighbor. Kind of weird but it has merit.

We’re looking into what the city say about it cuz they won’t be making any money off us nor will the power company. No power or rather sewage tax. Not sure they’re going to let us do this but so far we haven’t found any laws against it. So stay tuned...

We all want to install our home solar panels ourselves to save on the costs. Since we have an electrician, science teacher, computer guru, real estate broker and a carpenter in the neighborhood, I think we can pull this off.

All but two of the neighbors want to get off the grid here but as long as it doesn’t cost them too much their willing to go along. We figured if we put in our own home solar panels it will save us a lot plus save a ton of money from the power company.

After all, the sun is free here in sunny Florida it only makes sense to start using it before it goes out. Ha!

More later...

Great New Discovery In Solar Panels Will Help You Save Money

2008-11-25T15:44:00.000-08:00

The University of New South Wales’ ARC Photovoltaic Centre of Excellence has reported the first silicon solar cell to achieve the milestone of 25 per cent efficiency.

Professors Martin Green and Stuart Wenham have uncovered new knowledge about the color weights in sunlight during the day. Solar cells are measured in standard color spectrum and Green and Wenham have improved on that standard.

Professor Green states, “Since the weights of the colors in sunlight change during the day, solar cells are measured under a standard color spectrum defined under typical operational meteorological conditions”. The standard spectrum was revised in April. The new spectrum has higher energy content at the blue end of the spectrum.

Kind of like the BluRay DVD players. They work with a blue laser and are more efficient than the red lasers. The same is true with the solar cells. They collect more energy from the sun at the blue end of the spectrum.

What does this mean? It means the solar cell can be made not only smaller or rather thinner, but they will collect more energy and be more efficient at collecting that energy. The best thing is they are incorporating this new knowledge into their production of solar cells.

With this new knowledge the price of solar panel will decrease and they will be much more efficient at collecting sunlight and creating power. Hence, they will cost less and produce more. Look for them in the future...

Until later...

There’s No Need To Find The Moolah When You Build Your Own Solar Panel

2008-11-24T14:28:00.000-08:00

Having a contractor install a solar panel system in your home can and does cost a lot of money. Installing a system in your home will save on the monthly bill and appreciate the value of your home. With the government giving out tax breaks and utilities companies offering rebates it will still cost a considerable amount of money to have a system installed.

Building your own solar panel system can save you a ton of money, get you a rebate from the utility company and increase the value of your home—all in one swoop.

According to the National Association of Real Estate Appraisers your house’s value increases 20 times your annual energy savings. That’s a big chunk of change. So if you put in a $4000 solar water heater the value of your house may increase that much! Check with your realtors in your area. The more solar systems installed in your area the higher the value of your home.

By using more solar power lighting systems such as porch lights and even rooms in your house with small photovoltaic lights connected to a battery that gets charged during the day by the sun.

There are several books that show you how to build a solar panel in a weekend. It comes with hour and half video and step by step instructions. And it cost less than $200 to build the whole system. If you know where to get the solar panels for free it would cost even less. All kind of places throw them out on a daily basis. They’ll be happy for you to take them off their hands.

Until next time...

Try This For A Weekend Project: Build A Solar Panel

2008-11-23T14:53:00.000-08:00

With the right instructions you can build a solar panel in a weekend. And you can build it free or at a very little cost. You can get everything you need such as glass, wood, and metal at no cost.

We have become a disposable society. From cell phones to cars to TV set we throw them out. Just out of a TV you can get resistors, capacitors, and the glass as well as the case itself. The case can be used for a solar oven or a solar heater.
When you replace your windows, doors, and other objects around your house or get ready to throw something out, think about it for a minute. What else can this be used for?

There are construction sites all over the country that are throwing out good two by fours, glass, metal and a host of other things that can be used to make all types of solar projects. It doesn’t take much--just ask them if you can have it.

I wanted to build a greenhouse and stopped at a construction site and asked for the wood they were throwing in the dumpster. They said take it...it’s yours. I now have a very nice greenhouse for my winter plants. And there growing quite nicely, thank you.

One place you can get solar panels is the blinking lights that sit in the highway. They get hit by cars all the time. They throw them out but the solar panels are fine. Insurance takes care of their loss so they don’t care what happens to them. The next time you see any of those sawhorses with yellow caution lights on them, notice the name of the company. Stop by their shop and ask for them. It saves them putting them in the dumpsters.

See you can build a solar power system in a weekend.

Okay, Let’s See Who’s Using Solar Panels To Make A Difference In The World Of Crude

2008-11-22T11:16:00.000-08:00

Vatican City just announced they replaced the concrete panels with solar panels on the roof of the Paul VI Hall. The grand unveiling will be next Wednesday. It's Benedict XVI part for "green culture characterized by ethical values". Not sure where ethical values comes in with solar panels but at least they're practicing what they preach. And I mean no disrespect with that statement.

The new installation will protect the building as well as convert solar energy to electricity. A dual function. Excellent!

Let's see, who else?

In this photo from Chris Pankow you can see the newly installed solar panels added to the power grid in Florida Keys FKEC Marathon Operations Center. When this plant is done it will be the second largest in the state of Florida.

This is the first phase of the project and the second phase will put another solar array at FKEC's Crawl Key Substation. This project is part of the states response to the governor's call for 20 percent of all energy be produced by renewable sources. This solar array will provide electricity for homes and business in the Florida Keys. And they have to sun to pull this off too.

And the last one...

U.S. Bancorp has rolled out a deal with Sun Run solar power company to help finance 2,000 residential solar system installations. Bancorp will is committing over $100 million for this deal. Of course this will help Sun Run with a sizable federal tax credit but it will also help home owners by lowing the monthly rate as well as a smaller up front fee for the installation.

Of course everyone can benefit from building solar panel for their homes. It not only produces renewable power but it also increases the value of your home. Especial now with the cost of everything going through the roof. It pays to put in your own solar panels.

Do You Want To Help Save Our World? Find Out How

2008-11-20T06:01:00.000-08:00

Ahhhh, we (all states) should all have actors for governors. They do seem to be the ones that do the most for the local community (meaning the state). Look what President Regan did during his time as governor of California. Or what Fred Thompson has done for Tennessee. Now, we can see what Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is doing for California.

He recently toured the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles to check out their rooftop solar panel . The solar panels that are reducing energy use and carbon dioxide missions by 65 percent. I think that pretty good.

With the landmark global warming law asking for 30 percent reduction in greenhouse emissions everybody needs to take the time to learn how to help. And not just by solar panels or not driving their car once a week.

There are ways to cut your power bill, reduce the amount of garage into out landfills even if you live in an apartment or condo. There are many way to cut back on gas consumption and a lot of little ways of saving our plant.

Solar panels are just a start...The power companies aren't making enough money these days so everyone is getting a power usage spike. Get it? :)

Here in Florida the rates are going up 25 percent next year. That's a lot! Where is cost $200 a month in the summer here is now going to cost $250 a month. It's going to be to costly to run air conditioners. I guess I'm going to have to hang out at one of the 1 million hotel rooms we have here. Or build more solar panels...

Check back tomorrow for how to save on, well, just about anything...Until then.

Reference: Courtesy of http://gov.ca.gov/

Ban the Wind--What On Earth Are They Thinking?

2008-11-18T11:43:00.000-08:00

There I was searching the Internet just for something to do while waiting for my laundry to dry, (on the cloths line, of course) and I came across this article about bill H.R. 2337. If you don’t know what it is--let me tell you. You will be as outraged as I am.

Chairman Nick Rahall, democrat from West Virginia, introduced this bill to the House Natural Resources Committee making it a “crime to produce clean electricity from wind turbines”. According to Adam Beazley, the bill is disguised as “animal welfare” bill to save birds that are killed by wind turbines.

Now, we all know that birds are killed by man and our technology but I do know that there are more birds killed by airplanes taking off and landing than by wind turbines. The actual statistics is 3 turbine related bird deaths out of 100,000 birds. There is an average bird deaths at the Miami airport of 54 birds per year, not to mention other critters that try to tangle with airplanes. And that’s just one airport.

Three bird deaths is hardly worth mentioning let along creating a bill to make it illegal to have wind turbines on your property. Isn’t the House Natural Resources Committee supposed to encourage “Natural Resources”? On their website Rahall makes this statement. “we have a duty to oversee development of energy sources”. Is wind not natural energy source?

Rather than trying to stop using wind turbines shouldn’t they be helping us find ways so this doesn’t happen?

Anyway, I thought this should go around so something can be done about it as I like my extra energy from my wind turbine. Adam Beazley of Solar Power For Us has created a petition you can sign to veto this bill. That’s right! Kick it out before we get fined the $50,000 that comes with the bill.

So jump on over to Solar Power For Us and sign the petition and save our wind turbines.

My outrage for today is now met--all things can go “softly into the night”.

Until tomorrow...

Is Your Electric Bill Climbing?

2008-11-17T03:12:00.000-08:00

I don't know about other states or cities but I read this morning that our power company is raising its prices. What a bummer...It's not enough gas is so high and food is on the rise as well as everything else on this planet.

With everything happening in our world today is a good time to start looking into solar energy.

They're starting to sell solar panel kits from Home Depot now. They will connect you with a company that will install it for you for about $45,000. Home Depot will help you finance the solar kit and I think for many people this is a good deal.

But you can build you own solar panel for about $200 a piece. I would rather pay this price than the other. It takes some work to build your own but I think in the long run it will be worth it.

After you get them built and set up then you can get the power companies to start paying you for your excess power. That's one of the best things about putting in your own solar power system. Get your neighbors to help out and make your own power grid and change the power companies....great idea, huh? Until later...

How Photovoltaic Cells Turn Sunlight into Solar Power

2008-11-12T13:14:00.000-08:00

Photovoltaic cells have been used for solar powered calculators for years. Even before that, they were used in space. Now they are being used in many ways, including powering houses. The way photovoltaic cells work is interesting.

The photovoltaic cells themselves are made out of a special kind of material called a semiconductor. Silicon is most often used. When light strikes this substance, the semiconductor takes in some of the energy.

The incoming energy is enough to push some electrons loose. These free-floating electrons flow in the same direction in the semiconductor. This produces an electrical current. The next step is to use contacts that have been placed on the photovoltaic cells and run a circuit from the top contacts, through the item to be powered, and back to the bottom contacts.

The silicon is, surprisingly, impure. This is because silicon in its natural crystalline state does not allow for much movement of electrons. Each of the silicon atoms is unstable on its own because there are four places for electrons that can be filled. Yet, every silicon atom is usually locked up with the other silicon atoms by sharing electrons on the outer valance. In order to make the silicon material more conductive, it is necessary to dope it, or mix in some other substance. To make N-type silicon, phosphorous is used. It has five electrons in its outer ring, so that when it mates up with the silicon atoms surrounding it, there is one free electron for every phosphorous atom.

P-type silicon is made by doping with boron. It has only three electrons in its outer shell. This leaves a hole, which is a place where an electron can jump in, for every atom of boron. The key to using silicon in photovoltaic cells is to use both P-type and N-type silicon.
The two types of silicon are set up side by side. At first, the electrons and holes near the shared border fill in rapidly. Then, equilibrium is reached where the electrons can no longer interact in that way.

An electric field is created separating the two halves. In this field, it is easy for electrons to flow from the P-side to the N-side. Electrons on the N-side cannot make it over to the P-side. This creates a one-way flow of electrons.

Photons are units of energy from the sun. Photons keep the energy flowing by bumping into the atoms of the solar cell and freeing electrons and holes. This perpetuates the movement of electrons from hole to hole and establishes current. The field created at the site of the N-type and P-type silicon junction makes the voltage that completes the power picture.

Using photovoltaic cells to harness the sun’s energy is still fairly new. The cells are being used in more and more applications, both commercial and residential. Photovoltaic cells are fairly easy to understand and they can be used by anyone who can take the time to learn about them. The use of photovoltaic cells puts solar power within reach.

There are solar powered water heaters, air conditioner, heaters, ovens and many others that are easy to put together. Start making your own power at home and take advantage of this great way to educate yourself while saving money and helping the environment and learn how to build your own solar panel today.

What Is the Difference Between Direct and Indirect Solar Power?

2008-11-12T13:07:00.000-08:00

Solar power is abundantly available around the globe, but it has barely begun to be tapped. People have just recently started to use solar power to directly harness the sun’s force. However, indirect solar power has always been used. Taking a look at the two will show the differences.

To get direct solar power, the energy from the sun must undergo only one change to make it into a usable form. Direct solar power is any kind of energy that is obtained from the sun in this way. Direct solar power could come in various forms.

When photovoltaic cells receive sunlight and make electricity, it is direct solar power. The sunlight only goes through one conversion between the sun’s energy and electricity.

Fiber optic cables are a source of solar power. They can be mounted outside so that the energy they receive through the sun can be converted into light for the insides of buildings. This allows for some extra lighting, but at this time it is not usually the only source of light in an interior.
Another type of direct solar power is a solar thermal collector. It has a dark surface that absorbs sunlight. This causes the surface to get warm. This heat is converted into energy and used in a fluid circuit.

Spacecrafts use solar power also. This is direct solar power, as there is a solar sail in the craft that collects sunlight to energize the craft and put it into motion. This is an ideal source of energy for a spacecraft which has ample sunlight and can carry only limited supplies of most other fuels.

Indirect solar power has been around for millennia. It is the kind of solar power that goes through more than one change to become usable energy. It can be seen as the result of the effects the sun has on the world naturally. Mankind may use the energy, but the sun’s power has already been concentrated for them.

Anything that can be grown in fields or in the wild and can be used for energy has indirect solar power. Plants use photosynthesis to change light energy into chemical energy – that is the first conversion. Then, for example, tree limbs could be used to create heat energy in a fire. Plants could be converted into bio-fuels to create electricity.

Actually, fossil fuels such as oil and coal are forms of indirect solar power. The living things that made them used solar power to survive long before they were turned into coal or oil. Yet, these fuels are rarely thought of as solar power because they are not renewable sources of energy.
Even wind turbines and hydroelectric dams can be influenced by the sun’s energy. The sun heats up the atmosphere and makes changes in the winds and the weather. Indirect solar power is indeed all around. The day when direct solar power has the kind of impact on human life as indirect solar power does will be very different from today.

There are solar powered water heaters, air conditioner, heaters, ovens and many others that are easy to put together. Start making your own power at home and take advantage of this great way to educate yourself while saving money and helping the environment and learn how to build your own solar panel today.

The Cost of Solar Power is not that Bad Anymore

2008-11-12T13:01:00.000-08:00

There is no simple answer to what the cost of using solar power is. At least, there is not an accurate one. Many variables have to be taken into consideration in order to figure out just what you can expect to pay.

The main cost is the price of the initial purchase and installation of the solar power system. In order to know what kind of system you need, you have to know several things. These things will be different depending on whether it is a new or existing home.

If the home is already on the utility grid, some information can be gained from looking at utility bills from the past year. Check out how many kilowatt/hours you used during winter, spring, summer, and fall months. Multiply that by the price you pay per kW/hr, and you should come up with the amounts of those bills. This is just an exercise to show you where your money is going.

You can use an estimator program online to get a rough idea of what the price of the system you need will be. These programs may not be available for all states, but they can give you a general idea. In the end, though, it is best to contact a professional for an estimate before you actually make a purchase.

The estimator will ask for the state and county of your house. This will help to determine just how much sunlight the house is bound to get per day on average. It will also show the climate of the region so that power needs can be assessed.

Then, you will be asked all the questions about power usage in the past. This is when you definitely need a live professional estimator if you are building a new solar home. The program, or the expert, will determine from all the information how big a system you need.

Say you need a system that will cost $20,000 for your home. After tax incentives and rebates, you may be paying less than $15,000 for the system. To find out if the system will pay for itself, complex calculations are needed.

These involve such factors as net-metering and the use of batteries to store energy for nights and cloudy days. They also involve figuring how much you will be paying per kW/hr with your solar power system. At that point, you can compare the savings.

At first the savings may be small, as the unit pays for itself. When inflation begins to influence the price of the utility’s power, your solar system will be even cheaper by comparison. Finally, after the system has paid for itself you can reap the rewards. Usually a system pays for itself in about ten years and lasts for twenty-five.

As for a flat answer to what solar power costs, there is none readily available. To get that kind of information, you will have to seek help from experts to find out what pertains to your particular house. Chances are you will find that solar power pays for itself many times over the years.

There are solar powered water heaters, air conditioner, heaters, ovens and many others that are easy to put together. Start making your own power at home and take advantage of this great way to educate yourself while saving money and helping the environment and learn how to build your own solar panel today.

The History of Solar Power

2008-11-12T10:53:00.000-08:00

Modern solar power energy has a history longer than many would ever dream. It has been in development for over 140 years. Then, as now, inventors were concerned about the world’s dependence on fossil fuels.

Between 1860 and 1880, Auguste Mouchout worked on a solar powered engine. The engine worked by converting solar energy into steam power. Mouchout was motivated by Europe’s heavy use of coal, and his knowledge that the coal reserves would not last forever.

The French government subsidized Mouchout’s work, and he came up with a steam engine that could run a water pump. It was a half-horsepower engine. This invention was sent to Algeria to be used in a land with plenty of sunshine and a need for water. Algeria was also very dependent on coal.

At the same time, William Adams, and Englishman in India, saw Mouchout’s device as too difficult to be used for larger applications. He came up with another solution. He built a rack with many small mirrors around a stationary boiler. This allowed him to get 2.5 horsepower out of the engine.

From 1885 to 1889, Charles Tellier worked with solar power, inventing large solar collectors to be put on rooftops. His main objective was refrigeration, and his invention was put to work making ice. He also envisioned his devices being used to tame the African plains, making them more hospitable for farming and development.

In 1903, Aubrey Eneas was working on solar power. He built on Mouchout’s designs and made them larger and more practical. He sold one complete system for a little over $2,000 to a doctor in Arizona. After only a few days, it was damaged in a windstorm and could not be used again. Another system was sold in Arizona for $2,500, but it did not make it through the first hailstorm.

At about the same time, Henry E. Willsie made two solar plants that could store energy up from the day to be used at night. His invention, made of flat plate collectors, also had a higher power rating, at 15 horsepower.

In 1906, Frank Shuman developed Willsie’s system further, finally ending up with an engine of 33 horsepower. When he moved the invention to a Cairo plant, it did even better, with an engine of 55 horsepower.

After that, the solar industry suffered a long silence. In 1954, advancement was made when researchers at Bell laboratories invented photovoltaic cells. Then, during the 1970’s, people again began to see the need for solar power as the prices at the gas pump went up.

By the mid-1980’s, the Luz Company had constructed several electric solar power plants. By 1991 the company was bankrupt, some say to lack of cooperation by the government. Now solar power systems are available to the general public for use on their homes and businesses.

Solar power started out well over a century ago as experiments in the hands of a few inventors. It has become a possibility for environmentally-friendly and cheap energy in the future. For many people with solar power systems of their own, that possibility has already been realized.

There are solar powered water heaters, air conditioner, heaters, ovens and many others that are easy to put together. Start making your own power at home and take advantage of this great way to educate yourself while saving money and helping the environment and learn how to build your own solar panel today.