FAQ Solar Power » Solar Power Energy
Solar Power Energy
OT – Achieving energy independence was the "moral equivalent of war"
Question:
Those words were spoken by Jimmy Carter in 1977: "President Jimmy Carter made energy policy the centerpiece of his administration. He notoriously declared on April 18, 1977, that achieving energy independence was the "moral equivalent of war." In August of that year, Carter signed the law creating the United States [...]
Working on a new Web Site for Energy Conservation Ideas and Methods
Question:
I am sure there are 100 of these a week, but I’ll toss mine in anyhow. I am working on a new web site that is all about energey conservation methods, renewable enegry, etc. Currenlty we don’t have much content, but we’re working on a release date of January ish for some [...]
Air Collector – Black Heat Paint vs Selective Paint?
Question:
For a solar air collector is there an advantage to using selective paint for the collector over normal heat paint? Does selective paint offer that much improvement and hold up better over time?
Response:
> For a solar air collector is there an advantage to using selective > paint for the collector [...]
How much energy is available?
Question:
How do I calculate how much solar energy is availble falling on a collector at right angles to the sun at midday in the middle of winter in the UK? I’ve seen various worst case figures here for the US. Do they include average cloud cover. I guess the cloudy nature [...]
OT: Global warming – a view from scientists who regard Leftists' political sacred cows as 'poppycock'
Question:
It’s a big solar system..and Nature is more powerful than the dyed-in-the-wool elitist Leftists wish…the sun is putting out more energy…but why bother checking the *source* of solar energy…when there are elections that might be won, convincing people that the U.S. rejection (both parties, mind you) of Kyoto, and that [...]
Finding home architects that specialize in energy efficient homes?
Question:
>> Tired of Iraq? Do something about it. Learn to halve your energy use > while having fun with math and science. >…in my experience, very *few* people consider solving PDE as ‘fun’.
I don’t think we’ll be having that much fun Nick Solar stalwarts to demythologize sun using [...]
Is Efficiency dangerous ?
Question:
Hi, I am thinking about building or buying a solar water heater system, but when making some efficiency calculations to determine how large the collector should be, I run into an interesting problem. I want to be able to heat 50 gallons of water/day to 60 C or so with solar. [...]
Converting radiant floor heat from AC to DC
Question:
Anyone have experience with radiant floor heating? Specifically, I’ve got a radiant system and want to convert the circulation pumps to 24VDC, to save some energy. How would I do this? Or should I call the installer and have him do it? I can get 24VDC pumps, but am not sure [...]
A "steam" producing solar elecric panel
Question:
Back during the summer, it got hot enough for my solar hot water panels to generate steam. I had the pop-off valve blow off the excess pressure. This got me thinking of a little bit cheaper way to produce electricity with solar energy. The idea is to spin a small turbine [...]
Solar heated birdbath?
Question:
Odd that I can find solar powered birdbaths (with a pump for a little fountain) and non-solar heated birdbaths (to keep the water from freezing during the winter) but apparently no solar heated birdbaths. Well, that is the idea. I want to let the birds have liquid water during the winter [...]