Trevor G. Potter ENY 121 SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC COMPONENTS Jan. 27th 2014

Trevor G. Potter

ENY 121 SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC COMPONENTS

Jan. 27th 2014 

I need to install some electric heat tape this summer and would love to make it solar powered, i'm fairly certain it can be done.

Ha Ha Ha!!! Enjoy! Courtesy of Benjamin P. Strauss

Benjamin Strauss here, this craziness in Spain produces electricity even at night!!

Gemasolar is the first commercial-scale plant in the world to apply central tower receiver and molten salt heat storage technology. The relevance of this plant lies in its technological uniqueness, since it opens up the way for new thermosolar electrical generation technology.
Characteristics of Gemasolar:

• Rated electrical power: 19.9 MW
• Net electrical production expected: 110 GWh/year
• Solar field: 2,650 heliostats on 185 hectares
• Heat storage system: the molten salt storage tank permits independent electrical generation for up to 15 hours without any solar feed.

The prolongation of the plant's operating time in the absence of solar radiation and the improvement in efficiency of the use of the heat from the sun makes Gemasolar's output much higher than that which is delivered by other technologies in a facility with the same power.
The notable increase in the plant's power efficiency guarantees electrical production for 6,500 hours a year, 1.5 to 3 times more than other renewable energies. The plant will thus supply clean, safe power to 25,000 homes and reduce atmospheric CO₂ emissions by more than 30,000 tons a year.
The power generated by Gemasolar will be sent through a high-tension line to the substation of Villanueva del Rey (Andalusia, Spain), where it will be injected into the grid.

Central tower technology:

The inclusion of a novel molten-salt heat storage system permits the production of electricity in the absence of solar radiation.
The heat collected by the salts (capable of reaching temperatures above 500º) generates steam and produces electrical power. The surplus heat accumulated during sun hours is stored in the molten-salt tank.
In this way, Gemasolar can produce electrical power 24 hours a day for many months of the year.

Related image: (Click here to watch the enlarged image

           

Trevor G. Potter ENY 121 SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC COMPONENTS Jan. 27th 2014 solar fortress of solitude

Trevor G. Potter

ENY 121 SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC COMPONENTS

Jan. 27th 2014

The first house I owned was south of Breckenridge Co. and just outside of the highest town in the nation, Alma Co.  The house was in Placer Valley and was situated on a sunny mountain side at about 11,100 ft elevation. Man that was some serious solar potential. The passive solar heating through the 80% glass front was awesome. If I still owned the home I would go completely of the grid and be self sustained. And that is my latest goal, to get another similar home or cabin and create a self sustained solar fortress of solitude, friends and family invited of course...Trevor G. Potter

House in Leadville

I remember my house in Leadville, Co. It faced Mt. Elbert and we would get around 300 sunny days. It was awesome because it didn't take much to heat the house! Also, the snow we did get was almost like an insulation barrier. We had built the house from the ground up, it took a long time, but I was so much more appreciative of it because of all the hard work. The only thing I wish I had added was solar energy. This post reminded me a lot of that house. Kimberly Tracey

PV Fire hazards

Troy Marquard

I though it would be interesting to note can the PV catch on fire? California has tracked several of these fires with their investigation results summarized. The conclusions are that the majority of the fires started were caused by "other system" components. In short this relates to the quality of the installation. See pages 16 and 17 for a listing of fires around the state.
If the link does not open try opening it in a new browser.

http://osfm.fire.ca.gov/training/pdf/Photovoltaics/Fire%20Ops%20PV%20lo%20resl.pdf

Passive Buildings ~Z Williams

It happened with wine and it is finally happening with homes too. The old world's ingenuity and style are finally making their way to the new world's shores. True to form, these innovations are sure to change the way we think about something very basic. In a not too distant time it was wine making that was touched and a multi-billion dollar New World Wine industry is the result today. This time it is buildings.

   Putting the walls to work may not be at the top of conversation in offices around the United States but the German born concept is quickly gaining ground here in the U.S. Rather than using various technologies to regulate temperatures within the building the construction of the building is such that (due to materials used, walls facing at certain angles, etc.) the structure works to maintain its own temperature. This creates increased energy efficiency but demands exceptional insulation and low air leakage.
  According to one care2.org article:

"[O]ccupants of a passive house may use up to 5 kWh per square foot for heating and cooling according to the building standard used in Germany, but they don’t have to.
And in fact, when the house is well-designed, they don’t need to. The temperature shouldn’t fluctuate considerably, and the minimized leakage of air keeps humidity levels stable as well. The end result is a home that can be slightly cooler in the winter or warmer in the summer than is conventional, but one that uses far less energy than its neighbors. There’s also much less waste: thermal imaging studies of passive houses versus conventional ones illustrate how great they are at conserving heat in the winter and keeping heat out in the summer"

Imagine coupling this with a small solar array. Since one of the commonly touted disadvantages of solar is the necessity for a large array area, having a reduced energy load/consumption rate would greatly affect the area required for an efficient PV system. All of a sudden BAM! An architectural prodigy unites with a solar genius and Beethoven's 9th get's married to Daft Punk. The result is pure bliss. Yet, as technologies continue to evolve so will the sweet sounds of efficient and responsible energy consumption.