“New MindMap on Solar Power Lights”
Posted by admin on Oct 21, 2009
Solar Power Lights are a great way to illuminate your house, your garden or your pool and save money on your electricity bill as well.
Why not set a bright tone to your garden, to your driveway or to your pool with solar power lights. They also add safety since steps, perimeters of swimming-pools or flowerbeds get illuminated in the dark.
You can mark the edge of your driveway or sidewalk, too. And it looks great. Even your street number can be lit by solar power lights. Never get a cold pizza again, just because the delivery boy does not find the right house in the dark.
Solar power flashlights are a great gadget when on the beach, on a fishing or hunting trip, camping or on the way in general. No more empty batteries – often one charge lasts for weeks. Then expose the solar power flashlight to the sun and it gets charged again. Most solar power lights use power saving LED to guarantee extended light duration. Some solar power lights are even motion activated so they get lit only when necessary. It’s a good protection against burglary as well.
If you are loving outdoor activities, you may not only want to check out the solar power flashlights but the emergency solar power lights as well. Among them are the most expensive solar power lights I have ever seen (it’s the yellow slim thing).
This mindmap shows a bunch of solar power lights for different purposes. Simply click the mindmap to enlarge. If you want to see the hyperlinks then, click “outline” in the left corner below. Click a link to get to more detailed information about the particular solar power light you are interested in.
Mindmap on solar power lights (click to enlarge)
Video Part 8: “The Final Making of Electric Solar Panels”
Posted by admin on Oct 20, 2009
Why do they bake electric solar panels in an oven?
In the previous videos you have seen, how solar cells work, how they are being produced and how they have been interconnected in electric solar panels. In this last video you see the last production steps of electric solar panels. Also you learn, why electric solar panels never perish and in which sizes and in which places electric solar panels are being installed for different purposes. Now, after all, you have gained a better understanding of electrical current, of solar cells and of electric solar panels in particular.
Part 8/8 of “Solar Cells For Beginners – The Making of Electric Solar Panels”
Video Part 7: “How Does The Metal Grid Get Onto Solar Cells For Electric Solar Panels”
Posted by admin on Oct 20, 2009
This video shows, how the electric “wires” are being applied to a solar cell to be a part of electric solar panels later.
After you have learned, which way the electrons take in electric solar panels, this video shows, how the electric connections, the grid and the electric poles, are applied to solar cells for electric solar panels. Amazing, that they do not use wires but a metal compound that is scraped onto the solar cell and than baked to become firm. Electric solar panels consist of a bunch of solar cells that have to be interconnected to guarantee the flow of the current. Finally, the different parts are being assembled to complete electric solar panels.
Part 7/8 of “Solar Cells For Beginners – The Making Of Electric Solar Panels”
Video Part 6: “Why The PN-Junction Is So Important In Electric Solar Panels”
Posted by admin on Oct 20, 2009
How does the pn-junction separate the positive and the negative layer inside electric solar panels?
In this video a slide is used to illustrate the principle of the pn-junction in electric solar panels. Photons push electrons out of their place and send them on a strange way to drive an electric appliance. Although the process of generating electrical current with electric solar panels is very complex, you will learn easily what is happening inside a solar cell. It’s very entertaining and even kids can understand the key process of electric solar panels.
Part 6/8 of “Solar Cells For Beginners – The Making of Electric Solar Panels”
Video Part 5 “Silicon For Electric Solar Panels Is Getting Doped For a Second Time”
Posted by admin on Oct 19, 2009
After boron atoms have been added to the silicon grid, it is now doped with phosphor.
That is the secret that lets electric solar panels produce electricity. A boat and blue light then play an important role during the electric solar panels production process to apply a blue anti-reflection layer to the solar cells. What is happening inside the electric solar panels, why 2 different layers inside the solar cell are crucial and what a positive-negative-junction is: it’s all being explained in this video on the making of electric solar panels.
Part 5/8 of “Solar Cells For Beginners – The Making of Electric Solar Panels”
Video Part 4:”Why Silicon gets doped for the utilization in electric solar panels”
Posted by admin on Oct 19, 2009
Pure silicon is necessary to be used for production of electric solar panels. But after a more-step cleaning process, the pure silicon is being contaminated again.
The purposeful contamination is vital for the functionality of electric solar panels. Experts call this “doping”. How the silicon for electric solar panels is being applied an how that looks at atomic scale, you can see in this video. The production of electric solar panels is very complex. But this video series explains every single step in a way, even kids can understand how electric solar panels are being made and how they are working.
Part 4/8 of “Solar Cells For Beginners – The Making of Electric Solar Panels”
Video Part 3: “Where Does Silicon For Electric Solar Panels Come From?”
Posted by admin on Oct 19, 2009
Silicon is the most frequently used material in electric solar panels. But where does it come from?
Silicon is the second most element on earth. Sand and quartz consist of silicon so that supplies are literally endless. To produce electric solar panels, only pure silicon can be used. How is pure silicon fetched out of sand or quartz to make electric solar panels out of it? This video shows the entire process, starting with the reduction of oxygen, the pulverization and finally the chemical cleaning of the silicon. And how pure must silicon be usable for electric solar panels?
Video Part 2: “Electric Solar Panels: What happens inside?”
Posted by admin on Oct 18, 2009
Do you want to know, how electric solar panels work and how photons and electrons generate electricity?
This is part 2 of the 8 part video series “Solar Cells For Beginners”. In this video you will learn, how photons push electrons out of their place inside electric solar panels. Why sand or quartz are the vital ingredients of electric solar panels and what have charcoal and pieces of wood got to do with electric solar panels? This video is easy to understand and very entertaining.
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Video Part 1: “What Do Electric Solar Panels Consist of? How Are They Being Produced? And How Do They Work at Last?”
Posted by admin on Oct 18, 2009
This video is Part 1 of 8 from a TV show that explains the principles and the production of electric solar panels.
The show answers the questions:
– How do solar cells work?
– How are solar cells being made?
- How are electric solar panels being made?
In these videos you learn everything about electric solar panels. What components electric solar panels are made of. What photons and electrons have got to do with it and why clouds do not stop electric solar panels from working.
In the first part, Armin Maiwald explains what electric solar panels are about to generate: electrical current / electricity. What exactly is current and what parts of the sunlight help generating current in electric solar panels?
Although the topics “electricity”, “solar cells” and “electric solar panels” are very complex in detail, Armin and his team manage to put it in simple words and visuals so that even kids can understand, how electric solar panels work.
Part 1/8 of “Solar Cells For Beginners – The Making of Electric Solar Panels”
Since the show is an German TV show, I have added subtitles. You can see the text at a glance by clicking the text symbol below the video screen. If you click a sentence then, you can jump directly to the particular scene.
New Generation Of Best Solar Panels For Rooftops
Posted by admin on Oct 6, 2009
The Dow Chemical Company unveiled their new revolutionary photovoltaic solar panels yesterday (05 October 2009).
Dow’s PowerhouseTM product line provides solar shingles that can be integrated into rooftops with standard asphalt shingle materials. These new best solar panels for rooftops use low-cost thin-film CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium (Di-)Selenide) solar cells.
Thin-Film solar panels are certainly not the best solar panels in respect of efficiency. They reach an efficiency of 20% in the laboratory and 10% – 12% in photovoltaic modules. For comparison: The most efficient best solar panels, using GaAs (Gallium Arsenide) solar cells reach more than 40% efficiency. The second best solar panels in respect of efficiency use Monocrystalline Silicon solar cells (c-Si) and achieve circa 20%.
The Dow Chemical Company has not yet reported, what degree of efficiency their new solar shingels will obtain. But even with rather low conversion rates, Dow’s solar shingles are a very interesting alternative to rigid roof installed solar panels out of these 5 Reasons:
1. CIGS-Thin-Film solar panels are cheaper than silicon and GaAs solar panels. Yet today they are the best solar panels in respect of sales numbers worldwide.
2. Dow’s Powerhouse solar shingles do not need any mounting systems and thus reduce installation costs.
3. Conventional roofing shingles and electric solar panels shingles are installed simultaneously by roofing contractors.
4. The solar shingles can be installed by DIY homeowners, since not specialized skills or knowledge of solar panels installations are required.
5. Single shingles may be replaced easily if damaged.
The best solar panels, which are not really “panels” anymore “are expected to be available in limited quantities by mid-2010 and projected to be more widely available in 2011″. For more information visit Dow Chemical’s website here: Dow PowerhouseTM solar shingles.
P.S.:
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