MIT Researchers Improve Solar Cell Performace
On July 14, 2008 in Solar News
From http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/solarcells-0710.html but found on Slashdot
This is something I am very excited for, and hopefully the rest of you are as well. Especially the fact that it can be adapted to existing solar cells without having to just switch technologies. What a very appealing and uplifting ‘invention.’
Thanks MIT!
MIT opens new ‘window’ on solar energy
Cost effective devices expected on market soonImagine windows that not only provide a clear view and illuminate rooms, but also use sunlight to efficiently help power the building they are part of. MIT engineers report a new approach to harnessing the sun’s energy that could allow just that.
The work, to be reported in the July 11 issue of Science, involves the creation of a novel “solar concentrator.” “Light is collected over a large area [like a window] and gathered, or concentrated, at the edges,” explains Marc A. Baldo, leader of the work and the Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Career Development Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering.
As a result, rather than covering a roof with expensive solar cells (the semiconductor devices that transform sunlight into electricity), the cells only need to be around the edges of a flat glass panel. In addition, the focused light increases the electrical power obtained from each solar cell “by a factor of over 40,” Baldo says.
Because the system is simple to manufacture, the team believes that it could be implemented within three years–even added onto existing solar-panel systems to increase their efficiency by 50 percent for minimal additional cost. That, in turn, would substantially reduce the cost of solar electricity.
German Town First to Require Solar Panels on New Buildings
On June 23, 2008 in Uncategorized
From http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3431273,00.html
“Marburg, a German college town of about 80,000, has become the first in the country to make solar heating obligatory for newly built or renovated buildings. The green bill has some residents and politicians up in arms
The law, passed on Friday, June 20 by a coalition of Social Democrats and Greens, has sparked a storm of criticism in the town of Marburg in the state of Hesse in western Germany.
“We are facing a green dictatorship but nobody dares to say anything,” said opposition politician Hermann Uchtmann.Marburg’s Green Mayor Franz Kahle pointed out that installing the solar panels would cost around 5,000 euros ($7,800), but the price would be offset by energy savings over 15 years. The German news weekly Der Spiegel, however, pointed out that the mayor is a tenant, not a home owner, and would personally enjoy the energy savings but not incur the cost of the panels himself.
But regardless of who picks up the tab, some feel that the first step has to be made, even if it’s uncomfortable. Klaus Vajen, a solar energy expert at the University of Kassel said that “sometimes one has to twist consumers’ arm for their own good.”
Fines await those who don’t comply
Slated to take effect on Oct. 1, the bill stipulates that the solar panels have to measure one square meter (10 square feet) for every 20 square meters of the building’s surface area. Those who don’t comply with the new law will face fines starting at 1,000 euros — dramatically reduced from the initially proposed 15,000 euros.
Exceptions are to be made, however, for buildings that are principally heated from a district heating network, a combined heat and power generator, or a wood pellet oven
Though Marburg’s measures are the country’s most ambitious so far, it is not the first town to take legal steps toward saving energy and slashing carbon dioxide emissions. The right-wing government in the southern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg already requires new houses to meet 20 percent of their heating needs with renewable energy sources
In addition, the federal German cabinet recently approved a comprehensive climate plan aimed at reducing CO2 emissions by nearly 40 percent by the year 2020. The package includes higher standards for energy efficiency in new and renovated buildings as of 2009
From http://www.news24.com/News24/Technology/News/0,,2-13-1443_2344648,00.html
Solar panels become mandatory
23/06/2008 07:26 - (SA)“Berlin - The central German college town of Marburg has become the first in the nation to require newly-built or renovated buildings to have solar panels installed.
The city says the new law was approved by the city council on Friday and will take effect on October 1.
The law requires any newly constructed buildings, as well as existing buildings that are expanded or altered, to include solar panels as part of the heating system.
The city says those violating the law will face fines starting at $1 500. The city is home to Marburg University and has 79 000 inhabitants.
The German government aims to slash the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions 40% from 1990 levels by 2020. “
From http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jun/23/solarpower.greenbuilding
German town forces homes to fix solar tiles
The Guardian
Monday June 23, 2008Solar panels will soon grace the roofs of the quiet medieval town of Marburg under a controversial new law forcing owners of all new or renovated buildings in its limits to include solar panels, setting a national precedent.
A coalition of Social Democrats and Greens passed the ruling late on Friday to counter climate change and soaring energy prices. Anyone failing to comply will face a €1,000 (£790) fine.
The law stipulates that, from October, a 1 sq metre panel must be built for every 20 sq metres of surface area. It applies to new homes or existing buildings undergoing renovations to heating systems or roofs.
Conservatives said the law went too far: “This is an environmental dictatorship,” said the local Christian Democratic Union leader, Hermann Uchtmann. A local energy trade association said it was investigating legal action to reverse the ruling.
A few German towns have beefed up regulations to encourage energy conservation in new buildings. But Marburg, which is home to 80,000 people, has gone a step further by including the owners of older houses in the new legislation.
Installing the panels could cost homeowners up to €5,000, a figure largely offset by energy savings over 15 years, the town’s Green mayor, Franz Kahle, said.
Environmentalists predicted Marburg would become a trendsetter: “This town is a pioneer for renewable energy in Germany,” said Andree Böhling, an energy expert at Greenpeace in Hamburg.
Solar panels have been adopted at a comparatively rapid pace in Germany, despite its cloudy climes. This is largely because of a law that guarantees local power firms pay an above-market rate for 20 years for renewable energy fed into the national grid.
All I really have to say about this is: “What’s up, Germany?”
I have read of a few smaller places that have done this, one of which I believe was in Africa, but this German town is really stepping up to the plate on this one. Hopefully others will follow the trend.
45 watt Photovoltaic Setup for an RV
On June 21, 2008 in photovoltaics
I was asked to put together a setup to keep the batteries on a camper charged without having to plug into the grid or burn fuel.
We found this real nice 45 watt kit on ebay for a good price. Much cheaper than buying three of the 15w panels I have (at $80 each). Plus it comes with two 12v compact fluorescents, a charge controller, and a light duty stand to set the panels up with if you choose.
For this purpose the stand will likely be scrapped and we will set up something more practical for setting up and taking down the kit while camping.
Here is the 45 watt setup with just the charge controller and a 12v compact fluoro:
Just to make sure it worked I hooked up a deep cycle battery that needed to be charged:
I was impressed with the charge controller, as it is much more useful than the standard $10 ebay junk. It has DC outputs for 3v, 5v, 9v, and 12v, as well as a 5v USB connector for charging your camera or mp3 player or whatever technogarbage you feel like hooking up.
The 12v compact fluoros use a 1/4″ headphone/microphone jack to hook up to the charge controller:
and here is the fancy connector for using the various DC outputs
The panels themselves seem to be of good quality, and quite durable. They have an aluminum frame rather than the plastic frame that my 15w panel has.
The wiring is all pretty straightforward as well. Everything has connectors on it already so really all there is to do is hook it up. It is all labeled and everything for you.
Here are some pics I took just for fun:
More later when it has been set up and used for more than a half hour.
Time to Expose an Underhanded Solar Company
On June 08, 2008 in Solar News
Well folks, this is a first.
I’ve never had to publicly call someone out on this site for using underhanded business practices, except for Becky from SiliconSolar, for what I will call a “borderline spam” comment.
Today is the day I want you to actually pay attention to what I’m writing here.
“Arizona Solar Installers” (http://www.getsolar.com) did something that made me a little mad.
If you check out the comments on my post regarding a “Solar Space Heater” you will see the comments left by Varun from Arizona Solar Installers.
First they left this nice hunk of spam(bold indicates a link to their website):
- Varun Said,Arizona Solar Installers - Arizona Solar Installers - Find Solar Energy Professionals and Solar Installers in Arizona at Getsolar.com.
Then they must have figured out that my comment form requires some form of spamming knowledge, and put this comment in less than a minute later from the same IP address:
- Arizona Solar Installers Said,Arizona Solar Installers - Find Solar Energy Professionals and Solar Installers in Arizona at Getsolar.com.
Must be they realized they wanted the business name associated with this hunk of spam so google will give them some love when my site gets crawled. This is pretty dirty, folks.
Ordinarily I would just remove these comments (like I do with all spam) so they don’t get a return link from my site, because that is what they want.
In this case though, since I am being spammed by a company selling solar stuff, I decided I would let my distaste be known.
Also though I want you to know that even by calling these spammers out I am unfortunately helping their cause a little bit, because google will see links from my site, and think that “Arizona Solar Installers” are actually useful, therefore bumping up the page rank.
The IP address the spam was posted from turns out to be from Delhi, India. Now what’s all this business about “Arizona Solar Installers” then?
IP address: 117.197.145.9 Reverse DNS: [No reverse DNS entry per ns1.apnic.net.] Reverse DNS authenticity: [Unknown] ASN: 0 ASN Name: IANA-RSVD-0 IP range connectivity: 0 Registrar (per ASN): Unknown Country (per IP registrar): IN [India] Country Currency: INR [India Rupees] Country IP Range: 117.192.0.0 to 117.255.255.255 Country fraud profile: Normal City (per outside source): Delhi, Delhi Country (per outside source): IN [India] Private (internal) IP? No IP address registrar: whois.arin.net Known Proxy? NoThe worst part is that this guy that owns this website supposedly has business experience. Seems to me he should have thought about what the public would think of his company after he hired spammers in India to ruin his reputation. Here is what I found on freshtilledsoil.com“Client of the Month - January, 2008
Matt Jennison, GetSolar.com
We’ve started 2008 with some of the nicest clients a design company could ever wish for. No, this is not some sycophantic effort to stoke their egos. Like any company that provides a service we have had our share of bad clients. The Client of the Month is our way of acknowledging that in the sometimes difficult process of building and marketing a website there are some people who make it a lot easier to get the job done. Matt Jennision is one of those people. Matt honed his marketing and customer service skills in the commercial airline business, most recently as a captain on the Boeing 737, for Southwest Airlines.
In addition to his flying/managing duties, Matt was a senior contract negotiator for the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, negotiating the 1997 and 2002 agreements. After looking at his own carbon footprint from 14,000 hours of flying, he decided to apply his management and marketing skills to the renewable energy sector, in an effort to change energy generation and consumption patterns in this country. Matt holds a BA in Political Science from Skidmore, and an MBA in Technology Innovation from MIT.”
Here is their add on linksreferences.com: "solar installers Get Solar.com | PowerHouse: A New Kind of American Home. Finding a trusted professional in a field as new as renewable energy can be a time-consuming and daunting challenge. GetSolar.com takes all of the guesswork out of the equation and helps you easily access a list of qualified pros in your neighborhood.” They might have quality pros in your neighborhood, but they are also paying spammers in India to bother me. I can understand that getting a website off the ground and getting traffic to it can be difficult, especially with no public referring links. I even toed the line that Mr. Jennison is toeing when putting up this site. HOWEVER: There are some fundamental differences between what I did and what Mr. Jennison did (whether personally or on his behalf.) In order to get search engine traffic, you need backlinks. I got a few personal legitimate backlinks through human contact (like Mr. Jennison should have attempted with me, it would have gone well, I promise.) Then I put some comments on blogs and posts on message boards, with links to my site. The differences though, are clear to me. I was not putting an advertisement for goods or services on someone else’s website. I was responding to questions/statements with useful information, and then providing my website as a free avenue to explore such technologies and ideas. I do not sell anything. I do not provide any services. I do not make any profit from this website. Google ads have brought in a little but THIS IS NOT A BUSINESS. Matthew Jennison, however, has crossed the line in my opinion. I would have certainly given a link to his site had he sent an email or left a comment with some useful information. Instead, there was a spam comment much to the tune of a billboard left in the comments section of one of my posts. Not only that, but it is one of my posts with some keywords that I’m sure Mr. Jennison would love to have Google associate with his site. I cannot influence the world, but I am certainly willing to give the facts and my own opinions on what Matthew Jennison, Arizona Solar Installers, getsolar.com, and their crazy Indian spammers are doing. Today I left a comment on one of Mr. Jennison’s blog posts. He probably won’t approve it, so his readers will never get to see how he is trying to step on people providing free information in order to sell them a service. That’s right folks, this kind gentleman thought he could leave some spam here, and rather than have you read some of the nice good free information I link to, he wants you to go give him some money to do what you can do on your own. This is called solarDIY for a reason. Mostly the DIY part but I also post some stuff about solar once in a whileI suppose you can say this whole experience has really given me a newfound distaste for people trying to take advantage of the alternative energy community as a whole, and I will not stand idly by and watch it happen anymore. From now on, any time I see a solar company doing something shady, I’ll be sure to let the public know. <update> Here is pretty much the resume of my new friend Matt Jennison Here is a comment someone named George from getsolar.com left on the wired blog which is lacking in substance, but certainly not directly spam like what they left here. Oh and they couldn’t forget a link to their site
And the same junk again on another news site: 5/7/2008 6:18:49 PM “Just fyi if you’re lookng for local solar panel installers, this is great resource: http://www.getsolar.com” Apparently old-school advertising doesn’t work anymore? Here is a comment on a cnet news article: by georgebizpro May 7, 2008 5:20 PM PDT FYI, for anyone interested in looking into getting solar power for their homes, this is an excellent resource to find local solar panel installers in your area: http://www.getsolar.com” Looking at the google results, I could probably find examples like this all day long. Some are less nefarious than others, but most are down right spam. George sure is a Biz Pro, isn’t he?Long Needed Update
On June 01, 2008 in Uncategorized
Apologies for the infrequent updates lately. Finishing up the school semester and working more are beginning to take their toll.
I haven’t really been working on any neat projects lately, just trying to scrounge parts and cash.
As far as the PV panel powering the lights in the living room, the “Die Hard” deep cycle marine battery crapped itself so we’re back on the grid for lights until I can get different/better storage. This battery should be under warranty still, so I will likely swap out for another until I can get something better.
More later
The Navy is Jumping On Board
On May 01, 2008 in Solar News, water heating
Found this article on SignOnSanDiego.com:
“UNION-TRIBUNEMay 1, 2008The Navy has built five solar carports at local bases as part of a project to reduce the military’s dependence on fossil fuels.
San Diego Naval Base at 32nd Street has three; Point Loma Naval Base and Naval Amphibious Base on Coronado each have one.
Each carport covers about 6,000 square feet of parking area. Its solar panels also provide shade for about 64 cars.
Together, the carports will generate enough energy to power 69 homes a year, the Navy said.
It cost $3.5 million to complete the overall project, the Navy said, and the solar panels are expected to save about $3 million in energy costs over 25 years.
The military is trying to boost its use of renewable energy sources to comply with Pentagon mandates and legislation passed by Congress in 2005.”
Good to see that they are keeping up with legislation passed three years ago. Better than nothing, I guess.
