Solar power information for home and business
Solar power technology can provide heat or electricity derived for free (other than the cost of equipment) from sunlight. It has the potential to be a cheap and abundant energy source completely free of harmful side effects.
Explains how solar panels work and how they can be used. It explains the advantages of solar energy and the drawbacks that you need to take into account when designing a solar power system. As well as explaining the underlying principles, it provides a step-by-step guide so that you can successfully design and install a photovoltaic solar system from scratch.
Accompanying the book is one of the most comprehensive solar resource websites in the world. It contains powerful online tools such as the Solar Project Analysis toolkit, which provides a full feasibility and cost document for your project; Solar Irradiance Tables and Solar Angle Calculators for every major town and city in every country in the world; lists of suppliers and a Contact the Author form if you have any questions about your specific project.
- The Handbook is a simple, practical guide to using electric photovoltaic panels.
- The book is suitable for enthusiastic novices and building professionals.
- Clear examples, diagrams and example projects are given to demonstrate the true capabilities of these systems.
- The Handbook is updated yearly, providing an up-to-date reference for anyone planning to use solar power technology.
- It is the most comprehensive book on photovoltaic electric systems available today.
- It is backed up by the most powerful online calculator tools available, to make your design and calculations as straightforward as possible.
- The Handbook provides you with information that is relevant to you and your project, wherever you live in the world.
Power from the Sun provides a basic understanding of electricity, solar energy and the sun, and solar site assessment. It discusses the types of photovoltaics (PVs) and PV systems, advances in PVs, charge controllers, inverters, batteries, and generators, as well as the installation and maintenance of a PV system.
This book is written for the layperson and is designed to raise the solar electricity literacy of readers. It provides a great overview of the many options available and is designed to help homeowners make wise decisions during the design, purchase, and installation of solar electric systems—and save a lot of money.
Providing readers with the knowledge necessary to communicate effectively with PV installers, Power From the Sun is a great guide for homeowners, business owners, installers, architects, building department officials, utility company employees, and just about anyone else who wants to lower their energy bills or achieve greater energy independence.
The future will be powered by renewables. As we transition away from finite and polluting fossil fuels, clean, reliable, and affordable renewable technologies such as solar electricity will become the mainstay of our energy supply.
Solar Electricity Basics provides a clear understanding of electricity and energy. It discusses the types of solar electric system you can choose from, their components, solar site assessment, the installation of photovoltaic systems, and much more.
Whether your goal is to lower your energy bill or to achieve complete energy independence, Solar Electricity Basics is the introduction you need.
A how-to handbook to free yourself from the constraints of modern living. In daily life, we can take control of the resources and services we depend on. Electricity and energy don’t have to come off the public utility grid—alternatives abound in solar, wind, and water generated power. Design decisions can drastically affect power consumption, and bio-diesel and alternative fuels can help break the oil habit. Dave Black describes alternatives for eco-pimping your home and lifestyle for independence, economy, and a more integrated way of life. Equally valuable for the urban dweller vaguely concerned about the size of his or her carbon footprint and the rural self-sufficiency enthusiast, Living Off the Grid can help anyone take control of his or her life and way of living. 50 black-and-white illustrations
This revised edition of The Renewable Energy Handbook focuses on the unique requirements of off-grid living as well as using "green" energy for homeowners who remain connected to the electrical utility. The book contains chapters on:
- Energy efficiency and economics
- Home heating and cooling and domestic water heating
- Photovoltaic, wind, and micro-hydro energy generation
- Battery selection and inverters
- Backup power, wireless communications, etc.
It includes comprehensive specifications for many of the products available in the market today.
Whether you are just curious or an industry expert, this handbook will show you how to stretch your energy dollars (doing much more with less) while powering your home with renewable energy. And, unlike fossil fuels or nuclear energy, renewable energy frees you from worry about dumping today's pollution on tomorrow's children.
Since its release in 2003, The Renewable Energy Handbook has been a top-selling technology book and is recognized as the best in its field.
Passive solar heating and passive cooling—approaches known as natural conditioning—provide comfort throughout the year by reducing, or eliminating, the need for fossil fuel. Yet while heat from sunlight and ventilation from breezes is free for the taking, few modern architects or builders really understand the principles involved.
Now Dan Chiras, author of the popular book "The Natural House," brings those principles up to date for a new generation of solar enthusiasts.
In "The Solar House," Chiras sets the record straight on the vast potential for passive heating and cooling. Acknowledging the good intentions of misguided solar designers in the past, he highlights certain egregious erros and shows how to avoid them. More importantly, Chiras explains in methodical detail how today’s home builders can succeed with solar designs.
Solar Energy Projects for the Evil Genius provides you with complete plans, instructions, parts lists, and sources for:
- Crushed berries solar cell
- Solar "death ray"
- Solar powered hot dog cooker
- Solar furnace
- Sun-powered refrigerator
- Camping shower, oven, and more
- Hot recipes for solar cooking
- Water purifier
- Flashlight
- Garden lights
- Solar vehicle
- Environmentally friendly robot
- Much more!
The book contains an overview of photovoltaic electricity and a detailed description of PV system components, including PV modules, batteries, controllers and inverters. It also includes chapters on sizing photovoltaic systems, analyzing sites and installing PV systems, as well as detailed appendices on PV system maintenance, troubleshooting and solar insolation data for over 300 sites around the world. Used worldwide as the textbook in SEI’s PV Design & Installation workshops, topics covered include:
- The basics of solar electricity
- PV applications and system components
- Solar site analysis and mounting
- Stand-alone and PV/generator hybrid system sizing
- Utility-interactive PV systems
- Component specification, system costs and economics
- Case studies and safety issues
Photovoltaics guarantees that those wanting to learn the skills of tapping the sun’s energy can do so with confidence.
Demand for renewable-energy technologies is growing rapidly, requiring a greater number of skilled system technicians. Photovoltaic Systems is a comprehensive guide to the design and installation of several types of residential and commercial PV systems.
The content covers the principles of PV electricity and how to effectively incorporate it into electrical systems. Numerous illustrations explain the concepts behind how PV arrays and other components operate, and photographs of actual installations show how components are integrated together to form complete systems. Content also covers the topics needed for solar installer certification by NABCEP. Photovoltaic systems is the essential guide to all aspects of PV systems.
Based on the highly regarded and extremely successful first edition, this thoroughly revised, updated and expanded edition contains the latest knowledge on the mechanisms of solar energy conversion. The textbook describes in detail all aspects of solar cell function, the physics behind every single step, as well as all the issues to be considered when improving solar cells and their efficiency. Requiring no more than standard physics knowledge, the book enables both students and researchers to understand the factors driving conversion efficiency and to apply this knowledge to their own solar cell development. New exercises after each chapter help students to consolidate their freshly acquired knowledge, while the book also serves as a reference for researchers already working in this exciting and challenging field.
Recently developed organic photovoltaics (OPVs) show distinct advantages over their inorganic counterparts due to their lighter weight, flexible shape, versatile materials synthesis and device fabrication schemes, and low cost in large-scale industrial production. Although many books currently exist on general concepts of PV and inorganic PV materials and devices, few are available that offer a comprehensive overview of recently fast developing organic and polymeric PV materials and devices.
Organic Photovoltaics: Mechanisms, Materials, and Devices fills this gap. The book provides an international perspective on the latest research in this rapidly expanding field with contributions from top experts around the world. It presents a unified approach comprising three sections: General Overviews; Mechanisms and Modeling; and Materials and Devices. Discussions include sunlight capture, exciton diffusion and dissociation, interface properties, charge recombination and migration, and a variety of currently developing OPV materials/devices.
Learn a new vocabulary! Take a refresher course on the electrical power of the sun and the wind! Although the enthusiasm of renewable-energy experts Ewing and Pratt might get a bit wearing, they've developed a nontechnical reference and guide for home owners thinking about pulling the plug on their utility connections.
GOT SUN gets it right. Clear and concise, all the information needed by anyone who wants solar or wind energy.
- Login to post comments
