The Future of Solar Energy - It"s Already Been Here For a While Now
As for the future of solar energy, it seems even today that the overall opinion of the masses is that solar power is something that we all could be using in the future, as technology on it improves...
but the true fact of the matter is that it already has vastly improved over the past couple of decades.
Entire homes are being run using this technology, and their systems were vastly more cheaply acquired than they could have been decades ago.
With the advancements made in the production of photovoltaic cells ("solar panels"), the materials used, and much larger energy outputs for each, this type of renewable energy is now financially feasible for anyone of all walks of life.
How can this be? The future of solar energy is now - for less than a third of an average weekly blue collar paycheck, many have engaged in the weekend project of building their own single solar panel from simple, easily acquired components.
This is how accessible this technology is for us today.
From a single 3x5 foot panel, these do-it-yourselfers can run a lap top computer, a small dorm-sized beer fridge and all the power tools in their garage - for free, and forever.
How many of these would you need to power everything in your home for free forever? Perhaps four or maybe five would do the trick? How many weekends from now can you say goodbye to paying an electric bill for the rest of your natural born days? But the future of solar energy isn't in just electricity production, but also in things like heating, or even cooking.
Solar powered furnaces which supply homes in even the much colder regions of the world with warm flowing heat are a reality and have been for quite some time now.
Solar ovens are quite popular as they can be simply built from even recyclable discarded materials, and make for a wonderful weekend project.
Solar energy can even be used to supply a home with hot water.
For example, clear plastic or acrylic cylinders filled with water situated where the sun can pass its light through may be fitted with a reflectant material on one side, facing inward to act as a parabolic curved reflector/collector for the sun's rays to be focused towards the center of the cylinder.
Down the center of the cylinder, there can be placed an aluminum pipe, anodized in black color to absorb the sun's rays and heat at the focal point of the parabolic reflector.
Aluminum heats up very fast and efficiently, and at the reflector's focal point, there is quite a bit.
The aluminum passes the heat to the surrounding water, and there you have a solar hot water heater.
Simple, right? Truly, the future of solar energy is now.
but the true fact of the matter is that it already has vastly improved over the past couple of decades.
Entire homes are being run using this technology, and their systems were vastly more cheaply acquired than they could have been decades ago.
With the advancements made in the production of photovoltaic cells ("solar panels"), the materials used, and much larger energy outputs for each, this type of renewable energy is now financially feasible for anyone of all walks of life.
How can this be? The future of solar energy is now - for less than a third of an average weekly blue collar paycheck, many have engaged in the weekend project of building their own single solar panel from simple, easily acquired components.
This is how accessible this technology is for us today.
From a single 3x5 foot panel, these do-it-yourselfers can run a lap top computer, a small dorm-sized beer fridge and all the power tools in their garage - for free, and forever.
How many of these would you need to power everything in your home for free forever? Perhaps four or maybe five would do the trick? How many weekends from now can you say goodbye to paying an electric bill for the rest of your natural born days? But the future of solar energy isn't in just electricity production, but also in things like heating, or even cooking.
Solar powered furnaces which supply homes in even the much colder regions of the world with warm flowing heat are a reality and have been for quite some time now.
Solar ovens are quite popular as they can be simply built from even recyclable discarded materials, and make for a wonderful weekend project.
Solar energy can even be used to supply a home with hot water.
For example, clear plastic or acrylic cylinders filled with water situated where the sun can pass its light through may be fitted with a reflectant material on one side, facing inward to act as a parabolic curved reflector/collector for the sun's rays to be focused towards the center of the cylinder.
Down the center of the cylinder, there can be placed an aluminum pipe, anodized in black color to absorb the sun's rays and heat at the focal point of the parabolic reflector.
Aluminum heats up very fast and efficiently, and at the reflector's focal point, there is quite a bit.
The aluminum passes the heat to the surrounding water, and there you have a solar hot water heater.
Simple, right? Truly, the future of solar energy is now.
