The Solar Lights Site » Solar Technology

The Path to Parity – The Evolution of Solar Technology

admin — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 22:52:54 +0000

Here at the Solar Lights Site, we try to cover a variety of topics with regard to solar power. While our primary focus is on solar lighting, we believe that solar energy is the best alternative for eventually replacing fossil fuels. That is why, when our friends at Sun Run asked us if we would like to post one of their infographics to our site… well, how could we refuse?

So, without further ado, here is a guest post from Sun Run, complete with infographic:

Solar panel technology has changed little since it’s inception in 1894. Certain refinements have increased output and produced higher efficiencies, while the technology surrounded battery technology has improved our ability to store the energy collected.

The technology for solar has made it a reasonable alternative to other forms of power, in terms of investment, for some time now. There have even been federal incentive programs since the 1950′s in attempt to encourage Americans to create their own power and soften the impact on the grid.

What has really changed is the cost per watt in comparison to the cost of competitive renewable and non-renewable energies.

This is true with every technology. The more we make, the cheaper it gets. The cheaper it gets, the more likely it’s going to be used by the largest number of people. More importantly, the cheaper it gets, the more available it is to the average entrepreneur to enter the market.

From our humble beginnings of discovery in 1839, to the now burgeoning market for inexpensive, easily available solar, we’ve come along way to parity.

And now, with so many solar companies offering lease programs, the cost of installing solar on your home or business has dropped so significantly, it can often be purchased with little or no money down. Now that is incentive.

Infographic by SunRun – Home Solar Leasing Made Easy

Thanks, guys, for the awesome contribution!

Solar Power for your Home – What do you Need?

admin — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 14:24:52 +0000

If you’re looking at solar power, it’s a good idea to do your homework and define your needs. There are many solar power systems on the market today, and the more you know about your solar options, the more you’re likely to save and more cost-effective your solar power system will be.

Solar power is a broad spectrum energy solution for practically any domestic environment. It’s a built in cost saver, providing an endless source of energy. You can drastically reduce your power bills quickly and efficiently while doing your bit to save the environment.

Home power supplies only require so much energy. Solar power can generate just about all the power required for the average home. As a matter of fact, the economics of solar power have been improving exponentially as solar technology develops. Modern solar panels are far more efficient than they were 30 years ago, with greatly increased cost savings.

Domestic power systems can actually make money, as well as saving it. One of the reasons that “selling power back to the grid” has become a virtually standard phrase related to solar energy is that solar energy systems are extremely efficient. It is quite common to run a modern home, even a “smart home” with many electronic systems and still have spare energy to sell to the grid.

Selecting your solar power system

When selecting your solar power system there are a few basic issues:

Budget – How much do you want to spend? Standard solar installations are clearly priced and there are often good deals available. It’s advisable to shop around to check out your pricing options.

What you need – Have a look at your power bill, and check out your energy usage. It’s a good idea to base your power requirements on a figure somewhat above your peak energy usage. This allows you to calculate the solar power system you need allows for extra demand, bearing in mind that you can sell any excess back to the grid.

Remote or off-grid power requirements – Do you have outside structures which require their own power supply? Solar power is ideal for these situations, providing a reliable, low maintenance power supply option even for remote rural buildings and business operations which may be expensive to connect to the power grid.

Swimming pools – Heated swimming pools are wonderful things, but they can also put quite a strain on the domestic power system. It is now considered best practice in the swimming pool industry to use solar electricity as a good, cheap, cost-effective power system.

Shopping for solar power systems

By far the best approach to shopping for solar power systems is to shop around online first. The big advantage in this approach is that you can also check out the new systems coming onto the market, including new technological options and a range of new solar products. It’s worthwhile to get directly in touch with the solar power suppliers, and have a “meeting of the minds” about your specific requirements. You’ll find that the solar suppliers will be able to give you some very good options and also clear up any questions you may have about your solar needs.

Solar Lights 101

homeandgardensolar — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 05:33:29 +0000

The following is a guest post by homeandgardensolar

You may or may not have heard about a PV. With our current focus on finding alternative energy you will probably hear about PV’s in the future. PV stands for photovoltaic. This is the smallest element that converts sunlight into electrical energy. PV’s are also called solar cells. At this time solar cells are being used in many developing countries to help provide solar electrical energy through solar panels, actually helping to replace conventional electrical supply at a great cost savings You can find many blogs these days about how a PV panel plus a battery is placed on the roof of one of these rural homes and connected to a solar light inside the home providing enough light that many of these people are cutting off their conventional electrical supply.

You may have heard of PV’s being traditionally used for small wristwatches and calculators. These systems are becoming more and more complex and can now be used in many new areas such as: water pumps, communication systems, large appliances and outdoor lighting such as parking lots, street lights, etc.

Solar cells do not actually store any energy. In fact the energy is used up almost immediately unless it is stored in a rechargeable battery. These batteries store the electrical energy for later use.

Now that you know a little more about the basics of solar cells, how do they work in simple outdoor solar lights? Again, the sun charges the solar panel which is stored in rechargeable batteries. If the solar light has been charged with a full days sunlight, they can usually last from 8-10 hours at dark. Of course the amount of sunlight during the day, the time of year and where you have placed your light all have a bearing on how bright and how long your solar lights will shine. Never replace a rechargeable battery with a non-rechargeable battery. This could cause irreparable damage to the unit.

Don’t let those rainy or cloudy days make your solar lights less usable. With new technology in this area, you may now be able to find solar lights that can also be charged through your computer with a USB cable. In some instances you can even get an adapter so you can plug it into your wall plug.

There are so many advantages in using solar power as an alternative energy source. The only cost is your initial outlay for the solar product itself. No wiring, fast and easy to install, environmentally friendly, helps save our planets resources, can be placed far or near.

Now that you know a little more about solar energy, there is no reason not to consider using beautiful solar powered lights in your landscape design.

Look for many types and designs of solar lights @ www.HomeAndGardenSolar.com

Hybrid Solar Lighting – the Future of Solar Lights

admin — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 21:33:03 +0000

In this article, I wanted to go a little further in depth into hybrid solar lighting. My first article can be found under Hybrid Solar Lighting Technology.

Hybrid solar lighting is the new buzzword in the energy sector. Unlike standard solar lights, hybrid solar lighting is relatively new and uses a combination of technologies. Conventional solar lights use solar energy and convert it into electrical energy to light the bulb. In the newer version, the sunlight is mirrored indoors using a collector and optical light cables. When there is enough sunlight, there is no electricity used to power the bulbs. On a not-so-sunny day, the electricity generated by the solar energy is used to light the bulbs.

Hybrid solar lighting technology has been in use for some years now but because of the prohibitively high cost it was relatively unheard of. Solar lights are more affordable and hence they took off faster. However, with much technological advancement taking place in the recent past, hybrid solar lighting now looks to be more attractive; at least for commercial uses. The cost has come down with the global positioning system becoming more affordable and getting the computer accessories manufactured at cheaper price.

The hybrid solar system works in a unique manner. The core part of the lighting system is the light collector, which receives and collects the sunlight. Needless to mention, the collector is large and round in shape to enable maximum surface area for the sunlight to fall upon. For those of you who have not seen a solar light collector, it looks similar to a satellite TV dish except that it is larger in size. The collector cells or surfaces are all mirrored to enhance the collection efforts.

The collectors used in hybrid solar lighting systems have an interface with the global positioning system. The GPS helps in tracking the sun from sunrise to sunset. The hybrid solar lighting system works on the simple principle to capture as much sunlight as possible. In order to maximize the capturing, the sunlight is diverted to the center of the dish through mirroring. At the center of the dish, there are numerous optical cables ready to gather the sunrays. A filter is also provided to filter off the harmful UV rays present in the sunlight.

The captured sun rays pass through the optical fiber provided and is taken to the inner parts of the building. The receptor dish is positioned at the roof of the building. As the light rays pass through the optical cable, the intensity decreases and hence it is important to capture much more light than what is required for lighting the building. As light travels through the optical cables, there are special fixtures that diffuse the sunlight into all directions. The fixture resembles a conventional incandescent bulb but the difference is that the light coming through the fixtures of the hybrid solar lighting system is direct sunlight. There are also fixtures that can detect the position of the sun. When the intensity of the sunrays diminishes (for example, when the sun hides behind the clouds), these sensors will prompt the lighting fixture to derive power from electricity. The intelligent functioning of the lighting system ensures that there is a constant supply of light inside the building.

There are many advantages to hybrid solar lighting. Solar lights became popular because they helped in keeping the environment green. In hybrid lighting, unlike solar lights, there is no change in energy form. Direct sunlight is used for lighting. This helps in reducing the heat produced from light bulbs, especially when compared to incandescent bulbs. Also when compared to fluorescent lights, the hybrid lights produce a full spectrum of light. The full spectrum light is better for the human eye it is actually the sunlight, which is channeled indoors. Colors are seen better when viewed in full spectrum eye and reduces the stress on human eyes.

Solar lights use photovoltaic cells to convert solar energy into electrical energy. These cells are capable of converting only 15 percent of the solar energy into electricity whereas the hybrid solar lighting system uses almost 50 percent of the sunlight falling on the collector dish. This definitely provides for a better efficient system since there is maximum utilization of energy. By providing a single collector of four feet size, an area of 10,000 square feet can be lit up. Since the heat produced is lesser, there is also lesser use of air conditioning system inside the building, which again goes on to conserving energy.

The downside of hybrid solar lighting system is that it can currently be used for single story buildings only. In addition, since it is still expensive, it is more viable for commercial uses rather than for residential purposes. Lot of research is still happening and there is a positive trend in the use of renewable sources of energy. Considering the benefits and the market trend, one can safely assume that hybrid solar lighting is the future of solar lights.

Solar Lights and Public Safety

admin — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:53:50 +0000

Browse the internet for solar lights and you will find an endless supply of information on solar yard lights, solar security lights, string lights, shed lights, etc. Solar lights have added a completely new dimension to ecologically sound lighting for all kinds of residential and commercial applications. Fairly recently, we have even began to see them in use by municipalities to enhance public safety.

The most common use for solar lighting in this area is for street lights. Many cities around the United States and around the world have begun replacing standard street lights with solar versions. Not only do they reduce the municipality’s energy usage, but solar street lights require less maintenance than the traditional styles.

Leading the way for solar lighting in the public safety sector is a company called Silicon Constellations, out of Santa Clara, California. They specialize in wireless, solar crosswalk lights. Using their solar road markers, wireless controllers, advanced warning signs and beacons, they can create the perfect configuration for any roadway crosswalk.

Picture this: You come to a busy street corner that you would like to cross. You press a “walk” button at the intersection. Warning beacons flash to let oncoming traffic know that they need to yield to you; road marker lights along the crosswalk light and flash and a yellow “pedestrian crossing” sign lights up as well. There is no doubt in the minds of the nearby motorists as to your intentions. You can now safely cross the street with little concern about not being seen.

The backbone of their system is their “LumiStar” road marker light. This is a bidirectional solar powered marker light that is installed in the pavement. They are very bright and have a line of sight visibility of a minimum of 1,000 feet. They are equipped with solar panels that charge their internal batteries, are completely wireless, and are activated by 2.4 GHz frequency controller. A fully charged battery holds enough charge to activate the lights for 30-60 days, depending upon the amount of usage.

The LumiSign™ XB Warning Sign is an advanced pedestrian crossing sign that can be controlled by the same controller as the road markers and can be placed up to 1000 feet away from the crosswalk. It is also solar powered and can be set up to flash in sync with the roadway markers.

Silicon Constellations also offers a solar warning beacon as part of their arsenal. Their warning beacon comes in two basic designs: single and dual lamp designs. The single lamp design can be set to sync with the road markers and warning sign or to flash with any pattern you may wish. The dual lamp design can be programmed for alternate flashing, which sends a much more powerful message to nearby motorists.

The heart of the system is the controller. The activator/controller from Silicon Constellations is a completely self contained unit. Like the rest of the system, it is solar powered and wireless. The controller is usually pole mounted, but it can be mounted to a wall in situations where that might be more practical. It is weather proof, yet the internal mechanisms are easily accessible for maintenance. The unit can control the other parts of the system up to 1000 feet away (line of sight) and is maintenance free for a minimum of five years.

All in all, the system is very reliable, and since it is solar powered, it is extremely energy efficient. Since each piece is self contained and wireless, there is very little construction or demolition involved in installation. If fact, most configurations can be installed in as little as one day. Using these components, the possible configurations are almost endless and everything is completely programmable. They even offer active pedestrian detection and voice modules.

There is no doubt that solar lights are a great addition to the public safety sector. As solar technology continues to grow, we will see even more uses for municipal solar lighting.

For more information about Silicon Constellations and their solar crosswalk lighting solutions, you can visit their website at www.silicon-constellations.com.

Here is a quick video I made of their system in action:

Industrial Solar Lighting

admin — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:50:38 +0000

I touched on industrial solar lights in the Hybrid Solar Lighting Technology article, but I would like to go into a bit more detail about some of the uses of solar lights in commercial application and some of the companies that are on the cutting edge of solar technology.

There are a number of companies that are leading the way for commercial solar lighting. One of those companies is Solar Cynergy. “Solar Cynergy manufactures high end architectural solar LED lighting for homes, developments and cities” as well as “an OEM line of Solar Photovoltaic Panels.” They are primarily a manufacturer and have distributors nation wide. Their product line is pretty unique in that they specialize in “solar inground lighting”. Their solar lights have been used in the Las Vegas Panorama Towers Luxury Condominium Project, the Granite Gables development project in Dallas, TX , and at the San Francisco Airport Hilton, to name just a few. I suggest visiting their website and blog to see all of the unique ways they use solar lighting technology.

Another company that specializes in industrial solar lights is OkSolar.com. They offer complete, tun-key solutions for solar lighting. They are mostly pole-mounted lights that come with everything except the pole. You can choose to supply the pole yourself, or have them quote you a separate price for the pole. These units can be used for: street lighting, area lighting, dock lights, lighting billboards, park lighting, parking lot lighting, walkway lighting, transit lighting, security lighting, etc.

If you are looking for a company that manufactures and sells a wide variety of solar lights, solar panels and complete solar systems, you could do worse than taking a look at Silicon Solar. These guys are international and widely respected. Take a look at their site. It’s a big site with lots of info.

As these companies are providing us with the opportunity to use solar power for more and more applications, researchers are working harder than ever to further solar technology to be cheaper to manufacture and be more efficient. At the University of Washington, a team of experts headed by David Ginger has been experimenting with manufacturing solar cells out of organic plastic polymers. Paul Berger and his team of researchers has found that adding silver nanoparticles to the polymers allows for an almost 12% increase in their efficiency. Meanwhile at the University of Texas, Brian Korgel and his team are working on a Solar Ink, that can be basically painted onto buildings. Innovalight, a company out of Sunnyvale, CA. is using silicon ink patterned on top of silicon wafers to boost the efficiency of solar cells. While most researches are aiming for a goal of 10% efficiency out of their solar cells, Innovalight boasts an efficiency rating of 18%!

As you can see, we have come a long way with solar technology in a relatively short period of time. Entire homes and businesses are being solar powered and solar lights are everywhere. It will not be long before we will no longer be dependent on fossil fuels for our home and business energy needs.

Hybrid Solar Lighting Technology

admin — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:10:57 +0000

With the increased use of solar lights in residential and commercial applications, there is a push for more advanced technologies to integrate indoor solar lights into more and more applications. One such technology is called “ hybrid lighting technology”.

Artificial lighting accounts for the largest percentage of electricity use in commercial buildings in the United States. Hybrid solar lighting provides a promising new way to reduce energy consumption while also delivering increased benefits associated with natural lighting in commercial buildings.

Hybrid solar lighting contributes to meeting the requirements set by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 for renewable energy consumption by the federal government to be not less than 3% in FY 2007–2009, 5% in FY 2010–2012, and 7.5% in 2013 and thereafter.

The technology behind hybrid solar lights was originally developed for fluorescent lighting applications but recently has been enhanced to work with many other applications. One of those applications is to replace incandescent accent-lighting sources, such as the parabolic aluminized reflector (PAR) lamps commonly used in retail spaces. Many commercial building owners—specifically retailers—use the low-efficiency PAR lamps because of their desirable optical properties and positive impact on sales. Yet the use of this inefficient lighting results in some retailers’ spending 55–70% of their energy budgets on lighting-related energy costs.

Hybrid solar lights have the potential to greatly reduce energy consumption while also maintaining or exceeding lighting quality requirements. Implementation of the hybrid solar lighting technology across the U.S. would significantly increase energy savings to the country and would provide building owners with a higher quality, energy-efficient, and economically viable alternative to incandescent lamps. Artificial lighting accounts for almost a quarter of the energy consumed in commercial buildings and 10–20% of energy consumed by industry. Solar lights can significantly reduce artificial lighting costs in many commercial and industrial buildings and in institutional facilities such as schools, libraries, and hospitals.

Future research and development is aimed at increasing the performance and reliability of solar lighting technology as well as extending the application of these systems to work with newly emerging solid-state lighting sources. Hybrid solar lights deliver the benefits of natural lighting with the advantages of an electric lighting system – flexibility, convenience, reliability, and control – while saving energy and money and helping to reduce the demand for non-renewable energy sources.

For more information about Hybrid Solar Lighting technology, you may want to check out the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. They earned the Excellence in Technology Transfer Award from the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer in 2007, an R&D 100 Award and a Southeast Region Federal Laboratory Consortium Award during 2006.