Day 15: BATTERIES

Day 15 of #100daysofsolarNuggets

      Today we will be discussing about Batteries

                           Introduction

   Batteries are very important in a solar system set up, they simply store energy for use in the Night when the sun is down. There are various kinds of batteries as we will soon out, some batteries are also more suited for some specific situations than the others. In general batteries cover up for the Solar Panel's inherent inability to produce energy when there is no  sunlight by reserving energy for later use.

Safety

.a) they can cause electric shock.

.b) some of them when faulty can release gases that can prove fatal.

.c) in some cases batteries can blow up.

On a side note always double check the polarities of batteries before connecting and also avoid wearing chains or any metal while working with batteries

This is not to scare anyone, but rather to encourage everyone to be safety conscious.

.1) DEEP CYCLE BATTERIES

These type of batteries are commonly used for solar installations because they are uniquely designed to undergo regular charging and discharging.

They are made of lead acid similar to car batteries (starter batteries).

There are basically two (2) types of Lead acid batteries and these are

.1) Starter Batteries

.2) Deep cycle batteries

Why you should not use starter batteries for your solar installations

     Starter batteries which are mostly used in automobiles are designed to give high starting current but they won’t survive the regular charging and discharging that occurs in a solar energy set-up. They may seem like a cheaper alternative at first but in the long run it would cost you a lot more because you would have to replace them a lot more frequently compared to deep cycle batteries.

There are three subgroups of lead acid batteries

.1) Flooded (wet) lead acid batteries

.2) Gel                                         

.3) AGM (Absorbed glass mat)

Note

Both the Gel and the AGM are called Valve regulated (Sealed) lead acid batteries

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Day 14: RENEWABLE ENERGY: The Introduction

Day 14 of #100DaysofSolarnuggets

        Every Monday we try to discuss about an interesting topic or interesting happenings our world,Today I would be introducing renewable Energy and its impact on the Earth. I would try to introduce the concept of renewable energy as a whole, I would later break it into bits that would be very easy for everyone to understand, that would be done with subsequent articles that would be released.

     Energy is used in our daily lives for almost everything,we need it in our day to day activities,we need it to generate  electricity,water,gas.We need it to power our  cars, factories, industries and the rest.The general idea is that, energy is very important, we can not do without energy.

        I stated in the previous post that there are two forms of energy, we have Renewable and Non-renewable energy.

Non-Renewable sources of energy
   Non-renewable forms of energy are basically fossil fuels in different forms
.1) Petroleum products (PMS,Diesel)
 .2) Coal
 .3) Natural gas.(gas flaring)

Renewable sources of energy
Some examples of renewable forms of energy
.1) Solar Energy
.2) Wind Energy
.3) Biomass
.4) Hydroelectric Energy

Why the interest in Renewable Energy
       Long before now, Non-renewable forms of energy have been the predominant, readily available source of energy .It caused the human age to improve at an unprecedented rate. With the discovery of Oil in Pennsylvania in 1859,humans where able to build giant industries, factories, Automobiles, Aeroplanes and even conquer space.

      But this fossil fuels had their disadvantages, they were limited and not only are these fossil fuels limited, they are also slowly killing our planet earth. When we use this forms of energy we release some gases into the atmosphere, a great portion of those gases are harmful to our atmosphere, this gases are called greenhouse gases and they lead to global warming.

     Global warming is simply the increase in overall temperature of the earths atmosphere.
    The threat of global warming is very real, it includes but not limited to
.1) The melting of ice glaciers
.2) Increase in sea and ocean levels
.3) Floods

Global Warming is not the only negative effect of using fossil fuels, we also have others like,

.a) Pollution
.b) Acid rain

   The truth is overtime,this form of energy(non-renewable form of energy) causes us more harm than good. Renewable energy is the  solution to our Energy crisis.

  The United Nations came up with  Sustainable Development Goal 7, this is to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all .
One of the target of this goal is to increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix by 2030.

      There are also intensified efforts to reduce emissions of  Co2, and this can be achieved by reducing or totally eliminating the use of fossil fuels,Yes Renewable Energy still has a long way to go,before it can  become the dominant form of energy on planet earth,but i believe with research and improvements in it's technology,It would  become readily available and easily accessible.

To be continued

day 14 of #100daysofsolarnuggets

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DAY 13: SOLAR PANELS(PV) Pt3

 

Day 13 of #100dayofoslarnuggets



        I said I was going to discuss about three types of solar panels but I discussed about two, so today  am going to discuss about the third one.
        Before I talk about Amorphous Solar panels I want to explain something first.


What are Solar panels made off?

      Solar cells which are used to make solar panels are made up of Silicon.
      Pure silicon is crystalline in nature and that is where we get the names mono crystalline and poly crystalline.
       Mono crystalline (mono refers to one or single) means this solar cells where made up of one form of silicon crystal and that is why it has very high efficiency and also quite expensive
Poly crystalline (Poly refers to many) means this solar cells where made up of two more silicon crystal.

Amorphous (thin film) Solar Panels

                                                                  Description
       Thin film Solar cells are not made from crystals like the two previous types but rather made by depositing thin layers of it’s photo voltaic substance on a material such as glass or even plastic, Silicon is not always used for making amorphous solar panels sometimes materials such as Cadmium carbide Telluride(CdTe) or Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIG/ CIGS)  materials are used.
A unique feature of this type of solar panel is that it can be flexible or even elastic.

Advantages
.1) It is cheaper than both mono crystalline and Poly crystalline Solar panels.
.2) Under high temperatures, It performs better than mono crystalline and Poly crystalline solar panels.

Disadvantages
.1) It has a lower efficiency when compared with mono crystalline and poly crystalline solar panels.
.2) It uses more surface area (or roof space) when compared with mono and poly crystalline solar cells,(what this means is to achieve a particular power rating you would need fewer panels when using mono or poly crystalline  compared to when you are using amorphous).

DAY 12: SOLAR PANELS(PV) contd...

Welcome, today we would be looking at some of the different types of solar panel that are available.

             Intro

      So you have made up your mind to install a solar energy system in your home or maybe your office, you go to purchase the solar panels you need, after some time of searching and surveying, you get confused, why ? You realized that there are different types of solar panels.

·         How do you decide which to buy??

·         What are the various advantages and disadvantages of the different panels

·         What are their unique features, the distinguishing characteristics that make each differ from the rest.

Now we would be looking at three common types of panels we have available 

1        Monocrystalline solar cells

                                                                    Description

Monocrystalline Solar panels are dark black in color, they have the highest efficiency compared to the other types of Solar panels, that means is the best type of solar panel out of the three.

    If there is a competition to find out who would generate more electricity between the three types of Solar panel for a particular wattage, The Mono crystalline solar panel would win with a landslide victory

Advantages

.1) It has a very high efficiency rating

Disadvantages

.1) It is very expensive

    2. POLY-CRYSTALLINE

                                                                    Description

Poly-crystalline cell are either light or dark blue in color,they are not as efficient as the mono-crystalline types,

Advantages

.1) They are cheaper than their mono-crystalline counter parts

Disadvantages

.1) They are not as efficient mono-crystalline cells

DAY 11: SOLAR PANELS (PV)

Day 11 of #100daysofsolarNuggets

                     Today we are going to talk about SOLAR PANELS

       Solar panels or more technically photovoltaic (PV) panels are the engine room for the success of any solar energy system.They generate the Electrical energy that sustains the solar energy system.

Why are they called Photovoltaic. ??????
         Photovoltaic(PV) relates to the ability to generate electric current in the presence of Light or in the case of solar panels, the ability to generate electric current in the presence of sunlight.
Solar Panels have this photovolatic ability because they are made of wafers or cells of semiconductor material that use sunlight to generate direct current (DC) electricity.

Now the amount of electricity a solar panel produces depends on three main things:
I.          The amount of sunlight hitting the panel: The amount of sunlight hitting the sun greatly affects the Power output at any given point in time,that is why any thing that blocks the solar panel from receiving maximum Sunlight,seriously affects the Solar Energy system.
Example of things that can hinder the panels from receiving maximum sunlight
.1) Clouds
.2) Shading from nearby buildings or tress

II.          The size of the panel: There are different sizes of panels and each of them have thier own different power ratings.There are small panels that have power ratings as low as 45watts and we have large panels that have power ratings of 350watts or more.

III.          The efficiency of the solar cells inside: The efficiency of the panels is also a great determinant to the amount of electricity that a solar panel can produce.There are different types of solar panel and each of them have their own different efficiencies.

More about Solar Panels
Solar panels are rated in wattage and this is the maximum power they can produce in an ideal situation ( please do note that in practical real life scenarios, we can not achieve an ideal condition)
  Multiple panels combined together are called solar arrays. The solar panel play a very vital role in a solar energy system, commonly the solar panel is designed for the long period operation.it has an average life span of 25 years although it can do  more than this.



                                 Understanding the Name plate of Solar Panel

                 When you purchase a Solar panel, it comes with a name plate, this is simply a piece of paper with the properties of the solar panel written on it. Most times it is found underneath the solar panel.

Maximum Power means it can deliver maximum 250 Watts electricity.
Maximum Voltage means its maximum output voltage is 31.2V.
Open Circuit Voltage means the voltage without load that is 37.56V
Maximum Current means the maximum output current the solar can deliver
Short Circuit Current means the current when there is little or no load/appliance/device attached.
Maximum System Voltage when we connect the solar panel together in series the voltage limit we have is 1000 Watts

Types of Solar Panels
 There are different types of solar panels,but we would look at three(3) different types
 .1) Mono-crystalline
 .2) Poly-crystalline
 .3) Amorphours

Please do note there are other types of Solar panels,but we would be talking about this three(3).
Day 11 of #100daysofsolarNuggets

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