Posts Tagged ‘energy’

Does Your Staff Like Coming To Work?

Friday, February 10th, 2012

It can be a real challenge to keep your staff motivated and energized.

- Does your staff like coming to work?

- Do they carry out their tasks enthusiastically?

- Do they care about the work they do?

- Do they look like they want to be there?

From the opposite perspective, do you want motivated, energetic staff who want to work for you? Do you want a growing, thriving organization? If the answer to the first four questions is yes, then you probably already have a recognition culture in your organization. If not, then why not?

Most people believe that they would benefit from a recognition culture. Recognition is one of the easiest and cheapest motivational tools in your kit – in fact, it’s mostly free! Why then is every organization in the country not using it all the time?

It might be because it’s not an urgent task, and doesn’t show up waving its arms around yelling ‘Do me! I’m an emergency!’ We get caught up in the crises of the day and don’t get around to taking a moment out to show appreciation for someone’s accomplishment. It might be because some people feel awkward doing it, like it feels false. If you mean it, it won’t feel false! It might be just because people are busy and just plain forget.

Giving your staff recognition isn’t an item you can tick off your to-do list. If you want to build a recognition culture in your organization, you need to do it regularly and often. You also need to get others involved In a company with a recognition culture, people at all levels regularly thank and appreciate others for there efforts and their achievements.

Remember that we’re discussing a culture of recognition. Culture and procedure are worlds apart. Having a performance-related bonus structure is a procedure. Having a company where people send emails to congratulate and thank people on a good job, and thank people publicly in meetings over even the smallest accomplishments is a culture of recognition in action.

I’d like to challenge you to make recognition a habit. The more you do it, the more comfortable you will feel doing it – in fact you’ll start seeing how much it impacts positively on people and you’ll enjoy doing it. As you generate positive energy by motivating others, you’ll feel that energy infuse throughout the organization, energizing everyone it comes into contact with – you included!

Here are some ideas you can use to get the energy flowing:

- Send an email or leave a handwritten note for someone in the company who deserves a thank-you.

- Tell the immediate boss of someone at work what a great job he or she did. Complement one of your superiors on a task well done.

- Start a column in your organization’s newsletter for ‘well done’ messages, and encourage everyone to contribute to it.

- Start your meetings with heartfelt and sincere thanks to individuals for even small accomplishments.

- Compliment people in front of others at work, and be specific about their achievements and results.

- Set aside a few minutes every day to think of someone who accomplished a noteworthy deed that day. This will get you into the habit of recognizing people’s efforts and achievements. The end of the day is a good time, but choose whatever works for you.

- Celebrate the completion of big projects.

This isn’t just a strategy you can use at work – try it at home, too. How do you feel when your partner says ‘thank you’ for doing a routine job? When was the last time you thanked or appreciated your partner or kids for doing a difficult or unpleasant task?

If you actively appreciate and praise behavior you want to see repeated on a regular basis, your habits will change and you’ll start to create a culture of recognition in your own daily routine – which is contagious. The more you recognize and publically praise the behavior you want to see repeated, the more you give people a reason to repeat it!

Recognition cultures are proactive, positive and full of energy, which is exactly what business in today’s fast-paced society needs. In this way, a simple culture of recognising effort and achievement can positively impact on your bottom line.

Marsha Egan, CPCU, PCC is CEO of The Egan Group, Inc., a Reading, PA based professional coaching firm. She is a certified workplace productivity coach and professional speaker, specializing in leadership development and can be reached at marsha@marshaegan.com or visit http://www.InboxDetox.com.

How to Write a Mining Industry Business Proposal

Monday, January 30th, 2012

The price of minerals is up all over the world, and mining is a growth business right now. Everyone wants to jump in. There are all sorts of aspects to the mining industry you may want to take advantage of. Maybe you want approval from a government agency to open a new mining operation.

Maybe you want to expand an existing operation or revive an old one. Perhaps you hope to interest investors in a mining project, sell equipment and machinery, or sell services such as safety training or environmental cleanup to the mining industry.

So how are you going to go about pitching your ideas to the people that need to hear them? You could try a direct mail or email campaign, but it’s not likely that either of those would be persuasive enough. To get the attention of the appropriate decision-makers and prove that you know what you’re talking about, you need to write a proposal.

Sure, you could hire a professional proposal writer. But you’re going to have to supply a writer all the information for the proposal, so why not write it yourself? You can always hire an editor to fix grammar and punctuation errors before you send out the final version.

So what should go into a proposal? Each proposal will contain different topics because of the endless possible combinations of businesses and situations, but this article will explain the basic structure that you should follow to create a successful proposal. You don’t need to start from scratch, either, unless you want to. You can speed up the process with a package of pre-designed proposals and start your project with pre-designed templates, instructions, and sample proposals in hand.

Here’s the basic structure for any sort of business proposal: Introduce yourself and your proposal, show that you understand the proposal reader’s needs, explain how your ideas, goods, or services will meet those needs and what they will cost, and convince the proposal reader that you are the right party for the job.

The secret to a successful proposal lies in part 2, showing that you understand the proposal reader’s needs. Because, although of course you want to get whatever you’re seeking—the loan, the approval, or the contract—a proposal should never be all about you. Each proposal needs to be tailored to the party who is going to read it.

Think about your proposal readers first. What do they want? What do they need? What will they want to know about you and your ideas? If you need to, do some research about your potential clients, customers, or investors so you can prove to them that you understand their concerns; the extra effort will pay off in the long run.

Now that you understand the basic structure and the secret, let’s fill in some more details, starting at the beginning.

Part 1, the introduction, should consist of a brief cover letter that tells your reader who you are and what you’re seeking from them, and provides all your contact information. The cover letter should also include a mention of what you’d like the reader to do after considering your proposal (approve the project, sign the contract, give you the funding, etc.—this is your “call to action”).

Following the cover letter, create a title page that introduces your proposal (for example, “Proposal to Open a Silver Mine in the XYZ Basin,” “Environmental Cleanup of the XYZ Mines,” or “Proposal to Lease Heavy Equipment to the XYZ Mining Company”).

If your proposal is complex, you may need to follow the title page with what is called an Executive Summary or a Client Summary—a page that lists your most important points. This sort of summary page is generally included for high-level decision makers, who may read only this page and leave the details of your proposal for their subordinates to analyze.

Again, if your proposal is long or complex, you may want to follow this summary page with a table of contents (TOC). You may not be able to generate a TOC until you’re done with the body of your proposal, but this is where the table of contents belongs in the structure.

On to the all-important Part 2: demonstrating that you understand the needs and concerns of your proposal readers. Obviously the topics in this section will vary depending on your audience, but you’ll probably want to include topic pages with titles like Needs, Requirements, and Opportunities.

You might want to include discussions of issues like Challenges and Risks to show you understand the big picture, too. Remember, this section is not about selling yourself, but about showing your readers that you understand their interests and concerns.

In Part 3, you describe exactly what you’re proposing, what it will cost, and how it will benefit your potential clients, investors, or the community or market in general. Remember that this section is still not about why you are the best pick, but about how your ideas, products, or services can benefit the proposal reader’s organization.

The topics you include here will depend on exactly what you’re proposing to do. You might need topic pages for Environmental issues, Equipment, Safety, Training, Transportation, Security, or Marketing, just to name a few. Include details and costs of what you’re offering, topics like Products, Services Offered, Price List, Cost of Goods, Benefits, and so forth.

Finally, in Part 4, it’s your turn to describe why you’re the best choice to receive the funding, approval, and/or the contract. Include topics like your Company History, Projects, Experience, Personnel, Education, Certifications, and so forth. It’s always more impressive to readers if others sing your praises, so be sure to add topics like Awards, Referrals, and Case Studies that showcase successes you’ve had in the past.

At the very end of Part 4, you should conclude the proposal with a Call to Action, specifically asking for whatever it is you want your reader to do next—set up a meeting, sign a contract, give you approval or funding, and so forth.

At this point, you have written the basic draft of your proposal. Now, before you send it out, you have two more tasks to complete. First, hire that editor if you need to, but proofread every single page—if you send out an unprofessional-sounding proposal, odds are the recipients will think your business practices are sloppy, too.

Second, as well as sounding professional, your proposal needs to look professional. So make the pages look good, and consider adding splashes of color and graphic touches with your company logo, special bullets, interesting fonts, etc.

When your proposal is as polished as it can be, send it out, attached to email as a PDF file or as a printed copy sent via mail or delivered by hand. Choose the delivery method that makes sense for you and your recipients, always keeping in mind that you want to impress them.

So now you can see that anyone who has great ideas or products or services to offer can put together a business proposal, whether it’s for a mining project or any other. Writing a proposal doesn’t need to be an intimidating project. You can do it. And remember that a proposal kit of materials can give you a giant head start. Why not begin ten steps ahead with topic templates, instructions, and sample proposals?

Solar Panel Systems Set Up On Your House Can Save You Money

Friday, January 27th, 2012

You will find that the effectiveness of solar energy is actually quickly growing to be a talked about subject With governments and individuals focus on getting ‘green’ as well as helping support the natural environment, the increase of solar energy panels and solar enegy systems have grown to be more talked about, and thus, this particular market is flourishing despite the existing economic depression.

The utilization of solar power and how it truely does work is very simple to comprehend Making use of world’s natural sources (including the sun’s rays, wind, water), we can easily produce ample energy which can be utilized to power as well as heat each of our homes, as opposed to using conventional power organizations.

So, how can you go about using the impressive effects of solar energy?

Installing Solar Panels You might have viewed these in photographs, on the television and also the internet. They are the black panels that are often installed on the roof of homes. How solar panels work? These panels are designed to absorb as much of the suns energy as is possible, and convert this energy into electricity, which is then utilised to power your home appliances.

Whenever people take a look at the actual expense of solar panel installers, they typically think the expense of these to be rather high, if however the true price of installation against typical home use was to be calculated, you could learn that in a amount of several years, you would of saved plenty of cash by using solar power, that it is a valuable investment.

For instance, you could save 20% of your total energy bill each year, and thus in 5 years you are would of saved enough energy to cover the total cost of your solar panel installation. However, should you went ahead and bought a solar panel installation which will produce about 40% of your total energy requirements, you could see a return within just 3 years. You can quickly see that your initial financial commitment is one worth looking at, and genuinely determining the actual savings that can be had.

When thinking about the price tag on solar panel installations, most of the people tend not to also take into consideration the ever rising tariff of energy bills ever year, and a lot of people are unable to manage to pay for this. Do you want to be in this situation in five – Ten years time, when energy rates might have more than doubled from todays rate?

When the initial expense of solar panels is outside your affordability, the majority of solar panel installation companies will offer an array of financial solutions along with low monthly obligations, which will help. It is also worth finding whether your local government have any grant schemes available, which can help towards the expense of an installation.

Make Money Using Solar Panels: Contrary to popular belief, you can also make some cash back from having solar power panels installed! A feed in tariff scheme has been introduced, exactly where your energy company will in fact pay you for every unit of electricity your solar panel system creates.

Ideally this article will help you see that solar panels are certainly not as big an investment as you might think, and should help you determine whether they are the right solution for you.

Rituals for 2012

Friday, December 16th, 2011

A Ritual to Anchor You To The Energies of 2012

What is it that is supposed to happen on December 21, 2012? It has been said that the Mayans believed that on December 21, 2012 the stars would align to form the Tree of Life in the heavens. The Tree of Life is an important symbol in a lot of cultures. It can mean the connection between heaven and earth, as the Chinese believe. To be like a tree is to be connected both to heaven and earth.

To align with the energies of 2012 you should find a tree in your yard that you can gaze on daily or purchase a Bonsai or a small tree that you keep near you. Every day, on any hour that is a multiple of the number 3 such as 3 AM, 6 AM, 9 AM, 12 noon, 3 PM, 6 PM, 9 PM or midnight, look at the tree. Breathe rhythmically while you feel yourself growing roots that go into the ground and anchor onto a golden ball in the centre of the earth. Feel the energies from that golden ball entering and rising through your roots into your two legs and the trunk of your body. Allow yourself to really feel how energizing this ritual is so as to make sure you repeat it every day throughout 2012. In that way when December 21, 2012 arrives and the Tree of Life is formed in the heavens, you will be ready to connect to it as a possible springboard to the Golden Age.

Open Up Your Crown Chakra To Align with 2012 Energies

Your crown chakra is at the top of your head. It is where the fontanels are in babies and they are open because a baby is very connected to God. As the baby loses it angelic connection, the fontanels closes and the baby becomes more grounded, connected to earth. It is said that 2012 is a process more than a date and that it has to do with our return to God. That means our crown chakra needs to be open to allow the energies of the divine to enter our chakra system. Many of us have closed crown chakras because of all the hard times we are going through: foreclosures, lost jobs, immigration fears, and abandonment by because our families are in other countries.

Open Your Crown Chakra. Try this ritual to encourage your crown chakra to open up. Visualize the top of your head. Feel it getting warm and opening up as if there were a doorway there. Visualize the door opening and with your breath, draw in a light that is above your head. Keep breathing as the light enters your head and fills your brain, reaching your ears, nose and mouth. Spend a minute or two drawing in this light and filling up with it. When you finish with the ritual, try and remain relaxed and motionless for a minute or two more to anchor the energies you have drawn in.

cFrances Fox is a shaman and psychic investigator. She has written two books and is a frequent guest on televsion and radio.
Her weekly horoscopes are widely followed at http://www.francesfox.com/home/. Her investigators reveal unseen factors in our daily lives. She has been on CNN, Animal Planet, NBC News, Univision, Telemundo and is an advisor on the Caso Cerrado Show on Telemundo, the number one show in Hispanic Television.

The Importance Of Renewable Energy Sources

Wednesday, December 14th, 2011

By Terry Philips

The use of fossil fuels is for everything – from cooking to transportation – and it is tough to know how we can decrease the energy that is used across the globe. That said, there is a limit to the amount that we can use and as these deplete and energy needs rise, we have to figure out how to stop our high usage. There are many challenges posed by non-renewable energy sources and we need to find ways of fighting back.

Rising energy costs are directly tied to this dwindling supply of nonrenewable sources. Political and economical climates are other factors that can be related to this, especially in the areas where they are in abundance. In order to become dependent from our reliance on these energy forms and advance the growth of societies, we must think of and develop energy alternatives.

The environmental impact is the most important concern that people need to be made aware of when it comes to non-renewable energy sources. Emissions from vehicles and the production of electricity have heavily polluted both the air we breathe and the water we drink, creating a dire need for cleaner forms of energy. As a result of this pollution, global warming has set off a domino effect of rising sea levels, more droughts, more floods and more devastating storms.

In spite of these challenges, we are also witnessing an age in which technology advances faster than ever, which means that we already have the knowledge and innovation necessary to solve our energy crisis. The sources of renewable energy have the answer.

We can harness the power of water, wind and the sun to create electricity for household and commercial use as well as to power vehicles. All of these methods are currently in use but require a greater collective interest from the population to further develop them and make them more efficient. With expanding energy needs, there needs to be solutions on offer so here are a few examples that could be used.

– Solar power is energy radiated from the sun and captured on photovoltaic cells. — Hydropower is a force that comes from the movement of large amounts of water. — Geothermal power is energy produced from hot water and steam released from the earth’s surface. — Turbines and windmills are what help towards wind power as they are churned with atmospheric winds.

These sources are wholly sustainable, making them optimal for the use of a growing population. In addition, they produce little to no pollution, which makes them better alternatives to burning coal, oil and natural gas. However, with new energy sources come new challenges that will be necessary to confront if we want to use them to power more of our daily activities. As an example, it is crucial to understand that renewable energy sources can be less efficient due to the fact that they can’t create the same energy found when burning fossil fuels. They also depend on atmospheric and weather conditions such as rainfall, sunshine and steady winds, which are often unpredictable and impossible to control.

These new challenges can be met easily with a flexible approach to energy production that doesn’t rely too much on one particular source. And the fact still remains that more in-depth research on renewable energy can help us figure out how to make it more effective, more accessible to different populations and cheaper to use.

Finding photovoltaic suppliers for your solar energy needs is crucial to have the best return on your investment. Click the following link to find a recommended solar cells wholesale.

Figuring Out Whether Or Not To Use Solar Panels

Friday, November 11th, 2011

By Terry Philips

Giving your home that energy makeover can be both financially rewarding and useful to your home as well. The push towards renewable and clean energy means that doing this can make everyday tasks easier and cheaper for the family.

Your decision to switch to solar energy must take into account the way your family consumes energy and how willing you are to embark on a new, environmentally-friendly endeavor. However, it helps to have the facts, so consider this guide to solar home panels.

How do solar panels work?

Solar panels are large panes made up of solar cells. Electricity can be converted into electricity for the home by cells that capture sunlight energy. Solar panels are usually attached to the roof of a house to optimize their exposure to the sun.

Solar Energy: The Pros and Cons

The advantages of solar panels are diverse and long-lasting. They are:

The reduction of a footprint on the environment: By not emitting by-products or burning fuel into the atmosphere, solar panels are appealing pieces of kit for any home. This means that you won’t have to worry about the release of potentially harmful substances like carbon, sulfur or mercury.

A reduced energy bill: Once you get over the initial hump of buying and installing the panels, you will find that they actually save money on your home’s energy bill. In addition to counting your monthly savings, solar panels require very little maintenance and last more than two decades.

A nontaxable energy source: It is impossible for commercial agencies or the government to use taxes or regulations to control solar energy, and that’s what makes it differ to electricity and gasoline.

Noise reduction: Once installed, solar panels are stationary parts that produce no sound.

A renewable energy source: A plus is that solar energy, unlike electricity, is a resource that can be relied on always due to its infinite ability.

Although solar panels are an attractive energy source from an environmental standpoint, they do have some disadvantages. They include:

High start-up costs: Purchasing and installing solar panels can be a costly expense. However, you will quickly reap the benefits of the investment by consuming less nonrenewable energy on a daily basis.

Disruption of home decor: Solar panels can be large and unsightly, clashing especially with more classical styles of architecture.

Weather and climate dependency: A simple, yet necessary to understand, downside is that due to the relying on sunlight energy, overcast days produce less energy. This means that they will yield less energy for your home in winter months and on overcast days when the sun is not as visible.

As growing trends go, there can’t be many with a more rapid rise than solar panels. When you’re looking for yours, be sure to use recommended solar distributors for your solar wholesale.

US Court Revokes FAA Approval Of Cape Wind

Friday, November 4th, 2011

A federal appeals court has dealt a critical blow to the controversial Cape Wind energy project.

On Friday, October 27, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia revoked the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) determination that the Cape Wind project would present no hazard to the 400,000 flights that travel over Nantucket Sound. The appeals court remanded the issue back to the agency for review.

The town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, and the Alliance to Save Nantucket Sound, a non-profit grassroots organization of private citizens and organization that includes the Mashpee and Aquinnah Wampanoag tribes, had petitioned the court for the review. The opponents argued that the FAA violated its governing statute, misread its own regulations, and arbitrarily and capriciously failed to calculate the dangers posed to local aviation.

In response, the FAA claimed the petitioners did not have standing to request the review and that their claims lacked merit. But the court disagreed. “We find that petitioners do have standing and that the FAA did misread its regulations, leaving the challenged determinations inadequately justified,” the three-judge panel wrote in their 14-page ruling. The ruling notes that the petitions bear the burden of providing evidence to demonstrate standing; “once provided, however, those facts ‘will be taken as true,’ ” the ruling says, quoting case law. At this stage, however, we must assume the petitioners will prevail on the merits, … which means we must assume the FAA would determine the wind farm poses a hazard of the degree and kind the petitioners allege.

The Cape Wind project, which has been pushed by the Obama administration as America’s first offshore wind farm and supported Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, would construct 130 turbines across almost 50 square miles of Nantucket Sound where they would tower 440 feet above ocean level. The installation would obliterate the Mashpee and Aquinnah Wampanoag tribes’ unimpeded view of the rising sun, ruining a crucial ceremony that is central to their identity and destroy the ocean bed that was once the dry land where their ancestors lived and died. Neither Aquinnah Wampanoag Chairman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais nor Mashpee Wampanoag Chairman Cedric Cromwell could be reached for comment. The Aquinnah Nation is a plaintiff in one of the many lawsuits still pending against the wind energy company.

The appeals court ruling maybe the final blow to the beleaguered Cape Wind project, according to Alliance President and CEO Audra Parker. “I’m absolutely thrilled. I think it’s a major setback for Cape Wind. We’ve been saying all along that whether it’s been a tribal review or other issue they really rushed and comprised the review process and this is a clear acknowledgment that at least with the FAA that in fact is the case,” Parker said.

The FAA review is likely to take a long time, she said. “In talking to our lawyers, they’ve said in similar situations it’s about a two-year additional review once the project goes back to the FAA so that’s a significant additional burden that clearly has implications for a project that’s already struggling financially,” Parker said.

Last May the federal Department of Energy denied Cape Wind a $2 billion public loan guarantee that the company was counting on for financing the project. Additionally, the project has yet to secure financing or a buyer for half of its power. The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) approved a power purchase agreement last year for Cape Wind to sell half of its power to National Grid for 18.7 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) with a 3.5 percent increase each year, bringing the cost to 30 cents per kWh by the end of the 15-year license. Massachusetts’s consumers paid around nine cents per kWh last year. The DPU has tried to force NStar and Northeast Utilities to purchase the other half of Cape Wind’s power as a condition of their proposed merger, but on October 12, the two power companies filed court papers telling the DPU that forcing them to buy Cape Wind’s high-priced electricity as a condition of their merger may violate the Constitution.

“The appeals court decision is further reason for the Patrick Administration to stop its attempts to force the state’s second largest electric utility, NStar, to purchase energy from a project that will never be built,” Parker said.

The appeals court ruling immediately stops Cape Wind from moving forward, Parker said. “Cape Wind can’t begin construction or proceed with the project. The FAA case is the first of multiple federal lawsuits challenging this poorly sited and expensive project and is just the tip of the iceberg of the problems the courts will consider relative to the Nantucket Sound location,” Parker said.

The Alliance is not opposed to wind power, but is opposed to siting the project in Nantucket Sound, Parker said. “It is time for Cape Wind and the Department of Interior to relocate this project to another site that will not only protect Nantucket Sound, but allow properly sited offshore wind development in a timely way,” said Parker. “After 10 years, Cape Wind continues to face legal and financial challenges, while better and cheaper forms of green energy are widely available. The free market has shown little or no interest in Cape Wind, the federal government has refused to issue a loan guarantee for the project, and now a federal court has dealt Cape Wind a major setback in rejecting the FAA’s determination.”

The Rising Demand For Potash Stock In The World

Thursday, November 3rd, 2011

The agricultural sector is very crucial to our global economy. It plays a magnificent role in contributing to economical upgrade of any country. As a matter of fact, the chances of having a country that has no agricultural activities are almost reduced to zero. In this sector, one of the most increasingly demanded products includes the potash stock. First and foremost it is important to learn what potash is. This is the general term used to define all manufactured salts that have potassium element. They are mainly used for farming procedures. It should be noted that they perform a variety of tasks, let alone farming. This is also an added advantage.

Due to the ever rising need of important crops such as oil seeds and grains, potash follows suit. In other words, the demand directly corresponds with the supply of such products. Farming has been embraced in every state, worldwide. On such cases, you can never miss to find the use of this plant nutrient applied.

The most common crops that need the services of these nutrients are soybeans, wheat and corn. The increase in demand for such crops in the global market has also led to the increase in demand for fertilizers. They are used for quicker production, which guarantees high quality yields in the market. However, due to major economical downfalls in most states, the price of the vital commodity has accelerated. This runs concurrently with the price of crops that rely on this mineral to perform properly. Bad climatic conditions have also played a major role in increasing the need for this product. This is essential since it leads to an overall good performance of crops that were not provided with the necessary conditions of growth.

Experts predict a brighter future for this reserve. This is chiefly due to the fact that, the ever increasing population of the land brings about prospects of having limited space for farm activities are very high. It is on this note that the limited space one has will be required to generate top notch yields. This will only be facilitated by the use of this fertilizer.

The bulk of the crucial element is manufactured in Canada. This also brings about the need of creating investment opportunities, so as to facilitate rapid manufacturing. As a result of its rising urgency, most companies are considering investing in this artifact.

Potash stock requirement has also been propelled by the need to come up with faster means of bringing up crops that favor their conditions. Crops such as corn perform very well in continents such as Africa. However, bad climatic conditions have led to a depreciating nature of this yield. Not all soils favor the growth of such crops but a little bit addition of this commodity will make things work out better. As a matter of fact, it is a major step in realization of global food security, save for the harsh weather conditions witnessed by most countries and the general limitations that tend the hamper the realization of such economic goals.

Electricity And How Solar Panels Work

Friday, August 5th, 2011

A star like the sun fuses hydrogen for about Ten billion years. With half of its hydrogen currently fused into helium the sun will continue to produce energy for about another five billion years. While not technically endless, it will go on producing energy for a very, very long time. But how do we capture that practically limitless source of energy? With solar panels presumably. So lets take a look at how solar panels work.

Certain elements and compounds exist in a state where the right frequency of light will add its energy to the electrons in its atoms. The now energized electrons can jump out of the influence of the nucleus and flow with other electrons through some conducting material. Silicon, cadmium telluride, gallium arsenide and copper indium diselenide, among others are all substances that have this property. Each substance however will be affected by different frequencies of light.

These materials, affected by different frequencies are not able to use the full spectrum of sunlight. Creative methods of construction have been devised to take advantage of the different frequencies in white light.

One method is to stack different substances so that different layers absorb the relevant frequency for that material. In this way more of the sunlight is being used and converted into electricity. Another method is to break up the light with some sort of prism and then to direct the light to the relevant materials. These methods greatly increase the efficiency of the photovoltaic array.

The use of expensive materials may also create problems with efficiency. To overcome this difficulty, some designs use lenses to concentrate the light to a small area where only a small amount of the expensive material is needed to free enough electrons to produce usable electricity.

When a wafer of one of these substances is attached with positive and negative electrodes, a photo voltaic cell is created. Several of these can be wired together to create a module. Several modules wired together with copper, silver or some other conducting material create an array. If an array is large enough, a usable amount of electricity can be produced.

But this is not enough to make a solar panel. The cells need to be protected from moisture and physical damage. They also need to be protected from overheating as excessive heat reduces the efficiency of the cells. Waterproof, protective cases are made to contain the arrays which are then mounted in a way to provide adequate airflow to prevent overheating.

Power from the sun was first discovered in 1839 by Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel, the French physicist focused on the solar spectrum, electricity and optics. Since that time, the understanding of how to harness photovoltaic conversion has increased exponentially. Advances in this area were primarily driven by NASA who needed ways to power spacecraft and artificial satellites. With the problems facing this planet as the result of the fossil fuel consumption used to power our lives, the renewable and non-polluting alternative offered by solar power may eventually help us get away from petroleum dependence.

The Ontario fit program offers, those who use solar panel or solar panels, the opportunity to make money by selling the solar or wind energy they produce. Visit Efston Science to learn more about how you can start producing renewable energy for money.

Generating Electricity With Solar Panels

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

A solar panel is an array of photovoltaic cells that are connected together by conducting wires. Solar panels are used to generate electricity from sunlight, which is a naturally renewable source of energy. They are used in both commercial and domestic environments.

Photovoltaic cells absorb light energy from the Sun and use it to generate electricity in a process known as the photovoltaic effect. This involves using the light energy to release electrons from the attractive forces that bind them to atoms, so that they can flow freely through the cell. This flow of electrons is an electric current, which can then be used to power electrical appliances.

Following the dramatic reduction in the price of solar panels over the last few decades, more and more home owners are choosing to install them on the roofs of their houses in order to save money on electricity. Generating your own electricity in this way reduces your reliance on commercially produced electricity and can therefore lead to a significant reduction in the cost of energy bills.

It is often possible to sell electricity back to the national grid during times that your panels produce it in excess. This means that in addition to saving money for homeowners, installing panels can even be a way of generating a little extra cash.

An alternative to photovoltaic panels is a solar heating system. This uses the Sun’s energy to heat water, which can then be used in the home. Heating water in this way means that the household does not have to spend money on electricity or gas to meet its hot water needs, leading to significant savings.

Solar panels must be installed correctly if they are to provide the maximum possible benefit. Although they will still produce energy on a cloudy day, they operate best in full sunlight. They should therefore be installed in a location that has direct sunlight for as much of the day as possible, with no trees or buildings casting a shadow onto the panel. It is important to have adequate ventilation behind the panel, as overheating can lower its efficiency.

Traditionally, photovoltaic cells have been made out of crystalline silicon. A more modern type of photovoltaic cell is the thin film cell, which is lower in weight than a traditional panel, but still sturdy and resilient.

Solar energy is a completely renewable source of energy that does not produce any harmful greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide or methane. This means that it is environmentally friendly. As technology improves so that increasingly efficient cells can be constructed, it is hoped that more and more of our energy needs can be met using this sustainable source of energy.

Recent developments in technology have produced a wide range of photovoltaic cells that can operate at different frequencies. One of the most interesting developments is the invention of infrared photovoltaic cells, which use heat energy to produce electricity. These cells would even be able to produce power at night.

With climate change rapidly affecting our planet, it is more urgent than ever to use renewable energy sources to satisfy our demands for electricity. Solar panels have an important role to play in the generation of sustainable energy.

Efston Science is the superstore for solar panel and wind energy. They make it easy to buy solar panels and learn more about how the microFIT program works as well as the cost of solar panels.


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