Renewable Energy

For Less Than $100 As The Christmas Season Approaches

Products that use solar energy make for great gifts. These products are innovative, fashion forward and great for certain types of adventures, like camping. When you think about products that use solar energy, what comes to mind? Here are some of the latest solar gift ideas for less than $100.

Have you seen the solar lamps? The Luci Lux solar lamp is one of the models under $100, and it is quite nifty. You’re not just talking about a lamp here. This product can charge your phone! You can also opt to charge the lamp itself via a USB cable when you have the opportunity. It takes about 14 hours of sunlight to fully charge the lamp. The Luci Lux solar lamp features four light modes, a charge indicator, an adjustable strap and it is waterproof.

Another neat gift idea is a charging station. Yet you have to watch because some of these stations can run in the $500 range. THe Nomad 7 Plus Solar Panel is right under $100, making it the perfect gift solution. This particular product features a detachable kickstand, and it is very rugged and modular, making it perfect for travel and the outdoors. The vented pocket helps in terms of temperature regulation. You can charge many types of devices, even 12V devices, but one thing you can’t do with this solar panel is charge your tablet.

Modern flashlights make for great gifts. There are some nifty solar powered flashlights on the market that fall in the $100 range. The Goal Zero Torch 250 Flashlight is one of those products. Not only is this flashlight powered by solar energy, but it features a crank as well. Talk about a great gift that can be used in emergency situations and for those outdoor camping trips.

How about a plant basket? That’s right, there is a plant basket with a light and solar panel for under $100. Talk about providing extra light for a porch or balcony and highlighting the decor at the same time. It certainly sounds like a unique gift that someone would appreciate very much.

Solar string lights make for great gifts, too, and they fall into this price range as well. There are different versions of this type of product available, and there are also LED solar powered lanterns. Or, how about a solar spotlight with color lenses? All of those neat lighting products seem really cool.

A Solar Terrarium is also available for much less than $100. The housing compartment for this product features a sensor that is built in. The product also features jewel-toned glass. The succulents must of course be purchased separately. It makes for a really unique gift idea, don’t you think?

There are other charging kits available, too. Familiarize yourself with the various features of each to determine which one would make the best gift. And, there are also other types of solar gift ideas for less than $100. Be sure to check product ratings so that you can see what previous customers have to say about the various gifts you’re thinking about buying.

What do you think about the products that have been mentioned? They are really neat, aren’t they? You might not have even known that some of these types of products were available. Now you know, and you can get really cool gifts for people. The products mentioned are less than $100, and so you’re not breaking the bank to get those gifts. Be sure to shop around to get the best price for each product you buy, and as always look for promo codes and discounts as the Christmas Season approaches.

How To Use Solar Power In Your Home

Solar power has gained a lot of interest over the last few years and it has become increasingly popular among consumers due to its eco-friendliness and relative affordability

Solar power is generated when solar photovoltaic panels, or solar panels as they are more commonly called, convert sunlight into electricity. Solar electricity can, in effect, be considered free electricity once the initial set up cost of installing solar panels has been cleared.

With solar panels, the yearly electricity production graph usually resembles a bell curve. The low end of the curve represents the winter months and the peak is reached in the summer.

Indeed, solar power generation can often be so high that a household generates excess power. Although the excess is exported to the grid for others to use, it is still recommended the household try to take full advantage of the surplus power.

SOLAR GEYSER

A special solar panel heats fluid using solar radiation, which is then transferred to a solar tank. The solar tank is a special geyser designed specifically for this purpose and is much more robust that a normal electric geyser. The solar geyser has a back-up electric element so that on days with no sun, you will still have hot water.

SOLAR ELECTRICITY

Electricity is generated by silicone cells in solar panels. The electricity created is direct current (DC), while we use alternating current (AC) in our homes. An inverter is used to convert the electricity into AC. There are different types of systems available, depending on how much you are willing to spend and what your priorities are.

SOLAR COOKERS

Whether you make your own or purchase a pre-assembled unit, solar ovens are increasingly popular home appliances. Like an electric-powered crockpot, a solar oven is essentially a slow cooker. Using angled reflectors that direct solar energy into a special chamber, a solar oven heats food to relatively low temperatures over the course of many hours.

Outdoor Solar Lights

Outdoor solar lights (such as solar security lights or solar flood lights) use solar cells to convert sunlight into electricity. Outdoor solar lights store this electricity in special batteries. At night, these batteries power the lights.

Both self-contained units, such as solar security lights and flood lights, and separate solar cell panel units need to be placed in sunny locations. Before purchasing a solar lighting system, check to be sure that the manufacturer provides replacement batteries and bulbs. Also, consider your home’s landscaping.

Solar Powered Ventilation Fans

Ventilation fans of any type are a good idea since they help reduce cooling costs by exhausting hot air from attic spaces and other areas. Traditionally, these exhaust fans are wired into household electrical current, which somewhat defeats the energy-saving purpose. Now, however, you can buy self-contained roof vent fans that feature a small panel of photo-electric cells that operate the fan motor with no need for household electrical current at all.

Solar Powered Pumps

For maximum energy-saving impact, you can also run those circulating pumps on solar power through the use of photo-electric panels, which will generate the power to run DC motors on the circulating pumps. While there is, of course, some investment in getting such a system set up, you have now reduced the operating costs of your hot water system to almost nothing.

Like any photo-electric system, the sun’s energy can be stored in batteries so that you can still run the circulating pumps at night or on cloudy days.

What Can You Run Or Power With A 100W Solar Panel?

Solar panels are rated according to the power they are able to create at STC (Standard Test Conditions). These conditions will include the following:

• The temperature, 77℉ or 25℃

• The angle of light that hits the solar panel directly

• The sun’s intensity, 1000 watt per-square-meter

• Other factors

Solar Cape Town and the surrounding areas of South Africa regularly experience these types of conditions and make the perfect testing ground.

What this means is that the accurate output from a solar panel can vary, according to these factors when it comes to real-life situations. These calculations are typically reduced according to the differences between an actual installation and lab settings.

The 100W solar panels are more commonly found in use in boats, caravans, and motorhomes. They are small when compared to other types of solar panels, and are not usually considered as the panel type used for homes. This makes this solar panel the perfect traveling companion to take with for vacations or weekends away in remote areas.

They are also regarded as useful panels to own when it comes to their easy to transport and portable nature. If you do travel with your 100W solar panel, make sure you bring along a mount. In this way, you can angle the panel so that it receives direct sunlight. Solar panels always operate more efficiently when they are positioned in direct sunlight. To ensure maximum efficiency, it is best to position your solar panels so that they receive as much sunlight as possible.

What Can A 100W Solar Panel Power?

This is a common question that is asked about the 100W solar panels. The simple answer to this question is that this panel is capable of powering a variety of things. You may be surprised when you find out what 100W solar panels are able to do. Here is an overview of what you can do with a 100W solar panel.

Some of the 100W solar panels are specifically designed for charging 12V batteries. This process works on storing solar energy which means you are able to use it later on in a day or that evening when you require a bit of power. Keep in mind that it will lose some of this energy over the day. This usually translates into about 20% of the energy that is stored. In the majority of cases, all the 100W solar panels are suitable to charge 12V batteries. However, it is still a better idea to rather look for the panels that are specifically designed for this particular purpose.

You can also use a 100W solar panel to charge a device such as your laptop or your smartphone over a period of 2 to 10 hours over the day, which will depend on the power consumption you are using and the wattage of your laptop. You should also be able to power an LCD television for up to 5 hours or a lamp for as long as 33 hours without any hassles or interruptions.

It is also possible to power lights and your radio simultaneously with a 100W solar panel for about 3 hours at a time. Other devices that you can power at the same time include a kettle and your coffee machine, without decreasing the time that this energy will last for. A 100w solar panel could also be used to provide power to appliances like furnace fans for about 30 minutes.

It is important to take into consideration that many of these factors will depend on what your daily requirements are, and your panel type. However, we hope this has given you a better idea of what a 100W solar panel is capable of, and how long it will last for different situations.

Investing In Solar Panels For A Tiny House

If you’re planning on moving into a tiny house, you’ll have some adjusting to do. While figuring out how to live in a smaller space can be challenging at first, it can also provide a lot of opportunities. For example, you can look into purchasing solar panels for your tiny home. Installing solar panels can benefit you in a number of ways.

Solar Panels Can Be Installed On Virtually Any Home

Some people assume that solar panels won’t work for them because of the size of their home. If this is something that you’re concerned about, you should know that it shouldn’t be much of a problem for you. Even if you live in an unusually small house, solar panels should be an option for you.

As solar panels have increased in popularity, the options available have increased. No matter what the size of your home is, you’ll be able to install solar panels and enjoy all of the benefits that they offer.

You’ll Lower Your Energy Costs

Living in a tiny home will help you to reduce your utility costs. However, if you add solar panels to your home, you’ll be able to lower your costs even more. Solar panels can dramatically decrease the total cost of heating and cooling a home.

Energy costs can be a major expense, which is why you’ll want to work to make sure these costs are manageable. If you’re able to reduce what you spend on energy, you’ll be able to put the money you save to good use.

It’s Better For The Environment

Living in a smaller space is one of the things that you can do to reduce your carbon footprint. However, it’s important to remember that it’s just one piece of the puzzle. If you truly want to make an impact, you’ll want to look at some of the other things you can do as well.

You should aim to make choices that are environmentally-friendly in your life. There are some things we can’t get around. For example, you may have to drive a car to work each day! However, if you use solar panels and live in a tiny house, you can assume that you’re making a difference.

You May Be Able To Earn Tax Credits

Are you hoping to pay off the mortgage on your new home sooner rather than later? If you’re looking for ways to save, installing solar panels may help you in more ways than one. It’s possible that you’ll be able to earn tax credits, which will lead to a bigger tax return.

People often say that solar panels pay for themselves, and that definitely holds true in this case. If you do spend money on solar panels, you can expect to earn it all back.

You’ll See Savings Immediately

If you choose to finance your solar panels, you won’t have to wait until after you’ve paid them off to start enjoying savings. As a matter of fact, you can expect to enjoy savings immediately. From the moment you receive your first utility bill, you’ll start to save.

You might be worried about making an investment like this, especially if you’re already investing in a new home. However, if you look at the data, you’ll see that the majority of people that install panels like this start to see savings right away.

Solar panels can be an incredible investment. They’re an especially good choice for people that live in a smaller house. If this is something that you’re interested in pursuing, you should contact a company in your area that installs solar panels. See what they recommend to you.

Tesla Powerwall

The Tesla Powerwall has transformed how people look at solar batteries from being a just a talk about the future to a real thing right now. Tesla’s rebranding of residential-use batteries is within their legacy of reimagining present solutions. Tesla’s battery might depict the very first time in history which daily homeowners are extremely thrilled about the capability of storing energy in their house. The Powerwall, merged with the fascinating Tesla Solar Roof, are both future cornerstones of sustainable energy.

So how exactly does the Tesla Powerwall work?

The Tesla Powerwall pairs perfectly with solar power systems, particularly if your utility has minimized or eliminated net metering, placed time-of-use rates, or implemented demand charges. Setting up a storage solution such as the Tesla Powerwall along with a solar energy system enables you to sustain a regular power supply throughout the day or night, so long as you store sufficient power from the panels at the time sun is out.

As with many different home battery items, the Tesla Powerwall is sized for day-to-day use in your home and it is usually matched with a solar panel system. Whenever your solar panels generate more electrical power than you should use in your house, you could store the extra electricity inside the battery system rather than transmitting it back to the grid. Later on, in the event that your panels aren’t generating sufficient electricity to meet your home’s requirements, you may use the electricity held in your battery rather than purchasing it from your utility provider.

What is the cost of Tesla Powerwall in 2020?

By May 2020, the price of the Powerwall is $6,500, add-on hardware is $1,100 and Tesla estimates installation expenses to be in between $2,000 – $3,000. Meaning a complete installed expense is about $9,600 – $10,600 just for one Powerwall.

The price for supporting hardware is around $1,100 no matter whether you’ve got a single or several Powerwalls. Hence the price for each Powerwall is a little less when you have over one.

What amount of power does the Powerwall battery supply?

The Powerwall includes a storage capability of 14-kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, which 13.5 kWh is usable. It’s about 50 % of the standard US home’s every day consumption.

What’s the Tesla Powerwall life expectancy?

Tesla Powerwalls have a 10-year limited warranty. What this means is your Powerwall battery will probably survive no less than ten years. Simply because lithium-ion battery storage technology remains fairly new, it’s unclear how precisely long a Powerwall, or any lithium ion battery, can last. According to what’s known regarding lithium-ion storage, it’s likely that the way you utilize your Powerwall system will decide how much time its lifespan would be.

For example, if you are using a Powerwall as a primary power source, it will probably survive ten years. However the constant use may cause stress in the system and reduce the life of the battery. In case you only utilize the Powerwall to power your house overnight, it could possibly last somewhere from ten to twenty years. Whenever utilized just for emergency power, a Powerwall can last more than twenty years.

What four factors which make the Tesla Powerwall solution shine being the best existing solar battery storage solution for home energy storage?

Cost at about $10,000 set up for 13.5 kilowatt hours (kWh) of functional storage. It’s a fairly great value granted the very high cost of solar energy storage. It’s still no the incredible return on investment, however a lot better than its peers.

Time-based controls enable you to reduce the expense of electricity coming from the grid on the day whenever you encounter time-of-use (TOU) electricity billing. Tesla’s mobile app appears better than rivals when it comes to its functionality and overall simplicity of use.

Built-in battery inverter as well as battery management system are part of the cost. The battery inverter needs to be bought separately with numerous other solar batteries.

Smart software-controlled design and battery cooling system. Tesla is apparently heading the pack when it comes to controls to make sure both safety and more intelligent functionality.

Is a Tesla Powerwall 2 Worth the Money?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh6gqPI51pU