A Solar Car is a vehicle that is entirely powered by solar energy. It does not use fossil fuels to power the engine and the electrical systems of the vehicle. Solar cars are not yet available in the market for everyday use as at 2016.
Stella the family solar car
This is the first 4 seater solar car, made for everyday use. I wish I could get one of these!! I know it would cost so much but I hope that the cost of these vehicles will keep going down as the years go by and technology advances.
This car called the Stella can go over 500miles on one charge. This means that it can move also at night because it has batteries installed in it. It can go as fast as 80miles/hour and if going slower and operating in the sun, it can go even longer.
A solar panel is simply an array of solar cells put together in a panel to convert solar energy to electricity.
There are two types of Solar Energy - The Light Energy and
- The heat Energy.
Solar Panels convert the light energy to electricity by the use of Photo Voltaic cells (PV).
Solar panels are becoming cheaper and cheaper every year. A quick look on Amazon will give you an array of solar panels of different sizes, shapes and functionalities. One of the cheapest solar panels on Amazon is the 100 Watt Eco-Worthy Solar Panel. You can find a very good Eco-Worthy Solar Panel Review to give you an idea of how these cheap panels are still effective regardless of their prices. You may also take a look at this list of Cheap Solar Panels on Amazon.
Why are Solar Panels becoming so cheap?
The main reason for the drop in price of solar panels is the drop in cost of production due to advancement in research and development. It's becoming cheaper and cheaper to make solar panels. Take a look at the rate at which the cost of solar panels have dropped since 1977.
From the graph above you will notice that the price per watt of solar panel has dropped from $76.67 watts in 1977 to less than a dollar per watt right now. However when you add the cost of transportation and delivery to the market it is still above $1/per watt. They call this the Swanson Law. There are more charts that show you the drop in price of Solar panels. You can read that on Clean Technica.
Here is a list of the 5 top selling solar panel on the Amazon and the cost for 100 Watt solar panels
Eco Worthy Poly Solar Panel - $115.00
Eco Worthy Mono Solar Panel - $130.00
Renogy Mono Solar Panel -$139.99
Renogy Poly Solar Panel - $124.99
Windy Nation Mono Solar Panel - $139.99
HQST Solar Panel -$119.99
News on cheaper cost of Solar Panels
Cheap Solar Panels but good quality.
From my research online, I found that although the 100 Watt Eco-Worthy Polycrystalline Solar Panel was the cheapest, it still competes very well for quality. The review of the 100 Watt Eco-Worthy Solar Panel above shows that the panels have all the standard features and many people who have bought them have good things to say. You would also have noticed that the difference in prices between the various manufacturers is minimal. All a buyer needs to do is read some review of the different panels and make a choice. In my opinion, which ever company you choose, you will have saved lots of money compared to a few years ago.
Solar energy in simple terms is the energy that is derived from the sun. We receive so much energy from the sun everyday and most of this energy is wasted. Technology to harness and reuse this energy is being developed everyday and new gadgets are being designed daily to use solar energy.
This blog is about my discoveries about solar energy. Every time I stumble upon a good website on solar energy or an appropriate answer to any of my questions on solar energy I will share them here. Over the years I hope that this blog will a place where a person can learn everything they need to learn about using solar energy in the home.
How do you start using solar energy in the home?
There are a few ways to start using solar energy in the home. You could just by a complete solar system used to meet a particular need. For example, you could get solar powered garden lights all around your home. That way you have lights around your garden that charge during the day and come on at night. In reality they are on all the time but you see them more at night.
Solar Energy Basics
If you are interested in knowing more about solar energy for the home, check out what Yingi Solar, has on their site. I like the fact that the tutorial is interactive.
Some Intro to Solar Energy Videos
These videos have some advertising at the end. Don't let them bother you. Just learn what they teach and move on.
This is it for today. Till next time. Leave your comments and questions below.
