Showing posts with label Solar Energy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Solar Energy. Show all posts

Friday, June 30, 2017

Essentials of a SOLAR GREENHOUSE

Plant breeding and plant production is a very productive hobby and livelihood. It is good way to earn some living by producing high-valued crops. It is also a good way of contributing to the environment. The best way to sustain this endeavor is to get a solar greenhouse. Read on to learn the basics of the solar greenhouse.

SOLAR GREENHOUSE OWNED AND BUILT BY PETER HOWE...
 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What Is a Solar Greenhouse?

The very purpose of any greenhouse is to collect solar energy whenever the sun shining high. However, solar greenhouses serve a more specific purpose. It is able to do more than collect the solar energy. The solar greenhouse is able to store heat that can be used during nighttime, cloudy days or the cold season. It provides adequate heat that the plants will need for their growth even during the night time or the cold seasons.

The good thing about solar greenhouses is that there are choices to choose from and to suit the needs of the owner.

They can stand alone. This is very ideal for big production greenhouses.  The freestanding ones are ideal for commercial production. These are used to produce ornamentals or vegetables. They have two primary designs, the shed type and the Quonset type.

The shed-type has a long axis running from the east to the west. It has a south-facing wall glazed to collect maximum amount of the energy from the sun. The north-facing wall on the other hand is very much insulated to avoid heat loss. These features are what contrast a solar greenhouse from the ordinary ones.

The Quonset type can sometimes look like an underground pit. This is a low-cost greenhouse. It has a Quonset-shaped frame and looks like a tunnel. It has a layer or two of plastic film. This can save as much as 40% of the heating fuel.

They can also be merely attached to the greenhouses, very ideal for backyard use. The attached solar greenhouses are structures that form some sort of a room protruding from a house. This is a good space for transplants or herbs.

Passive or Active

The solar greenhouse is classified into two. It can be the passive solar greenhouse or the active. These two makes use of different resources, but still serve a same purpose.

The Passive Solar Greenhouse

In some places, where colder seasons tend to endure longer, there may be a need to resort to passive solar greenhouse, using gas or electric heating system. This is the only way to protect the plants from getting too much cold.
This is very ideal for growers as it can still give way to so much productivity despite the conditions. The use of heating systems for greenhouses to be cost-effective is best utilized if there are high-value crops to be produced.

The Active Solar Greenhouse

The active solar greenhouse makes use of supplemental energy. It transfers the solar heated air from the storage area to the other parts of the greenhouse.




Designing a Solar Greenhouse

Most would claim that managing and maintaining an ordinary greenhouse does not differ much with the solar greenhouse. However, there are a number of ways that they differ. These are significant distinctions.

Solar greenhouses, unlike the ordinary ones, have oriented glazing to get utmost solar heat, even during winter. Its materials are designed to minimize loss of heat. It uses heat storing materials. It also has insulation especially useful when there is no sunlight. The solar greenhouse also depends heavily on natural ventilation for cooling during summer.

Solar Heat Storage

This is one main feature in designing a solar greenhouse. To remain warm even during cool nights, there must be sufficient amount of solar heat stored. One common method used to store this energy is to put rocks or concrete directly receiving the sunlight to absorb the heat.

Cinder block walls at the north side of a greenhouse are also used as good heat storage. Dark-colored ceramic floorings can also be used to store the heat. Any wall or flooring not used for heat absorption is supposed to be colored light. This should be designed to reflect the heat and light and distribute it to the plants.

The management of a greenhouse can also determine the amount of heat stored. A greenhouse that is full of plants and structures can store heat easier compared to an empty one. Composts can also complement the heat storage goal as they help produce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Furthermore, the microorganisms in the compost also contribute to the increase in plant production.

Some would rely on any structure that would resemble a greenhouse to accommodate the plants. However, to be efficient and cost-effective, aim for the optimum setting in your solar greenhouse.



Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Harnessing the SUN for Your Home – Key Components

Using the power of the sun is becoming increasingly attractive from an economic and environmental aspect. If you’re going solar, you need to know the components.

Solar Components

While generally considered electric platforms, solar systems definitely have unique components. Here’s some of the jargon you are going to need to be familiar with before buying.

A photovoltaic (PV) module that is composed of...
A photovoltaic (PV) module that is composed of multiple PV cells. (
Photo credit: 
Wikipedia)

1. Photovoltaic Cell – This is the key piece of any solar platform. Known as a PV cell, it is typically a small cell containing a silicon substance under glass. When the sun hits the cell, the silicon undergoes an electrical reaction that creates a charge. The charge is collected by small wires. Depending on the nature of the cell, each should produce roughly half a volt.

2. Solar Panel – A collection of solar cells joined as a unit in a frame. A single panel typically is insufficient to produce enough energy to power anything of significance in your home.

3. Solar System – Also known as a photovoltaic system, a solar system is an interconnected set of solar panels. This is what you see on the roofs of home or other areas around homes and buildings. A solar system converts enough sunlight into electricity to provide most or all of the power required by a home.

4. Orientation – Before installing a panel system, one has to give some thought regarding where to put it. The sun tracks across a structure in a particular way. To maximize the energy production, the panels have to be oriented to receive the maximum amount of sunlight. This, of course, results in the maximum amount of electricity.

5. Direct Current – A type of electricity that flows in only one direction. Solar cells produce direct current electricity.

6. Alternating Current – Electricity that flows in both directions. AC power is used by utilities and in practically all appliances and machines in a home.

7. Inverter – A key component in a solar panel system. The inverter converts the direct current produced by the solar panels into AC power that can be used in the home or fed back into a utility power grid system.

Obviously, there are a wide variety of systems for converting sunlight into power. Making yourself familiar with the above components is a good place to start.




Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Global Warming and BUILDING GREEN

Building green is one of the solutions to global warming that many people do not think about. 

Building green is designing and constructing buildings with the environment in mind.  It is these practices that can have an impact on stopping global warming.

Houses give off a high percentage of a country's total carbon dioxide emissions.  In the United States, the figure is about 38%.  Since carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases, houses contribute strongly to global warming.

Scientific studies on climate helped establish...
Scientific studies on climate helped establish a consensus. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
One way to cut the greenhouse emissions of houses, and therefore help stop global warming, is to minimize the energy use needed to sustain comfortable living in a house.  There are several ways to do this.

One way is to be careful about what building materials are used.  Some building materials can be from quickly renewable sources.  These include bamboo and straw.  Also, building materials can be used that originates near the building site.  This cuts down on transportation, and so cuts down on emissions of greenhouse gases and global warming.  One example is stone houses built with local stone.

Buildings are also often built using recycled materials.  Wood can be used from an older home that has been torn down.  This will prevent the need to cut down other trees.  Since the deforestation of the land contributes to global warming, this will help the situation.

Heating and cooling have a big effect on the amount of global warming caused by a house.  Some ways to help this are very simple.  One is to design the house to sit on the lot so that sunlight will come in through the windows and warm the house.  It can also be oriented so that breezes will blow through the windows more naturally for cooling.


In this way, passive solar energy can be used to heat and cool the house.  This will cut down on the greenhouse emissions from a house.  Global warming will be lessened.  Insulation is important to maximize on the cool or heat that is in the house.  With good insulation, you will need a less intense heat or cooling source.

The main heating and cooling source in most green houses will be solar panels, wind power, or hydropower.  Any of these sources will power a house with minimal effects on global warming.  At the same time, these sources of energy will sustain a household in a comfortable style.

There are several organizations in the US that aid in the cause of stopping global warming by encouraging green building.  One non-profit organization makes it their business to foster green building methods in both houses and commercial buildings.  This group of people from the building industry is a part of the Green Building Initiative.

The state of Washington has required builders of buildings larger than 5000 square feet to use green building practices.  Their law was enacted in 2005.  It should help to keep a cap on global warming.

Green building is important for a number of reasons. One just happens to be that it can reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases.  If green building can help stop global warming, perhaps it is time for everyone to build green.