Photovoltaic cells are those black squares on a solar panel. These have been the most expensive parts of a solar panel, making solar panels beyond the reach of most folks, but now at last, the prices have recently dropped, making solar panels a more affordable means of alternative energy.

These cells are not only becoming less expensive, but also more efficient, thanks to increasingly better designs, which allow them to focus the gathered sunlight on a more and more concentrated point.

The siz...
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While you can save a lot of electricity, simply by installing solar energy in your home, the first place to start saving is by cutting down on how much energy you are using wastefully.

A savings plan is needed, as solar energy installations can be expensive. Once installed, you will start to appreciate how your power consumption is less.

If you can cut back on your basic power usage, then you can cover all your energy needs by installing a smaller system. This will make your solar return on in...
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We should be doing everything possible to develop geothermal energy technologies.

This is a largely untapped area of tremendous alternative energy potential, as it simply taps the energy being naturally produced by the Earth herself. Vast amounts of power are present below the surface crust on which we move and have our being. All we need do is tap into it and harness it.

At the Earths' core, the temperature is 60 times greater than that of water being boiled. The tremendous heat creates press...
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Although it is much less expensive to initially get hooked into the local electric company's grid, than it is to set up and hook into wind turbines, in the long run one saves money by utilizing the wind for one's energy needs, while also becoming more independent.

Not receiving an electric bill, while enjoying the advantages of the modern electrically-driven lifestyle, is a wondrous feeling.

Electric bills and fuel bills are rising steadily, but the cost of wind turbine energy is zero and the...
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Solar power works well for most items, except large electric appliances that use an electric heat element such as a water heater, clothes dryer and electric stove, for example, or total electric home heating systems. It is not cost effective to use solar power for these items.

Conversion to natural gas, propane or other alternatives is usually recommended. Solar power can be used to operate a gas clothes dryer (Maytag, etc) because the electrical requirement is limited to the drum-motor and/o...
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I found this article recently and thought it was very interesting, particularly with the shortage of power in ther country and the ridiculous tariff increases proposed by ESKOM.

Even though South Africa is known for it's sunshine and warmth, a lack of good government policy has caused solar energy to be left behind locally. So says Solar World Congress chairman Jon Adams.

The upcoming International Solar Energy Society (ISES) Solar World Congress, in Johannesburg, will see the unveiling of a l...
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