Use Broken Solar Cells To Create Solar Panels

I found this Article at The Daily Camera
Article Written By Carol Taylor

In the 1970s Boulder experienced a flurry of solar activity in response to the OPEC oil embargo and resulting gas shortage. There were solar talks at the library, solar workshops and conferences at the University of Colorado, solar homes and solar open houses. But the history of solar energy in Boulder began 30 years earlier in a cottage at 1719 Mariposa Ave. Dr. George Lof, an Aspen native who earned an undergraduate degree at the University of Denver and a graduate degree at MIT, was a chemical engineering professor at CU when he started a solar heating project.

The university received funds during World War II from the War Production Board's Office of Scientific Research and Development. Officials were concerned about what might happen to the country's fuel supply during another prolonged conflict. So, in 1943, Lof built a small one-story wood-framed house with an experimental solar heating system and lived there with his young family. After the war, the American Window Glass Company financed the project for an additional two years.

The nation's first solar home used a greenhouse-like solar heat collector of rooftop glass plates that were warmed by the sun and then heated the air, which then passed into the house. Lof boasted that the setup saved 20 percent on the heating bill of the home and he predicted a savings of 60 percent with technical improvements. He said he could keep his home at an even 70 degrees even in sub-zero weather as long as the sun was shining. In cloudy weather, at night or when snow covered the collector, a conventional furnace was substituted.

The research was so advanced that the home and CU received national publicity. Lof's residence was featured in Business Week (March 15, 1947), the Christian Science Monitor (Aug. 14, 1947), the New York Herald Tribune, Architectural Forum and other national publications.

After leaving the CU faculty, Professor Lof dismantled the solar apparatus when Realtors found they couldn't sell the house with its unconventional glass panels. He continued his research by building another solar house for his family of six in Cherry Hills, designed by Boulder architect James Hunter. The home was completed in 1957 and is reportedly the oldest known solar residence. Dr. Lof went on to chair the chemical engineering department at the University of Denver, create Solaron Corporation and win top honors in the field of solar energy.

In 1974, Lof spoke at Boulder's Rotary Club and predicted that the year would bring many more solar houses and said that moderately priced solar heating and cooling systems would be developed soon. In a 1983 story written by Paul Danish, Lof declared, "I'm bullish on solar heat."

The solar pioneer is 94 years old now, retired and still living in the home that he built in 1957 at 6 Parkway Drive in Cherry Hills. He remembers enjoying his time in Boulder in the small house, while his children were young. And yes, he's still bullish on solar energy.

Carol Taylor is a librarian and local history researcher. She can be reached at boulderhistory@hotmail.com

Solar energy refers to the utilization of the radiant energy from the Sun. Solar power is used interchangeably with solar energy, but refers more specifically to the conversion of sunlight into electricity by photovoltaics, concentrating solar thermal devices, or by an experimental technology such as a solar chimney or solar pond.

Solar energy and shading are important considerations in building design. Thermal mass is used to conserve the heat that sunshine delivers to all buildings. Daylighting techniques optimize the use of light in buildings. Solar water heaters heat swimming pools and provide domestic hot water. In agriculture, greenhouses expand growing seasons and pumps powered by solar cells (known as photovoltaics) provide water for grazing animals. Evaporation ponds are used to harvest salt and clean waste streams of contaminants.

Federal, state, local, and utility incentives for going solar continue to grow. In 2005, the U.S. Congress enacted federal tax credits for homeowners who install solar. The benefits have been extended through 2008.

State, local and utility incentives differ greatly. California, for example, has moved ahead with a $3.2 billion incentive program to build 3,000 megawatts of solar-generating capacity in the next decade, says SEIA's Kaye. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Arizona have made long-term commitments to build thousands of megawatts of PV. These commitments translate into incentives for homeowners converting to solar.

People can find incentives ranging from tax credits and exemptions to rebates, loans, and grants at the Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy, www.dsireusa.org When visiting the website, Kaye suggests that consumers look at the area's interconnection and net metering regulations, which differ in all 50 states. In 39 states, owners of a grid-connected PV system can sell any excess electricity back to their local utility, watch the meter spin backwards, and receive a credit on their electric bill-a process called net metering. Some states recognize the peak power/renewable energy value of solar electricity and offer special incentives for grid-connected solar.

Solar Power Incentives
When homes use photovoltaic systems to convert the sun's energy and sell unused power to the grid, the credit appears on the electric meter as the dial spins backwards.
A local program in Aspen, Colo., offers zero-percent interest five-year solar loans. A Rochester, Minn., program encourages utility customers to install PV solar arrays and connect them to the electrical distribution system, paying them back for each kilowatt hour generated.



Incentives, grants reduce solar power's price tag from Knoxville News Sentinel


Database of State Incentives For Renewables and Efficiency

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