Solar Power Videos

*** New way to Solar Power your Laptop or other gadgets. It's a stand alone charger called "Solar Gorilla." You can charge your gadgets using one of the 15 adapters they supply you with. It's foldable, charges in real time (no internal battery) and is waterproof. Here's a link to more info:

Solar Gorilla Charger

A Solar Vehicle is an electric vehicle powered by solar energy obtained from solar panels on the surface of the vehicle. Photovoltaic (PV) cells convert the sun's energy directly into electrical energy. Solar vehicles are not practical day-to-day transportation devices at present, but are primarily demonstration vehicles and engineering exercises.

Solar cars combine technology typically used in the aerospace, bicycle, alternative energy and automotive industries. The design of a solar vehicle is usually severely limited by the energy input into the car (batteries and power from the sun). Virtually all solar cars ever built have been for the purpose of solar car races (with notable exceptions.

More at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_vehicle...

The Tesla Roadster is a fully electric sports car. It is the first car produced by electric car firm Tesla Motors. The car can travel 220 mi (350 km) on a single charge of its lithium-ion battery pack and accelerate from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 3.9 seconds with the development transmission.

The car was officially unveiled to the public on July 19, 2006 in Santa Monica, California, at a 350-person invitation-only event held in Barker Hangar at Santa Monica Airport.

Motor

• Type: 3-phase, 4-pole electric motor


• Max net power: 248 hp (185 kW)


• Max RPM: 13,000


• Max torque, 200 ft·lbf (270 N·m) is made from 0-6,000 rpm


• Efficiency: 90% average, 80% at peak power

Transmission
Transmission Magna two-speed electrically actuated (no clutch pedal) sequential manual with final drive.Constant mesh gears and inertia lock key type synchromesh

Performance

Performance Acceleration time: 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) in 3.9 seconds. Some prototypes and initial production 2008 Roadsters were limited to 5.7 second 0-60 mph acceleration.[3]Top speed: electronically limited at 125 mph (201 km/h)Range: 221 miles (356 km) on the EPA combined cycleWeight and distribution: about 2,700 lb (1,220 kg), centered in front of the rear axle

Battery system

• Cell type: lithium ion, 18650 form-factor (18mm diameter by 65 mm length). Most laptop computer batteries already use this type of lithium-ion cell.


• Cell count: 6,831 cells arranged into 11 modules connected in series; each module contains 9 "bricks" connected in series; each "brick" contains 69 cells connected in parallel (11S 9S 69P).


• Full-charge time: 3½ hours Estimated life: over 100,000 miles (160,000 km).


• Electric energy: about 53 kW·h


• Total mass: between 900 and 1000 lb (400-450 kg)


• The pack is designed to prevent catastrophic cell failures from propagating to adjacent cells, even when the cooling system is off.


• Tesla Motors had planned to sell the battery system to TH!NK and possibly others through its Tesla Energy Group division. That plan was put on hold by interim CEO Michael Marks in September 2007.

On a July 8, 2007 review of the Tesla Roadster, Jay Leno wrote, "If you like sports cars and you want to be green, this is the only way to go. The Tesla is a car that you can live with, drive and enjoy as a sports car. I had a brief drive in the car and it was quite impressive. This is an electric car that is fun to drive."

courtesy of Wikipedia.

Solar energy

Pictured here is Nellis Solar Power Plant is the largest photovoltaic power plant in North America.

Available solar energy greatly exceeds both potential wind power and global energy consumption.

Renewable energy

Biofuels
Biomass
Geothermal
Hydro power
Solar power
Tidal power
Wave power
Wind power

Solar energy is energy from the Sun in the form of radiated heat and light. It drives the climate and weather and supports life on Earth. Solar energy technologies make controlled use of this energy resource.

Solar power is a synonym of solar energy and/or refers specifically to the conversion of sunlight into electricity by photovoltaics, concentrating solar thermal devices or various experimental technologies.

In building design, thermal mass is used to conserve heat, and daylighting techniques optimize light. Solar water heaters heat swimming pools and provide domestic hot water. In agriculture, greenhouses grow specialty crops and photovoltaic-powered pumps bring water to grazing animals. Evaporation ponds find applications in the commercial and industrial sectors where they are used to harvest salt and clean waste streams of contaminants.

Solar distillation and disinfection techniques produce potable water for millions of people worldwide. Family scale solar cookers and larger solar kitchens concentrate sunlight for cooking, drying and pasteurization. More sophisticated concentrating technologies magnify the rays of the Sun for high temperature material testing, metal smelting, and industrial chemical production. A range of prototype solar vehicles provide ground, air and sea transportation.

More at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power#Solar_electricity .....

Solar City has a new program called "SolarLease" that allows homeowners to lease Solar Panels for approximately $70 a month. They offer free repair and monitoring of the panels.

The catch is that you are required to have a good credit/FICO score of at least 720 or better. They also do not service all areas of the country.

Don't forget to check your local city, county and state bureaus to see if they give you a break on your taxes for installing a solar rooftop array.

Visit Solar City to learn about their Solar Panel Leasing Program:

Solar City SolarLease Program Explained Here

A motorized bicycle is a bicycle with an attached motor used to assist with pedalling. Generally considered to be a vehicle, sometimes as a motor vehicle or a class of hybrid vehicle, motorized bicycles are usually powered by electric motors or small internal combustion engines. Some can be propelled by the motor alone if the rider chooses not to pedal, while in others the motor will only run if the rider pedals.

Some early motorized bicycles were powered by internal combustion engines whereas some utilized electric motors. With lighter batteries and better storage density, the electric motor has recently seen an increase in popularity.

Motorized bicycles are distinguished from motorcycles by being capable of being powered by pedals alone if required. The actual usage of the pedals varies widely according to the type of vehicle. Those known as mopeds mostly have pedals for emergency use or because of legal requirements and these are not normally used. Those known as power-assist bikes have the pedals as the main form of propulsion with the motor used to give a bit of extra speed, especially uphill. Many motorized bicycles are based on standard bicycle frame designs and technologies, although the modifications to the design to support motorization may be extensive

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorized_bicycle....

Solar Cookers use sunlight for cooking, drying and pasteurization. Solar cooking offsets fuel costs, reduces demand for fuel or firewood, and improves air quality by reducing or removing a source of smoke. The simplest type of solar cooker is the box cooker first built by Horace de Saussure in 1767. A basic box cooker consists of an insulated container with a transparent lid. These cookers can be used effectively with partially overcast skies and will typically reach temperatures of 50-100 °C.

Concentrating solar cookers use reflectors to concentrate light on a cooking container. The most common reflector geometries are flat plate, disc and parabolic trough type. These designs cook faster and at higher temperatures (up to 350 °C) but require direct light to function properly. Solar kitchens may also use solar bowl or Scheffler reflectors.

The solar bowl is a unique concentrating technology used by the Solar Kitchen in Auroville, India. Contrary to nearly all concentrating technologies that use tracking reflector systems, the solar bowl uses a stationary spherical reflector. This reflector focuses light along a line perpendicular to the sphere's surface and a computer control system moves the receiver to intersect this line. Steam is produced in the solar bowl's receiver at temperatures reaching 150 °C and then used for process heat in the kitchen where 2,000 meals are prepared daily.

Courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power#Solar_electricity

NASA's Pathfinder and Helios were a series of solar-and fuel cell system-powered unmanned aircraft. AeroVironment, Inc. developed the vehicle under NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program.

Sunnyvale, California-based Sunpower Corporation supplied solar cells for Helios. The cells featured a rear-contact cell design that placed wires on the underside of the cells, so as not to obstruct the cells' exposure to solar radiation.

The fuel cell systems designed for the Helios Prototype included both regenerative and non-regenerative designs.

Ultra-lightweight hydrogen fuel storage system was designed by Quantum Technologies.

On 14 August, 2001, it set a world record for sustained altitude by a UAV.[1] It sustained flight at above 96,000 feet (29,250 m) for forty minutes, and at one time it flew as high as 96,863 feet (29,524 m). Later, in June 2003, the prototype broke up and fell into the Pacific Ocean about ten miles (16 km) west of the Hawaiian Island Kauai.

Read about Helios here at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helios_Prototype