Alabama Solar Association
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Public Meetings 2014
How We Make Solar Panels -- by SolarWorld
2014 Presentations at the ASA Monthly Public Meetings
LearningQUEST Series
presented at the H'ville Public Library
6
"Solar Basics" Thurs, Feb. 13, 2014
by Morton Archibald (ASA and Affordable Energy)
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Learn how to save money and improve our
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environment by using solar power
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Solar Potential
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history of world energy
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carbon footprint
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solar: natural light, hot water, panels, thermal
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Renewable Energies
"Solar Energy, The Government Picture" 20 Feb 2014
by Greg Cox (Redstone Energy Group)
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Learn how to save money and improve our
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environment by using solar power
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Solar Potential
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history of world energy
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carbon footprint
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solar: natural light, hot water, panels, thermal
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Renewable Energies
"The First Step, Conserving Energy Around The House" 27 Feb 2014
by Doug Elgin (ASA Pres.)
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USA is the largest consumer of energy
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survey your home (www.energyright.com)
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Electricity Use in Home: #1 Heating & Cooling, #2 is Appliances, #3 Hot Water, #4 Lighting
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turn off lights on leaving room, wash clothes in cold water, use space heaters & ceiling fans, CFL bulbs, low flow showerheads, programmable thermostat
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seal HVAC ducts, storm windows
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Expensive : Energy Star Appliances, front-loading (HE) washer, upgrade to up-to 18 SEER rated HVAC, R-30 attic insulation, Geothermal Heat Pumps
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Architecture, Skylights, Solar Water Heating, Solar Panels
"My Experience With Solar" 13 Mar 2014 by Michele Sneed (an Educator)
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Learn how to save money and improve our
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environment by using solar power
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Solar Potential
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history of world energy
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carbon footprint
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solar: natural light, hot water, panels, thermal
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Renewable Energies
"Solar Power At Home" 6 Mar 2014
by Doug Elgin (ASA Pres.)
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How does PV work?
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Types of PV
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Pros & Cons of Solar
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Installation Types: Grid-tied & Off-Grid
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Installation Choices: Roof, Ground
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Mounting Choices
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Incentives & Payback
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Grid parity
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Installing can cost 2-4 times the cost of the PVs
"Off-Grid Solar Power" 20 Mar 2014
by Brian Nothnagle (Huntsville Solar
Works)
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Hierarchy of the structure of a Solar Array, Solar Panel, Solar Module, Wafers
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2 types of Solar Modules: Poly crystalline & Mono crystalline, and their pros & cons
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What is a Charge Controller?
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What is an Inverter? DC to AC Inversion
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Design Considerations 1) Solar - orientaion, tilt, shading, distance from Charge Controller, Array Capacity, 2) Structural - mounting & Structural Integrity
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Electrical - location of components & electrical connections
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lecture then convened to the parking lot where Brian showed us his "Off Grid" van, complete with solar panels, Inverters, batteries and electrial outlets for power in the field, as he installs at the work site
Brian Nothnagle, Personal Solar Power Specialist
contact at: Huntsville Solar Works
1003 Dan Crutcher Rd.
Toney, AL 35773
256.701.1425
email : Brian@HuntsvilleSolarWorks.com
visit his web: www.HuntsvilleSolarWorks.com
YOUTopia Solar Energy Talk Series
presented at the H'ville Botanical Garden
5
In June, several of us delivered a series of 5 talks on Solar Basics at the Botanical Garden.
Contact the WebMaster if you wish to recieve a copy of the presentations.
In 2006 an agency within the
U. S. Depart of Energy reports
– The most widely used and readily available residential renewable energy is geothermal energy
from ground source
heat pumps
Your solar panel / PV system is more efficient (generates more electricity) in cold weather.
When generating power,
solar panels quickly heat
up to 90 F degrees above outside temperature.
Recycle
Use the blue bins for paper (mail, boxes, magazines), anything metal (cans, aluminum foil) and plastic. It cuts down on garbage and can be reused. China buys our scrap metal.
"Biofuels" Thursday, July , 2014
by Doug Elgin (ASA Pres.)
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Biofuels are fuels manufactured from plant and animal life or organic waste NOT fossil fuels
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Bioethanol, Biodiesel, Cellulosic Ethanol, Butanol, Fuels from Algae
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a renewable resource, most reduce GHGs
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Biofuels show promise to ultimately cost less than fossil fuels
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Biomass – plant matter for energy use
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Cellulosic Ethanol is coming
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You Can Make Your Own Biodiesel
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Algae Has Great Promise for Biodiesel
"The WHY of Renewable (and Conservation of) Energy" Thu, Oct 16, 2014 by Doug Elgin (ASA Pres.)
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Renewable energy is energy derived from sources that produce no GHGs or recycle them in the short run
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What? Biomass, Hydropower, Biofuels, Wind, Solar, Geothermal, Ocean power
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Why? paybacks & reduce Green House Gasses
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Photovoltaics: Installation Choices, Incentives, Payback, Emergency
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Ground-Source Heat Pumps
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Saving Energy around your house
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Why Solar Water Heating?
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Greenhouse Gases & CO2 & Global Temperatures & Climate Change
"Ground Source Heat Pumps" Aug 19 by Keith Key, P.E., from Geothermal Solutions
In really cold weather, a GSHP can be
10 times more efficient
than a regular Air Source Heat Pump
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Diagram of an Air Conditioning System
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SEER ratings
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calculating "Tons" for your home
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What is Geothermal Heat Pump? in summer exchanges warm air temp in house for cooler ground temp & winter : the opposite
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bonus: excess heat provides free hot water for your home during cooling months with min. upfront cost
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Closed & Open Loops
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55 year No Leak warranty
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A typical homeowner, uses about 60% of
their total energy consumption for heating,
cooling and hot water
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Geothermal System Benefits
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GGR equivalent
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the IRS Energy Credit
Keith C. Key, P.E.
contact at: Geothermal Solutions
Huntsville, AL
(256) 382-6242
(205)GEO-7707
(601) 954-7711 (Cell)
email : kkey@geoengr.com
visit his web: www.geothermalsolutions-al.com
"ASHRAE and Energy" Sept
by Morton Archibald (ASA and Affordable Energy)
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sssssss
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Perpetually renewing power from the sun has fueled life on Earth since its first spark
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Photovoltaic, PV, means electricity from light
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PV cells are built on wafers of silicon made from ordinary sand and quartz
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The history of the solar industry from 1954 when Bell Labs invents the first modern silicon solar cell
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Albert Einstein won the Nobel Prize for his 1905 discovery of exactly how light caused what was then called the photoelectric effect
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A photon is a packet of light energy
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Silicon to solar wafers (crystallized silicon) to solar cells to solar panels (modules)
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Diffusing creates a positive-negative junction
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metals are printed on both sides of the cell to collect and forward the power
It’s time for an energy foundation in harmony with the planet.
It’s time for a
solar revolution.
Sun Activation
A) Photons bombard and penetrate the cell.
B) They activate electrons, knocking them loose in both silicon layers.
C) Some electrons in the bottom layer sling-shot to the top of the cell.
D) These electrons flow into metal contacts as electricity, moving into a circuit throughout a 60-cell panel.
E) Electrons flow back into the cell via a solid contact layer at the bottom, creating a closed loop or circuit.
ASA has Speakers every Month at our
Public Meetings
