solar energy

A brief story about how the Pixar's little robot uses solar energy.

Research shows that an average household with an electric water heater spends about 25% of its home energy costs on heating water.

Squeaky wheels get the grease!!

The Economist has this week a great survey on the future of energy production; as you would expect from the Economist, it summarizes the most important research in the field (wind, solar,

A mains grid connected solar power system is one of the most economical ways for you to generate green electricity for your home if you live in a premises already with mains power supply. This article outlines how grid connect works, the benefits, costs and equipment.

Photographs and brief descriptions of the world's largest solar power plants and systems.

An easy to understand guide for building a solar panel that you can use at home.

Copying the way plants get energy from the sun may be a far cheaper way to make solar panels. This 'green' technology has been developed in Wales and New Zealand, and is nearing the part where it can be commercially viable.

 The Cyclone Waste Heat Engine (WHE) is a self-starting engine that operates runs on waste heat emanating from an external source, such as the exhaust from an internal (or external) combustion engine, or the direct burning of biomass (i.e., processing garbage into methane would not be required). The WHE is also designed to run efficiently on solar heat without the installation of costly photovoltaic panels.

It is not very often that one finds bio-mimicry simple and easy to execute and I’m pretty much certain that even in this case it was not easy for the designers to convert the inspiration in to actual design that works perfectly well.

The use of solar power panels to harness the sun’s rays for sustainable renewable energy is nothing new. In fact, solar energy has been used for hundreds of years in a variety of forms but has only recently been understood and utilized in the past century.

Most people have an idea of how solar energy works but the solar power panels themselves are something of a mystery. How do they work to capture energy from the sun to create a usable energy to power your microwave, television, lights and other electrical appliances?

This concept claims it can boost solar thermal efficiency by 15% without any new or expensive technology. How? Build and island.

Isn't it a pain in the rear to have your

Two research teams have independently developed methods to produce nanowires that could lead to a dramatic improvement in solar photovoltaic cell efficiency. In both cases, the basic concept is the same, to use nanowires for more efficient conduction of electrons from the collection surface of a solar cell to an electrode.

Many people envision solar power as rigid silicon panels mounted on a roof. With thin film solar cells, you’re more likely to not see them, or even know they’re there. This article is about a real-life thin film solar project.