Also included in this bill, wind developers were offered tax grants from the Treasury following Lehman Brother’s collapse in 2008. Since the debt deal was only focused on increasing cuts rather than increasing revenue, without Congressional intervention, these incentives will expire in 2012.

Expiring subsidies & grants will not only reduce the amount of solar & wind projects but also create additional job losses for the U.S.. As we mentioned in last Thursday’s post, 10 little known facts about wind energy, wind power creates more jobs (dollar for dollar) than any other energy technology.

Here your science lesson for the day:

Wind is actually created by the sun. Solar energy reaches the earth in an uneven fashion due to the shape of the earth and its rotation. Some locations of the earth will end up receiving direct rays and other areas indirect. The same is true for the atmosphere. Due to the discrepancy of warmer & cooler air depending on location, this creates movement, or atmospheric circulation. Of course the warm air begins to rise while the cooler air moves in below and falls. This shifting of pockets of warm & cool air creates wind.

Remember back to attending science fairs in grammar or high school – for some of us it’s longer than others! Chances are good that someone was using a radiometer in their demonstration (like the photo on the right). The Radiometer provides a good illustration of the effect of radiant (solar, in this case) energy and unequal heating. When place directly in the sun, the radiometer fans will begin rotating.

The radiometer is a vacuum sealed glass globe with black & white metal fans attached to a freely moving spindle. The solar energy begins heating the black fins to a higher temperature than the white fins. The air molecules begin drifting from the cold (white) fins to the warmer (black) fins. A current (wind) is created and this motion (along with momentum) starts to spin the radiometer. Viola! Wind is created.

It’s a rather simplified example but it makes the point.

It must be viewed in Google Chrome.

This actually is not the case in most typical home solar panel installations. Sadly, a homeowner will lose air conditioning even if they have a solar panel installation!

This is the case for several reasons:

First, the majority of solar installations are grid-tied solar panel systems. While these grid-tied systems provide power to your home, they’re also directly connected to a local power grid utility (for example, ConEdison, First Energy). Being “grid-tied”, the solar system owner can then seek rebates & income from the system through net metering and/or SRECs. (Keep an eye out for a future post which will define the different types of solar panel systems that actually could operate during a grid-wide blackout.)

Secondly, solar panel systems aren’t always large enough to power an entire house. When planning a solar panel system, several factors must be taken into consideration:

> COST: Solar panel installation can be costly. Depending on the incentives offered for your location (Federal & State), system expenses can vary greatly. To the homeowner, this may be a biggest consideration in determining the amount of panels installed.

> EXPOSURE: Residents installing solar panels in the Northern hemisphere will need southern exposure for maximum sun exposure. Depending on the architecture of the house & roof, there may be inadequate space for an installation which would provide entirely for the total annual electric consumption. Variables like trees, power poles and other buildings can also change the amount of solar which can be produced on a property.

> SPACE: Another variable, with regards to building architecture, is total roof space available. If the design of a particular house doesn’t provide enough space for the panels required, often the homeowner is left with a less than optimal size system. An alternative, when roof space is constrained, is to consider ground & pole mounting to make up for the roof space shortage.

> LOCATION: Climate & location are other items to consider. In locations which experience frequently cloudy weather or harsh winters, solar installations may not provide enough electricity for the homeowner’s needs.

The most obvious consideration is when the blackout occurs at night. If the sun isn’t shining, the panels aren’t converting solar into electricity – regardless of the size of your installation!

While a typical residential solar installation will not protect the homeowner from blackouts, there are products to install which will. A backup, natural gas-fueled generator is one option. Another although quite expensive alternative is to install a battery backup system. With a battery-backup solar panel system, rather than create electricity to be used directly by the house, the panels recharge the batteries. Then batteries then provide power to the house. As long as there is a charge in the batteries, the home will have some power. It may not provide all the power a homeowner needs but it could be enough to run the A/C, refrigerator and a laptop to get you through the blackout!

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We’re very excited about the launch of this blog. Soon it will be filled with extensive informative and interesting details about solar and wind energy. We will be the go-to site for newbies looking to DIY do-it-yourself with solar & wind. In the meantime, sign up to become a member!

Looking forward to speaking with you again soon!