Solar Energy - Time to Consider and Use It!

Back in 1973-1974, we had the "Energy Scare"--when those in control of the oil started to put the squeeze on the prices and started playing with the demand.

Rationing came into effect: Based on whether their auto license ended with an even or odd number, folks lined up at gas stations waiting to get fuel for their cars. There were times when even the stations ran out of gas.

I was just getting out of high school and had started college--and the prospects were grim. We were being told by our geography professors and the so-called "experts" that the world would run out of oil before the year 2000. The year 2000 seemed a huge amount of time away--but at the time, as a college student, I was feeling a sense of urgency to exploring, finding, and using alternate energy sources for all of our energy needs.

Classes at the University of Guam that got my attention and that I attended included Solar Energy Studies and Alternate Energy Studies. Fascinating classes... lots of practical and useful information. Yet, when I graduated from school with a degree in biology (and chemistry minor), the jobs and interest and seeming need for "alternate energy" research had disappeared.

I managed to get jobs in other areas over the years--but always kept my fascination with alternate energy--particularly solar and geotherma--as a side-interest. News articles on solar, geothermal, biomass, wind-power, and hydropower always caught my attention.

I'm still shocked and surprised that after the scare of 1974 alternate energy awareness, exploration, innovation, and usage has seemingly not improved much for 35 years.

Yes, some of the world's automobiles have made small gains in fuel efficiency (but not really enough). Yes, there are the hybrid-electric vehicles (HEV) and plug-in-hybrid-electric vehicles (PHEV). But, anyone can see that this is NOT ENOUGH!

Once, our hopes were that nuclear power plants would give us ample energy. But we were shocked and surprised when we found out that the spent fuel created an environmental problem--no place to safely store the stuff.

Yes, there are also certain problems with windpower--sometimes birds mistake the blades for "branches" and they get clobbered when the "branch" moves up instead of down.

There are problems with hydroelectric power--the dams block waterflow and can sometimes prevent migratory fish from reaching their breeding and nesting areas.

There are problems with solar as well--critics claim that photovoltaics are not efficient. Well, duh. (So, do they think gasoline or diesel engines are efficient? Most of the "energy" in engines is released as heat or dampened by friction.) And think about it, I was studying solar photovoltaics back in 1973-1974--and they were considered "space-age" products of the space race. NASA's work on the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab space programs brought a lot of work on solar panel efficiencies. Later, work on the Space Shuttle and International Space Station Project advanced the solar panel efficiencies even more.

So, now, 35 years later, solar photovoltaics have increased in efficiency and have come down in price such that they should be a viable and affordable investment for all homeowners and business owners.

Yes, the initial cost may seem staggering, but when you consider that oil prices will eventually go up and up and up... and oil will eventually not be a viable option for power, you'll see that over a few years, the solar photovoltaic installation will begin to pay off and reduce your annual fuel bill. If you set it up right, your own photovoltaics may feed power back into the power grid and turn your meter backwards--in effect, you'll be selling power back to your utility company and helping others who haven't gotten the message yet.

And that's not all. Solar can also provide heating for your home and for your hot-water needs (solar collectors and mirrors can focus the sun's rays on water pipes or containers and heat-exchangers to provide the heat).

Using more intelligent building standards would also help. It seems that too many architects are into "artistic" designs without regard to the energy-efficiency of the structure. They create buildings with clerestory windows that the construction crews face in the wrong directions. They face doors into the west or north winds. They create unnecessarily high ceilings in houses that waste heat energy. They try to be cheap with the building materials, and get away with producing energy-squandering structures. Read more about insulating homes here www.cellplast.nu.

I think it's time for all of us to start thinking about using energy wisely and using the new technologies and efficiencies we've discovered to advance into the new millenium.

How about this idea? Take the plug-in-hybrid vehicles (PHEV) and instead of plugging the things into the "power-grid", just put photovoltaic panels on the roofs--they can use all that sun in the parking lot to charge up the batteries. The fuel tanks/engines? Convert the things to use used vegetable oil. So, when the clerk asks "Would you like fries with that?", you can say "No, but I'll take the used oil". After doing these two modifications to the PHEV, you'll never have to pull into a gas station for fuel again!

There are lots of ideas out there for saving, conserving, and using alternate energy--we all should work on methods of our own through study and exploration!

Contributor's Note

Thanks so much for the comments.

I agree that our governments and industries aren't doing enough. But I also think that a lot of this action must start with *us*.

Yes, although a bigger "tax-break" would be nice, I can still get a loan or save the cash to buy the solar panels, collectors, wind generators, alternate-fuel vehicles, and so on.

With some plywood, some copper piping, an old water heater, some "glazing" to cover the contraption, and some flat-black spray paint, and some tinkering, you can create a handy "solar water heater" (I know, because I've done this).

With a reflective sheet of metal or mylar and some plywood cut in a parabolic shape, you can create a "solar concentrator" with enough focusing power to cook food, heat water, and so on. (See the picture I've provided here. I built one of these, too.)

You can buy Fresnel lenses --they sell them as "magnifying glasses" for the elderly or for putting on the back window of a large van to aid viewing the area for backing up. The plastic Fresnel lenses are powerful, yet cheap and highly available, simple to turn into "solar furnace". They are excellent for camping and emergency fire starters and for heating food.

There are also things you can do around the house to save energy. Using weather stripping to seal leaks is good. Double-pane windows for insulation is good. If you don't have that, you can get clear plastic sheeting from the hardware store and create a "dead-air barrier" to further insulate the window.

You can plant evergreen trees on the Cold-facing (north in Northern Hemisphere) side of the house, and deciduous trees on the warm-facing (south in Northern Hemisphere) side of the house. During the winter, the evergreens protect the house from direct northerly wind... and the leafless deciduous trees let in valuable warmth of the lower sunlight. During the summer, the evergreens provide cooling shade from the northerly and direct sun... and the deciduous trees provide the "air-conditioning effect" of not only more shade, but also the evaporation of their transpiration moisture.

There are ways--it's up to us to get around the problem!

We can't expect the government to always do stuff for us. (The government -- no matter which country -- usually is so bureaucratic that they couldn't do much of anything even if they put their collective *minds* to it.)

It's said that the only time the *power companies* and *government* will really get excited about solar energy is when they can figure out how to put a meter on it so they can charge for it and tax it.

I hope this additional commentary is helpful and encourages you to start researching ways you can capture your own energy! Best of luck and success for all of us... from all of us!