• By Amanda Pelligra
• Published 01/27/2012
• Non-Fiction

Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP). CSP systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. PV converts light into electric current using the photoelectric effect. Concentrated solar power Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. The concentrated heat is then used as a heat source for a conventional power plant. A wide range of concentrating technologies exists; the most developed are the parabolic trough, the concentrating linear fresnel reflector, the Stirling dish and the solar power tower. Various techniques are used to track the Sun and focus light. In all of these systems a working fluid is heated by the concentrated sunlight, and is then used for power generation or energy storage. Photovoltaics A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell (PV), is a device that converts light into electric current using thephotoelectric effect. The photons which make up light bombard the solar PV panel and dislodge electrons from their resting places. These electrons randomly flow around inside the silicon leaving holes in their place. Due to the laws of physics, the electrons then recombine. During all of this activity, energy is released and is what we capture and is called the photovoltaic effect.

What are

its benefits in Australia? “Solar Credits” is the name given to the Australian government’s latest solar subsidy for homeowners, businesses and community groups. It was passed into law on 20th August 2009, but the pollies keep changing the details of the rebate (usually reducing it with very little notice!). They will vary by a few thousand either way depending on the brand of panels and inverters each supplier uses, and their overheads, but if these prices are way out of your expectations, then solar may not be for you right now. Though adding the system cost to your mortgage can be surprisingly affordable if you take rising electricity costs into account – there is a solar payback calculator here for you to make your own mind up. Usually, typical cost of an installed 1.5kW solar system can be around $6,500 which can prove costly, but you get government Rebate of $3,000 making your actual cost to you for 1.5KW of solar power to Approx $3,500. In Australia, the most important factor when choosing an installer is to ensure that they are “Clean Energy Council Accredited”. This is a qualification that they need in order for the government to pay out its rebates. And even more important than that it means that you can be confident that they have been trained in the safe installation of Solar Power Systems. You can sign up for free solar quotes at various websites and compare the prices offered by them to install the solar panels.

Just to let you know that being a part of the world responsible for clean environment makes you feel proud. I am sure you will also like to be one of them.