Active Solar Energy

Kt AguileraJoy HuizarAlex Acton

Active solar energy provides us with:

oHeat- when using air panels for walls,

window boxes, and other collectors that heat one room and require no heat storage.

- Heats water in boilers.oLighting

- light bulbs.oElectricity

- power your home.

Active Solar Energy Production StepsActive Solar Energy Production Steps

Heating

Solar energy

collectorStorage systemStorage system

Distributed

Distributedboiler

Advantages of Active Solar Energy

-Does not pollute or produce greenhouse gases.

-Environmentally friendly.

-Helps conserve the earth’s energy resources.

-Stable in price.

-Available everywhere on earth.

Current Energy Sources That Would Be Replaced

• Oil• Coal• Natural Gas

How Solar Energy is Applied Today•Heating for swimming pools, domestic hot water usage, ventilation, industrial and commercial processes

•Certain energy companies

Pros and Cons of Active Solar Energy

PROS• No fuel• No pollutants• Expensive at first but long

term results beneficial

CONS• Potential toxic chemicals

as a result of photovoltaic cell production

• (Can be reduced by properly handling chemicals)

• Have to shovel off snow from solar panels

Making Active Solar Power “Mainstream”

Has become more mainstream…but is still limited to certain venues

-Space heater-domestic hot water-pool heater

The usage of solar energy is pretty much limited to homes.

-creating it on a grand scale is not cost effective to meet efficiency

Michigan Infrastructure Variations

There are regulations for installation of solar panels…

Some Precautions-Exceeding roof load -Unacceptable heat exchangers -Improper wiring -Unlawful tampering with potable water supplies -Potential zoning issues include these: Obstructing sideyards -Erecting unlawful protrusions on roofs -Siting the system too close to streets or lot boundaries

Installation of solar panels

High COST!

-285 square feet $16000

-takes up little room; no edifices need to be built

CAN IT HAPPEN?

-an active system to provide 40%–80% of the home's heating needs

-cost effective for homes, but businesses may not be so compliant

-designing an active system to supply enough heat 100% of the time is not cost effective

SOURCES

• www.newenergy.org

• www.estu.strath.ac.uk

• http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/A/AE_active_solar_energy_system.html

• http://www.ncsc.ncsu.edu/information_resources/factsheets/20acspht.pdf