Solar
Table of Contents
Types of Solar Harvesting & Use
Solar Electricity Generation
Most people think of solar panels or Photovoltaic (PV) energy production, but solar energy can also be reflected with mirrors to a specific point then used to heat water or special materials including oils. Steam from super-heated water can be used to generate electricity, which is generally done with curved mirrors or mirrors positioned in an array to concentrate their reflection on the container of water.
Parabolic Solar Arrays & Troughs
A trough-shaped mirror or an array of mirrors can be used to heat water contained in a central location. The water can be turned into steam which can turn a turbine, creating electricity or providing hot water to homes or communities.Â
One additional benefit is that heating water to such high temperatures means, bacteria and other contaminants can be eliminated, producing safe drinking water.
Alternatively certain types of oil can be used to generate electricity from a parabolic system.
Photovoltaic (PV) Solar Panels
These can be installed in small batches on or near a building, used in remote locations, or can be installed at a massive scale for community utilities or industrial use. They can produce electricity or be used to heat water.
Solar GeneratorsÂ
These can provide energy during a power outage or camping trip.
Batteries
PV systems are generally paired with lead acid batteries. Click the Lead Acid Batteries button to learn more.
Solar Water Heaters
"Heating water accounts for 25% of residential energy use worldwide, mostly achieved by burning fossil fuels. Solar water heaters do the job without combustion. Unlike solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, which convert sunlight into electricity, solar thermal systems collect solar energy as heat. Solar water heaters transfer this heat to water in a holding tank. Other energy sources, such as natural gas or electricity from a power grid, serve as a backup for cloudy days." - https://ensia.com/features/solar-water-heaters-israel-renewable-energy-thermal-photovoltaic/
Some solar water heaters rely on a dark chamber to absorb heat as water pipes run through, taking the heat as it moves.
Other models use a parabolic trough, with a water pipe precisely placed in the middle, where the reflected solar energy is concentrated for collection.
Solar Heaters
This video 9:33 minute video shows how mirrors can be used to heat a variety of materials including oil, steam, air, rocks, and even molten salt. This can generate heat or electricity.
Cooking With Solar
There are 3 ways to cook with solar, solar panels can create electricity for electric appliances, while solar dehydrators and ovens use solar energy directly, without converting to electricity.
Solar Dehydrators
This is one of the oldest forms of solar use, as humans have been drying fruits like grapes into raisins, fish, and meats since before history began. Now we have advances to protect our food from bird droppings, insects. We can add fans to reduce the chance of mold forming, and glass panels to prevent rain from spoiling a batch. Black paint can help increase the internal temperature of a more enclosed system, though some people dry with nothing but a mesh panel and rope or rocks to help keep the food off the ground.Â
This is one of the easiest, low-tech ways to make use of the sun, but you can get more complicated and technical depending on your skill and confidence levels.
Solar Ovens
These can be bought or made. They will only cook during daylight hours, and function better on sunny days than cloudy ones. Some will even turn dough into bread!
We turned a simple pizza box into a solar oven with some packing tape and tin foil. We used a kebab skewer to hold open the lid flap we had cut. We were worried about using plastic wrap, so instead we turned an glass baking tray upside down to capture more heat. We put our chocolate treats in silicon baking cups under the glass tray. Even though our test day was very cloudy, the treats melted easily!
Who can Benefit From Solar?
Farmers
Energy Production & Use
Farmers can cut their own utility costs or even produce extra energy for sale to the grid. Solar panels can help shade crops which protects them from heat waves and hail storms, while also reducing the crop's need for irrigation.
Energy production on farms can help support the energy needs of rural communities and businesses. Mills and other processing locations could also benefit from the reduced cost of energy, vs the soaring costs of fossil fuels.
Electric Vehicles or EVsÂ
According to the Farmers Electric Cooperative, based on information from the U.S. Department of Energy the following are a variety of reasons why making the switch to EVs can be beneficial:
"Electric Vehicles (EV) Cost Less To Operate Than Gas Powered Cars.
EV operation can be three to five times cheaper than gasoline and diesel powered cars, depending on your local gasoline and electric rates.
EVs Are Environmentally Friendly.
EVs have no tailpipe emissions. The power plant producing your electricity may produce emissions, but electricity from hydro, solar, nuclear or wind-powered plants is generally emission-free.
Never Go To The Gas Station Again.
Electric vehicles do not require gasoline and can be charged at home with a standard 120V outlet or a 240V level 2 charger can be installed for faster, more efficient charging.
EV Performance Benefits.
Electric motors provide quiet, smooth operation, stronger acceleration and require less maintenance than gasoline-powered internal combustion engines.
EV Driving Range & Recharge Time.
EV range is typically around 80 to over 330 miles on a full charge. The average American’s daily round-trip commute is less than 30 miles. Fully recharging the battery pack can take four to eight hours. A "fast charge" to 80% capacity can take 30 min."
Solar Water Pumps
In places like Africa a female farmer may find that a solar pump reduces not only labor but boost crop production and income about 30%.
For Farmers
Click the Solar for Farmers button to learn about programs and businesses in your area that specifically help farmers so solar. We've gathered info about grants, reimbursement programs, and more.
Home Owners
"Heating water accounts for 25% of residential energy use worldwide, mostly achieved by burning fossil fuels. Solar water heaters do the job without combustion. Unlike solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, which convert sunlight into electricity, solar thermal systems collect solar energy as heat. Solar water heaters transfer this heat to water in a holding tank. Other energy sources, such as natural gas or electricity from a power grid, serve as a backup for cloudy days." - https://ensia.com/features/solar-water-heaters-israel-renewable-energy-thermal-photovoltaic/
Click the Water Heater button to learn which water heaters may make the most sense for your location and needs.
Schools
"There are now 7,332 K-12 schools using solar power nationwide, making up 5.5% of all K-12 public and private schools in the United States.
Since 2014, K-12 schools saw a 139% increase in the amount of solar installed. Today, 5.3 million students attend a school with solar.
79% of the solar installed on schools was financed by a third party, such as a solar developer. This allows schools and districts, regardless of the size of their budget, to purchase solar energy and receive immediate energy cost savings.
Solar-powered school districts can save significantly on energy costs over time. For example, Tucson Unified School District in Arizona expects to save $43 million over 20 years. In Arkansas, the Batesville School District used energy savings to become the highest-paying school district in the county with teachers receiving up to $9,000 per year in raises.Â
The top five states for solar on schools are California, New Jersey, Arizona, Massachusetts, and Indiana." -Â https://www.thesolarfoundation.org/solar-schools/Â
For Schools
Click the Solar for Schools button to learn about programs and businesses in your area that specifically help schools so solar. We've gathered info about grants, reimbursement programs, and more.Â
Some of these companies not only install solar systems on school grounds, but also include educational packets that track your school's energy use, to better engage students about the technology as it applies in their own school and community.
Tools & Maps
International
Global Solar Atlas (Interactive) "Start exploring solar potential by clicking on the map. Select sites, draw rectangles or polygons by clicking the respective map controls. Calculate energy production for selected sites."
Solar Panel Angles for Any Country Click your country, and then search by region (for larger countries), then click your city to learn about optimal solar orientation for your location.
Africa
Africa Solar Energy Map (Solar Farms, Solar Roofs & Solar Parking Lots)
Asia
Asia Solar Energy Map (Solar Farms, Solar Roofs & Solar Parking Lots)
North America
Solar Hours Map For Caribbean, Central America, South America (Solar Insolation Map) "This map shows the annual and daily average solar hours (solar insolation) for various areas in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America."
Canada
Photovoltaic Potential and Solar Resource Maps of Canada or you can click this link for the interactive version.
Calgary Residential Solar Calculator "The residential solar calculator is a tool intended to help determine the viability of adding solar photovoltaic (PV) panels as an alternative energy source to residential buildings (single-family homes) in Calgary."
Puerto Rico
Project Sunroof "Search for your home. Discover your solar savings potential. See what’s possible with solar in your U.S. or Puerto Rico community."
Rewiring America: Track Your Local Pace of Progress "These projections from Rewiring America worked backwards from the emissions targets for 2050, and forward from current sales of machines for cooking, water heating, space heating, transportation, and rooftop solar to set a number of new clean electric machines that must be sold each year to reduce emissions from fossil-fueled machines. Type your city, county, or state into the search bar to get those numbers broken down for your area, by each machine category.
While creating this tool, one of things we found is that some individual communities and states are leading the way: their goals are bolder than the rest of the country and so don’t match the path laid out in our data. That’s a great problem to have. So our tool should not be considered the only source of its kind -- but one that reflects only one of the possible paths to decarbonization."
USA
Project Sunroof "Search for your home. Discover your solar savings potential. See what’s possible with solar in your U.S. or Puerto Rico community."
Solar Geospatial Data Tools "Access our tools to explore solar geospatial data for the contiguous United States and several international regions and countries."
Solar Resource Maps and Data "Find and download solar resource map images and geospatial data for the United States and the Americas."
Solar Supply Curves NREL has developed an interactive map and geospatial data showing solar supply curves, which characterize the quantity and quality of solar photovoltaic (PV) resources."
Illinois
Oceana
Australia
SunSPoT "is a not-for-profit resource designed to help home owners understand the benefits and costs of installing solar panels."
Australia Solar Map (Solar Farms, Solar Roofs & Solar Parking Lots)
South America
Solar Hours Map For Caribbean, Central America, South America (Solar Insolation Map) "This map shows the annual and daily average solar hours (solar insolation) for various areas in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America."
South America Solar Energy Map (Solar Farms, Solar Roofs & Solar Parking Lots)
Supporting Solar with Policies
Find an Installer
Asia
Pakistan
"The Government of Pakistan is promoting investment in the generation of small scale distributed Renewable Energy, through the Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB), on the basis of the Net-Metering concept.
Net metering is an electricity policy for consumers, who own / plan to setup a Renewable Energy facility, which allows them to produce electricity for their own use and supply the excess produce to the national grid setting-off units of electricity consumed during off-peak hours or at times when the production from RE facility is not enough to meet the consumer load. The consumer will either pay reduced utility bill or get paid for access energy exported to the grid, as stated in the contract with the relevant DISCO.
As per these regulations, any customer of the national grid (having three-phase connection) can avail net-metering facility for small-scale (5kW to 1MW) Renewable Energy installations." - https://www.zisolar.com.pk/
Solar System Installers in Pakistan "Pakistan solar panel installers – showing companies in Pakistan that undertake solar panel installation, including rooftop and standalone solar systems. 339 installers based in Pakistan are listed"
The following companies were not found in the directory above.
Ningbo Green Light Energy "The headquarter is based in Lahore but you can find us in a number of cities including Karachi, Islamabad, Multan, Faisalabad to name a few. You can also contact us through our phone or email and we will provide you the best possible solution for your needs."
Nippon Energy "has established a company in Pakistan that provides cost-effective and innovative solar solutions. In the past few years, Nippon Energy has worked to establish a design and execute some of the most efficient solar projects in the region. These solutions enable businesses to achieve their sustainability goals, reduce their electricity bills, and cut down on their carbon emissions, ultimately providing the vision of a greener world. Nippon Energy provides CAPAX, bank financing, and also Solar PPA in the region."
SolarCity "offers all-in-one solutions to your solar needs with on-demand warehousing and multi-channel fulfillment. With our warehouse located in Gajummata, Lahore. We partner with our customers to develop and grow their solar business through linking with different installers and smooth supply chain logistics. Being a pure wholesale business means we never compete with our customers by pursuing projects of any size directly. You can store your solar items and automate your fulfillment while we pick, pack and ship out orders as soon as they are placed."
SkyElectric Pvt Ltd "is the fastest-growing company in Pakistan and has been successful in creating a footprint all over Pakistan with clients from residential, commercial and industrial segments."
Europe
Cool Energy: Installer Locater Interactive map lists companies from the Isles of Orkney to Northern France, Wales to Lithuania and Poland.
France
Cool Energy: Installer Locater Interactive map lists companies from the Isles of Orkney to Northern France, Wales to Lithuania and Poland.
Lithuania
Cool Energy: Installer Locater Interactive map lists companies from the Isles of Orkney to Northern France, Wales to Lithuania and Poland.
Poland
Cool Energy: Installer Locater Interactive map lists companies from the Isles of Orkney to Northern France, Wales to Lithuania and Poland.
UK
England
Enietherm "Installing Heat Pumps, Underfloor Heating, Air Conditioning, Solar Panels, Commercial Refrigeration across East Anglia.
Geowarmth "provide expert advice, design and install the systems. Whether it be solar PV, biomass, heat pumps or solar thermal, Geowarmth have renewable energy solutions for offices, hotels, schools, care homes, public and community buildings."
Green Energy Homes "Boilers – Installation, Service, Repair, Maintenance, Air & Ground Source Heat Pumps, Solar Systems, Under Floor Heating."
Mr. Renewables "Mr Renewables is a leading renewable energy Assessor and Installer in East Anglia and the South East of England.
The company has MCS accreditation for solar PV panels, air source https://iqoption.trading/ heat pumps, ground source heat pumps, solar thermal and biomass boilers, is registered with the Renewable Energy Association (REA), Part P Qualified (Certified Electricians) and is HETAS registered (safely work on renewable heating). We do not employ subcontractors; all our staff work directly for us and are vetted by an external agency."
North America
St. Thomas Island
Carib Solar Tech "is based in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. We design, sell and deploy solar heating systems ranging from residential heating to commercial heating, direct and indirect pool/spa heating and heat recovery systems. Our team members have 25+ years as active solar thermal rebate dealers and installers participating in the local V.I. Energy Office Rebate Program.
Carib Solar Tech sells and installs preengineered power systems for grid tie, grid assist and off grid application. This includes AC and DC coupled systems with battery storage and back up power capabilities."
USA
RE-volv "is a climate justice nonprofit that helps nonprofits in underserved communities across the country go solar, while raising awareness about equitable climate solutions, and training the next generation of clean energy leaders."
California
BEI Construction installs wind, solar, and battery power installations for a variety of customers including school districts, colleges, etc.
Oceana
Australia
Clean Energy Council: Find an Installer interactive map to help you find a solar and/or battery storage installer accredited for Australian standards.
New Zealand
Prime Electrical "We offer highly specialized electric service and repairs in Auckland & nearby regions. Our services include local electricians, heat pump installation, home ventilation systems, home security systems, home automation systems, underfloor heating, and solar panel installation."
Organizations
North America
USA
The Clean Energy States Alliance "is a national, nonprofit coalition of public agencies and organizations working together to advance clean energy.
CESA works with state leaders, federal agencies, industry representatives, and other stakeholders to develop clean energy programs and inclusive renewable energy markets. CESA members—mostly state agencies—include many of the most innovative, successful, and influential public funders of clean energy initiatives in the country."
Grants & Rebates
North America
USA
The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) Program "provides $5 billion in grants to states, local governments, tribes, and territories to develop and implement ambitious plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful air pollution. Authorized under Section 60114 of the Inflation Reduction Act, this two-phase program provides $250 million for noncompetitive planning grants, and approximately $4.6 billion for competitive implementation grants."
Self-Help Credit Union "Our mission is creating and protecting ownership and economic opportunity for all, especially people of color, women, rural residents and low-wealth families and communities.
Self-Help Credit Union has branches in NC, SC, FL and VA, and we offer remote services like online and mobile banking to make joining us easy no matter where you live." "We're poised to use a major funding award from the EPA to help create a clean energy future for all."Solar for All "will award up to 60 grants to states, territories, Tribal governments, municipalities, and nonprofits to expand the number of low-income and disadvantaged communities primed for residential solar investment—enabling millions of low-income households to access affordable, resilient, and clean solar energy."
Sunwealth® "is a clean energy investment firm on a mission.
We invest in a better energy future by financing and managing solar projects that benefit diverse communities through clean power, carbon reduction, cost savings and job creation. We partner with skilled local solar installers, community organizations and local businesses, and investors to change who benefits from renewable energy by changing the way we invest in it."
Oceana
Australia
Australian Government: Rebates & Assistance "To find what’s available, fill in the search boxes with some information about yourself and where you are in Australia.
You can add more information about the topic you’re interested in (like solar PV or energy efficiency) and what type of help (like support, grants, rebates or apps)."Australian Government: Solar & Heat Pump Hot Water System Rebate
Find A Recycler
Solar panels have a life expectancy of around 25-30 years. After that, as many as 90% are ending up in landfills, but some companies are now providing solutions, including their efforts to make solar panel recycling as efficient as possible.Â
Click the Solar Panel Recycling button to see our directory of PV recyclers.