• Reduction in energy costs to heat the water used in your home
• High efficiency collectors to absorb the maximum available solar energy (collectors available for frost prone areas also).
• Light weight tanks allow installation on a wider range of roof designs.
• Outer skin made from colorbond in a wide range of popular colours to match your roof.*
• Naturally occurring thermosiphon means no moving parts and therefore less components required.
• Electric or gas boost available to suit your needs.
• Government rebates are available because of the large number of STC’s awarded due to the high efficiency of the collectors.
• Designed by Rinnai, a household name in efficient water heating.
  See the range here www.gewa.com.au One of the finest ranges of Solar Hot Water in Perth WA

Green Energy Solar News and Energy Information Centre WA: Equinox Solar Hot Water Hit Town At Green Energy WA.

First International Energy Efficiency Scorecard of 12 Major Economies Also Finds Germany, Italy, and Japan Ranking Highly; U.S. Behind Most Countries, Including China, France, and Australia.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United Kingdom comes in first in a new energy efficiency ranking of the world’s major economies, followed closely by Germany, Italy, and Japan, according to the first-ever International Energy Efficiency Scorecard published today by the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The report finds that in the last decade the U.S. has made “limited or little progress toward greater efficiency at the national level,” putting it in 9th place out of 12 economies around the globe.

The rankings are modeled on ACEEE’s time-tested approach to energy efficiency ranking of U.S. states, and include 12 of the world’s largest economies: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union. These 12 economies represent over 78 percent of global gross domestic product; 63 percent of global energy consumption; and 62 percent of the global carbon-dioxide equivalent emissions.

On a scale of 100 possible points in 27 categories, the nations were ranked by ACEEE as follows: (1) the United Kingdom; (2) Germany; (3) Italy; (4) Japan; (5) France; (6) the European Union, Australia, and China (3-way tie); (9) the U.S.; (10) Brazil; (11) Canada; and (12) Russia.

ACEEE divided the 27 metrics across four groupings: those that track cross-cutting aspects of energy use at the national level, as well as the three sectors primarily responsible for energy consumption in an economically developed country—buildings, industry, and transportation. The top-scoring countries in each grouping are: Germany (national efforts); China (buildings); the United Kingdom (industry); and a tie among Italy, China, Germany, and the United Kingdom (transportation).

more here…..  http://aceee.org/press/2012/07/aceee-united-kingdom-tops-energy-eff

Charges 70 per cent higher than the American average
A figure that will grow to 160 per cent in two years
Exposes myth that Australian electricity is relatively cheap
AUSTRALIANS pay 130 per cent more for electricity than Canadians, according to new research – a power premium to rise to 250 per cent once the carbon tax and locked-in price increases take effect.

The research, which will be made public today, claims household charges are already 70 per cent higher than the American average, a figure that will grow to 160 per cent in two years. Japanese, British, French, Irish and New Zealanders all pay less than we do.

The research forms the basis of a report to the Energy Users Association of Australia – which represents 100 big power users including BHP, RailCorp, Coles, the Commonwealth Bank and Brisbane City Council – and argues the way power prices are set must be urgently reformed.

The EUAA will also use the research to claim it exposes as a myth that Australian electricity is relatively cheap.

Energy Minister Martin Ferguson recently said Australians pay less than the OECD average, relying on a document called Energy In Australia 2012, which his department’s Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE) published three weeks ago. The document uses electricity prices from 2009-10.

“That data is old,” EUAA executive director Roman Domanski told The Daily Telegraph last night. In 2010-11 alone the national price rose by 16 per cent; the NSW jump was 23 per cent. The numbers used to compile the document Mr Ferguson relied on put the NSW average at 18.55c/kWh. But in the real world, households are paying regulated rates as high as 28c/kWh.

The average New South Wales household’s annual cost for electricity would fall from $1700 to less than $700 if our prices were the same as in Canada.

Mr Domanski said: “Add in the carbon tax from July, further network price increases and renewable energy subsidies and inevitably our prices are pushed to the point where they are challenging Denmark and Germany as the most expensive in the world.” The report to the EUAA, produced by Carbon Market Economics, found Australian power prices had risen about 40 per cent since 2007 and would rise by another 30 per cent over the next two years.

It found that, even using 2007 currency exchange rates, Australian households still paid more than those in Japan, US, Canada and the average of the EU. Carbon Market Economics comparison of prices in 92 jurisdictions – including more than 35 countries, American states and all Australian states and territories – found NSW ranked fourth behind Denmark, Germany and South Australia. Victoria was fifth and Western Australia was sixth. The ACT was 21st.

In explaining why BREE used figures dating back to 2009, energy manager Allison Ball said Australian Energy Market Commission data wasn’t available until late 2011 and global 2011 statistics from the International Energy Agency were still not available.

However, The Telegraph understands Carbon Market Economics used 2011 IEA figures published before Mr Ferguson claimed Australian prices were below the OECD average.

Melrose Park mother-of-two Leanne Imbro said her family’s last bill had jumped to about $700. She said she has been reassessing her children’s extra-curricular activities.

 
TODAY’S FEATURED PRODUCT:

Inverters (Solivia) from Delta Energy Systems

If you are looking for quality and durable solar inverters, GEWA offers the Delta Group Energy Systems’ Solivia string inverters which are available in four nominal power outputs – 2500w, 3000w, 3300w and 5000w.

To give you a brief history on Delta Energy Systems, it is a subsidiary of Delta Electronics (Thailand) PCL which was established in 1988. Both of these organizations belong to the Delta Group which has sales offices worldwide and manufacturing plants in Taiwan, China, Thailand, Mexico, India and Europe.

The Delta Electronics Group which was founded in 1971 is the world’s largest provider of switching power supplies and DC brushless fans, as well as a major source for power management solutions, components, visual displays, industrial automation, networking products, and renewable energy solutions. It’s headquarters is located at Taipei, Taiwan with 80,000 employees worldwide.

Since 1999, Delta Energy Systems has been investing in the research and development of their reliable solar inverters with high efficiencies and state-of-the-art high-frequency topology which makes them as one of the most important suppliers of power supply solutions.

Different Types of String Inverters:

The features of these solar string inverters include 96% transformer peak efficiency, isolation of primary and secondary circuit, wide operating temperature ranges: -25 °C to +70 °C, full power up to 57 °C (without derating), RS485 (EIA485) communication interfaces, intelligent MPP tracking, suitable for indoor and outdoor applications (IP65) and has no fan.

1) SOLIVIA 2.5 – These solar inverters for the Asia-Pacific region are highly efficient and reliable and uses the latest high frequency technology.

2) SOLIVIA 3.0 – Can be used with all common photovoltaic module types, even with back-contact and thin-film modules that require positive or negative DC grounding.

3) SOLIVIA 3.3 – Highly efficient and reliable, with its intelligent MPP tracking, the SOLIVIA 3.3 extracts maximum performance from your solar panels under all operating conditions.

4) SOLIVIA 5 – The latest high frequency technology used in the SOLIVIA 5.0 solar inverters for the Asian-Pacific market enable them to operate at maximum efficiency and guarantee continuous, outstanding energy outputs. This type of inverter is suitable for indoor and outdoor applications (IP65) and has a simple and direct on-screen data display.

For further information and for your free downloads of these products’ brochures, manuals, guides and catalogues, visit the Delta Solivia Inverters’ page at our Green Energy WA website.

Katrina G. – Green Energy International Correspondent – June 06, 2012

Green Energy Blog now has the “Green Energy WA Featured Products” section which will give you some information on the green solar products that we offer in order for the viewers and readers to know more about these featured products and services. For our readers’ convenience, we are going to feature different products every week such as solar panels, inverters, mounting frames, accessories and many more.

TODAY’S FEATURED PRODUCT is on ECSOLAR’s solar panels.

Green Energy WA now offers the wide power range of ECSOLAR’s solar modules. Green Energy WA has the two types of solar modules available; both monocrystalline and polycrystalline. To give you a little scope on ECSOLAR, the company is also known as Wuxi Saijing Solar Co., Ltd which is located in Yixing, China. It was founded in the 1980s. Primarily, it operates one of the most modern production facilities and manufactures crystalline solar cells and a wide range of “high performance solar modules”. To gain the trust and satisfaction of their customers, ECSOLAR ensures the strict quality and cost control of their product line. Their market is primarily from many countries including Europe, America, Australia and Southeast Asia.

The solar cells that ECSOLAR manufactures are from silicon wafers and they use the process known as photovoltaic effect which is making use of crystalline silicon solar technology to convert sunlight into electricity. In order to implement their “green company” philosophy, ECSOLAR joined “PC Cycle” and are then recycling the modules after its lifetime.

One of the main products of ECSOLAR is their high performance solar panels which can either be standard or customized. Their modules feature a wide power range from 5W to 310W. The solar modules are also certified and approved by CE, TUV, IEC61215, IEC 61730, MCS and CEC. Under circumstances where there is weak light available, the solar modules still provide excellent performance.

ECSOLAR is also considered as one of the most comprehensive product portfolio in the solar industry because they have a wide range of solar modules which gives you the options either monocrystalline or polycrystalline, framed or laminated and large or normal size. You have the choice on what suits you best. Also for the customers’ assurance, ECSOLAR guarantees a product warranty of 10 years and output warranty of 25 years.

Your Satisfaction with Solar at Green Energy WA

So, if you are looking for the best quality and durable solar modules, try our latest ECSOLAR solar modules. Not only you get the satisfaction that you need but you also help the environment by conserving energy, going green and supporting solar. To know more on ECSOLAR’s solar panels, visit Green Energy WA site now!

Katrina G. – Green Energy International Correspondent – June 06, 2012

The results have been confirmed by TUV Rheinland, with a 156x156mm 60 cell module reaching 274 Watts peak.

HAMBURG, Germany

Trina Solar Limited (NYSE: TSL) (“Trina Solar” or the “Company”), a leading integrated manufacturer of solar photovoltaic (PV) products from the production of ingots, wafers and cells to the assembly of PV modules, announced today that it has achieved what is believed to be a new world record for its laboratory-tested multicrystalline module power output. The results have been confirmed by TUV Rheinland, with a 156x156mm 60 cell module reaching 274 Watts peak. The record was set using the Company’s recently announced ‘Honey’ technology platform.

“We are very pleased to demonstrate our technology leadership with this new world record,” said Jifan Gao, Chairman and CEO ofTrina Solar. “This technological innovation will allow our customers to improve overall system costs and returns on investment.”

Trina Solar will co-chair the Plenary Session Wafer-based Silicon Solar Cells and Materials Technology (II) at the 26th European Photovoltaic Conference and Exhibition in Hamburg on September 8, 2011. The Company’s ‘Honey’ technology-based module is showcased at its booth B6-B24.

About Trina Solar Limited

Trina Solar Limited (NYSE: TSL), through its wholly-owned subsidiary Changzhou Trina Solar Energy Co. Ltd., is a leading manufacturer of high quality modules and has a long history as a solar PV pioneer since it was founded in 1997 as a system installation company. Trina Solar is one of the few PV manufacturers that have developed a vertically integrated business model from the production of monocrystalline and multicrystalline silicon ingots, wafers and cells to the assembly of high quality modules. Trina Solar’s products provide reliable and environmentally-friendly electric power for a growing variety of end-user applications worldwide. For further information, please visit Trina Solar’s website at http://www.trinasolar.com.

The World record holding panel is available through Green Energy WA

The Indian state of Gujarat has built the world’s largest solar photovoltaic power plant, a field of solar panels the size of Lower Manhattan. After only 14 months of preparation, they’ve just switched it on, adding 600 megawatts of power to the grid. That’s enough to power a medium-sized city’s worth of homes. Thing is HUGE.

The 5,000-acre solar park should help India meet its ambitious plans for moving to sustainable energy. The country aims to be at 15 percent renewables by 2020 — right now it’s only at 6 percent. Projects like the Gujarat plant will help by taking advantage of India’s intense sunshine.

However, India’s already in danger of being pushed out of the record-holding spot for world’s biggest power plant. Tunisia is working on a 2,000-MW plant, to open by 2016. The Gujarat solar field is already the size of some towns, so it’s not clear how much bigger plants can get — at least in non-desert countries — before they start having to build them over homes, fields, and household pets.

Thank to http://grist.org/list/india-flips-the-switch-on-worlds-largest-solar-power-plant/

Green Energy WA

Solar panels can be a great help to sailors, keeping vital lights and appliances functioning, even when batteries run low or a generator malfunctions. They

Solar panels can be a great help to sailors, keeping vital lights and appliances functioning, even when batteries run low or a generator malfunctions. They are also a much quieter way of recharging batteries!

Learning how to install marine solar panels will be vital for the sailor who wants their advantages, but first he or she must learn which solar panels are best. Three types of solar cells are commonly used in solar panels, each with its own advantages. The sailor needs to learn these advantages and select the solar panels that are best for the need.

Types of Solar Panels

Solar panels must be kept from shading, as shaded cells draw energy for themselves from other cells.

1. Solar panels using monocrystalline cells have high conversion efficiency, and take up less space, but lack shade protection.

2. Solar panels using polycrystalline cells have even higher conversion efficiency, take up even less space, but still lack shade protection.

3. Solar panels using amorphous silicon cells have lower conversion efficiency, and take up more space, but do have shade protection. This can be especially important on a sailboat.

Marine solar panels are available in both hard and flexible types. Hard solar panels can be attached to the deck, while flexible solar panels might be attached to deck or canvas.

Size and Number of Solar Panels

Learning how to install marine solar panels will include calculations to determine what size and how many solar panels you will need. This information is readily available on the Internet by searching the question: “What size solar panel do I need” on your favorite search engine. The rule of thumb is to allow for 20% more solar panel power than you estimate you will need.

Placement of Solar Panels

Once you have determined the size and number of solar panels needed, you will be better able to determine where they will be placed. The best places depend on the boat’s configuration and size of the panels. Take your time and think it through. Read the instructions that came with your solar panels. You will want to avoid all violations of warranty terms.

The simple answer to how to install marine solar panels is: in the sun. Select locations that will get maximum sunlight without shaded spots.

In placing marine solar panels, consider the use of extra bars/braces to secure the panels. You obviously want them to remain stable.

How to Install Marine Solar Panels

Your marine solar panels should have clear instructions for installation. In addition to those, consider the following.

Most marine solar panel systems have three main components:

1. Solar panels to collect sunlight and produce a charge for you.

2. Charge controller to regulate the charge entering your battery and avoid overcharging it.

3. Batteries to store the energy your solar panels created.

Once marine solar panels have charged your batteries, you can use that energy to run most 12 volt DC appliances. These might include your safety lights, regular lighting, pumps, and fans, as well as small appliances. If you add an inverter, you can also run 120 volt AC appliances such as a microwave, radio, satellite dish, or radio. An inverter is a separate unit, not mentioned above, that transforms the current coming out of the battery into that required by most appliances.

First off, check to see that the system has a voltmeter. If it does not, purchase and install one. This will allow you to check the charge you are getting.

Affix your solar panels securely in place, and connect them per the instructions included in your kit. Use only tinned marine grade wire running from the panels to the batteries. If you are unsure of the wire you are considering, ask questions. Regular automotive wire may look similar, but in marine conditions, it will lose its ability to conduct electrical power.

Living in Nevada, the sun is an almost constant companion. This gives Nevadans a unique opportunity to use solar radiation powers for good. In April, a tour of southern Nevada homes shed some light on the subject of solar powered homes. Hosted by the American Solar Energy Society, this Nevada branch of the National Solar Tour explored homes that used both passive and active solar power, thermal hot water systems, and other environmentally features. However, unless you’re a green technologies expert, or took the tour, you may not know the difference between passive and active solar, or how thermal hot water is different than average. Let me help you understand!

Active solar technology is the one that most people may be familiar with. It involves having a solar panel that collects the sun’s energy and converts it into electricity. These have a battery where energy is stored, so electricity can still be used at night, and, to a certain extent, on cloudy days. Solar panels are an excellent way to make electricity, especially in remote areas. While they are moderately costly to set up, and do require some maintenance, they provide reliable and free electricity, even in climates far less sunny than Nevada’s.

Passive solar technologies are far older than active ones, and involve utilising the natural heat and light the sun creates, without converting it in any other way. Have you ever noticed that after a long, hot day, south-facing rocks, pavement or brick and adobe buildings will radiate warmth? They have spent the day passively collecting solar energy, and are releasing it. Some materials are better at absorbing and storing that heat energy than others. For example, wood insulates, meaning it will block temperatures, whereas stone will absorb and release temperatures. Homes that are built to take advantage of passive solar are often constructed of brick, adobe or concrete. Cob is another passive-solar-friendly and ancient building material that is going through a revival of sorts. It is made of sand, clay and straw, similar ingredients as adobe, but adobe is baked into bricks and stacked, whereas cob structures are free-formed while the material is wet. Passive solar homes usually have a lot of windows lining their south walls, and less so their east and west walls, with little to no windows on the colder north sides. These windows do two things. First, they provide natural light inside the home, one aspect of passive solar. Second, they allow heat to come into the home. If the home has a stone tile floor and even walls, that tile will absorb the heat, releasing it later when the outside temperature drops.

Passive solar homes can be designed to be cool in summer while using the sun to warm them in winter. For example, if shutters are closed during summer months, the home will remain much cooler. Also, the height and angle of overhang can be considered to maximise the windows exposure to low winter sun, but minimise exposure to the high summer sun. Alternatively, I saw an interesting example of someone planting deciduous trees on the south side of their home. In the winter, the trees had no leaves and so let in a lot of light and heat. In the summer, their thick greenery provided shade that kept the house cool.

So that is the major difference between active and passive solar technologies. Since passive solar is essentially free, it would be wise for any architect or home designer to take it into consideration when building new homes. Well designed passive solar homes can greatly reduce their electrical energy needs. And while active solar is brilliant technology, it still takes many resources to create. Plus, it may be superfluous in an area with an existing electrical source.

As for thermal water heating, it too is a very simple concept. Home made thermal water heaters can be as simple as an outdoor water tank painted black, but that’s a little crude for most tastes. However, there are a variety of styles out there. Some have panels that are metal painted black and enclosed with glass, with copper pipes filled with water running through them. This water will heat, and is then pushed by gravity into an insulated storage tank. Some solar water heaters use a similar set-up but with tubes filled with anti-freeze that are then hooked up to a heat transfer loop, where water in a storage tank is heated. Whatever system you use, thermal water heating is surprisingly affective.

There are a lot of ways to take advantage of the sun and use less electricity. Check out next year’s National Solar Tour to see them for yourself.

Article presented by www.gewa.com.au – Green Energy WA

 American students were able to make a car that can go for 322 km with only 3.78 liters. This successful performance is the result of installing solar panels on the hood of the vehicle. The “Lost Solar Racing” won the “Shell Eco-marathon” in Houston over the weekend.