Solar Technologies Will Prevail!!

Energy is a huge topic that’s currently being debated on what is the best route to take. Some people want to implement solar panels and photovoltaic devices, while others currently still want to use non-renewable sources such as fossil fuels. Non-renewable sources are limited, while the sun is free and is not limited. Some political leaders are against the implementation of solar panels and Photovoltaic devices because the manufacturing process is too expensive. Politicians sometimes only focus on if they are making profits, and sometimes forget the other important things. Scientist agree that solar technologies are expensive in the beginning, but in the long run they would save a great amount of money. Also solar devices are the best choice for people, the environment and the economy. They don’t release any pollution, which means if won’t affect anybody’s health and the manufacturing process creates jobs. This is an example of why scientist and politicians sometimes cannot coexist because each side’s priorities are different.

Currently in places like Arizona, Hawaii, California and Colorado there are huge debates on what the future should be regarding the process of energy creation. In Arizona some political leaders are fighting to implement a so called “Solar Tax” of 100 dollars a month to those people who are putting solar panels on their roof. When the voting took place they agreed to charge a solar tax of 5 dollars a month, which is significant less to what they had in mind. Also utilities companies and fossil fuel industries are agreeing with these political leaders, and are trying to discourage the usage of solar panels. Both of these industries are arguing that the increase of usage of solar panel has put a strain on the power grid and can cause safety problems. Another argument is that they believe people who implement solar panels in their homes are stealing money because they are not paying the same amount of money as everybody. Scientific research shows that solar panels are not a safety hazard, and in my opinion using solar panels does not mean stealing money because technology is accessible to anyone who wants to implement it and it is not illegal.

What are the other side’s response? Of course they strongly disagree as I do because they think this is the most efficient and cleanest way to produce energy. People also believe using solar panels can prevent any type of energy wars. Countries don’t have to fight over limited non-renewable resources such as oil, and we can use the money we don’t spend in wars to building technologies like solar panels.

David Leeper, an electrical engineer and a strong supporter of usage of solar panels, heavily disagrees with the opposing argument. He ridiculed the power industries argument and called the arguments a “high tech chutzpah.” I fully agree with his arguments, especially when he states that he is not a free loader and that he did not take any money from them. Mr. leeper thinks that just because he is using an alternative source that is clean, efficient and assessable to anyone doesn’t mean he is stealing from the power companies. At first he strongly disagreed with the 100 dollar fee, but when it was reduce to 5 dollars month he was satisfied with the outcome. He does not oppose it because in the evenings or on cloudy days he will need power in his home and he thinks is only fair to at least pay the fee in those specific times.

  

 Reference:

Schwartz, John. (2014). Fissures in G.O.P. as Some Conservatives Embrace Renewable Energy. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/us/politics/fissures-in-gop-as-some-conservatives-embrace-renewable-energy.html?_r=1

Solar Technologies for the Future!

Energy is essential and necessary to human beings, but there is a huge debate on what is the most convenient way to produce energy. What are the options? Some people would say that the best way is to keep using non-renewable resources like fossil fuels, photosynthesis or natural gasses, but other people would agree that the best way is to construct solar panels or photovoltaic devices to take advantage of the best resource, which is the sun. Many places are starting to implement solar panels to experiment with it or to prove that this is the direction the world should go. An experiment was conducted in China, where the usage of solar technologies were heavily implemented and people’s thoughts were recorded.

After people had time to experiment with these technologies, a questionnaire or survey was conducted to show if there was a social acceptance of solar devices are not. The results showed that photovoltaic technologies was not as high as some scientist wish they were, but the social acceptance has steadily increased.

·         Solar panels and photovoltaic devices are a good alternative energy resources because the pros are far better than the cons. Many people thought it was too expensive, and others chose to not implement solar technologies in their homes because they didn’t know the functionality of these technologies. Solar panels and photovoltaic devices are expensive in the beginning, but in the long run it saves people a good amount of money in their electricity and utility bills. Also these technologies are no harm to the environment because it does not release any type of pollution to the atmosphere. Also in the manufacturing process, these technologies do not require any input of water, which means that it will not contaminate any body of water.

Even though the acceptance of photovoltaic devices wasn’t as high as anticipated, another type of solar technology was highly approved. The most popular and heavily approved technology was the solar water heater. A solar water heater is a device that captures and retains heat from the sun, and then transfers it to a liquid. When the heat is produced, it is captured in a component called the absorber or collector and this component is in contact with the fluid, where the heat is transferred to fluid, where it can be stored for later usage. Usually, a hot object loses its heat to the environment but the solar water heater contains a thermal insulation, with the purpose of slowing down heat loss.

China over the years has gained interest in solar technologies, especially in solar water heaters. These research will have a great impact on people all around the world to give them information on the functionality of solar technologies. Some findings in this experiment is that people realize that it is very important to find an alternative energy source because many things in the world will benefit from it.

Solar technologies:

1.       Are eco-friendly
2.        Are not harmful to people’s health
3.        And it will save you a lot of money in the future! 

      Reference:

      

      Yuan, Xueliang & Zuo, Jian & Ma, Chunyuan. (2011). Social Acceptance of Solar Energy Technologies in China-End Users’ Perspective. Science Direct Volume 39, issue 3, Pages 1031-1036. DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2011.01.003.

      

      Solar Water Heating Basics. (2014). Home power. Retrieved from http://www.homepower.com/articles/solar-water-heating/basics/what-solar-water-heating