PV Gap

Cathy Said:

What majors to pursue for energy/solar power jobs?

We Answered:

It depends on your interests. Electrical engineering (including power transmission) and software engineering are used in this field, but it might take awhile to get a job with an energy-related company. Obviously chemical engineering is a big part of developing cheap but efficient solar panels. But if quantum mechanics and differential equations scare you too much (they are quite learnable with the right background, attitude and teachers), then there are options outside of engineering.

Architecture is needed to actually design buildings to incorporate passive and active solar energy. A lot of time would also be spent on HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and building materials, just as important for a green building.

You could also go into sales or business fields and then pick your industry afterward.

Shannon Said:

How can we bring solar power energy to our streets?

We Answered:

Until compact onsite electrical storage becomes practical, it's better to have centralized solar power stations feeding power to the electrical grid, because 1) the wiring to the lamps are already in place and/or are necessary anyway for times of no sun, and 2) greater efficiencies and easier maintenance is possible at large solar power installations than with thousands of small solar collectors. However, independent "off the grid" solar powered devices is the trend. For example, through fuel cell technology, compact solar energy storage may become possible and practical, in which case high efficiency street lamps may go off the grid, thereby reducing wiring needs.

Bradley Said:

What kind of science fair project can I do about solar power/energy?

We Answered:

Check out this site, it has tons!!! http://www.infinitepower.org/ It has tons of experiments you can do about renewable energy and solar energy. They are very cool. I enclose some of the pdfs


http://www.infinitepower.org/pdf/No12%20…

http://www.infinitepower.org/pdf/No17%20…

http://www.infinitepower.org/pdf/No21%20…

http://www.infinitepower.org/pdf/No10%20…

http://www.infinitepower.org/pdf/No13%20…

Hope this helps,
Bella

Carmen Said:

How to build a waterproof circuit for a 110 volt outlet using solar energy panel for power."?

We Answered:

Use a ground-fault outlet mounted inside a plastic flip-open waterproof cover. Most hardware stores have these.

Jeffery Said:

Is there a way to make car paint that collects solar and wind energy to power an electric car?

We Answered:

No. Air drag is one of the chief components in auto efficiency. What you describe would increase air drag.
As far as the solar part goes most cars have about 12 square feet of surface in the sun when the car is in the sun. 12 square feet can produce 900 watts. In four hours that would be 2700 Watt hours. A gallon of gasoline is about 37,000 Watt hours. What means is is that it is going to take over 100 days to produce the energy of one gallon of gasoline and everything has to be perfect.

I came accross a new, proven and tested home made wind power system and solar power system which eliminates our electricity bills. It was written by a Renewable energy enthusiasts Michael Harvey the diy called Earth4energy. You can get your copy to save energy and help environment while eliminating your power bills. Get it from here:

http://how-to-build-cheap-solar-energy.blogspot.com/