We are not likely to be flying around the country in 747′s powered by solar energy any time in the next 5-10 years, but maybe in 20-30 something will break through.

Anyway this solar powered airplane is an interesting proof of concept that it is possible to build something to move a person through the air as opposed to being limited to solar powered cars that typically look like a teenagers soap box derby dream gone solar and electrical.

So now you have seen it and probably reached similar conclusions to those that I expressed above.  None of us will be marking up our custom printed calendars to wait in line to fly in one of these solar powered planes anytime soon, but the point is to awaken our imagination and keep thinking of new ways to apply the technology.  You never know, the Wright Brothers were bicycle mechanics originally!

I have written on this site and others that I suspect that Las Vegas may be uniquely suited to field and pave the way for the rest of the country in utilizing solar energy both at a personal level on the home, but also at a business or corporate level.

This video starts to talk a bit about selling energy from your home back to the grid when your solar energy system generates more electricity than you are using, say like during the middle of the day when you are away from home and at work.

YouTube – Solar Las Vegas: Center for Energy Research

Its I think important to notice that there seems to be a critical mass of acceptance and production that might march all of us towards acceptance. Today people are more interested in say diet supplements like hoodia or hydroxycut, but as the price of energy rapidly increases talking about solar energy and gathering together the solutions to make them part of our lives might accelerate in a big wave of acceptance.

The speaker here talks about the local political level that seems to be driving acceptance this time around.

This is very basic, but not a bad place to start.  The video starts off a little goofy, but it gets going not too far after the beginning of the video.

We all have to start some where and this video is not bad as a starting place.  Interesting note, Australia has some of the highest alternative energy use percentages of any country, but the reality is that Australia, just does not use a lot of devices or appliances that use electricity so their percentage usage levels are not really apples to oranges with other countries.  They are still in a bit of an amby baby level of energy usage, which is not a bad thing, just a different level compared to many more industrialized countries.

Here’s an interesting Solar Energy Comercial (in an Apple does 1984 kind of way).  Now, I do not always go in for these dark, the world is ending in the apocalypse types of settings, but in every exageration there is a grain of truth that can be gleamed to help us find just a wee bit more wisdom and in this case its related to solar energy.

Note, the first time I watched this video commercial, I thought that maybe they were dropping trash on people trying to make some statement about the environment.  Then the next time, I just couldn’t tell.  I thought I saw a TV and then a Danze fauctes or kitchen sink or something.

But I think I have ultimately decided that they are dropping a bunch of different types of batteries to symbolize the energy falling out of the sky.  Guess YouTube kind of spoils the effect a little. 

This slide show offers up a large number of examples of what the solar panels and the related equipment look like during the installation and after the installation of solar panels on homes or other related buildings.

I think the slide show gives a good example of the cosmetic end result that a home owner might expect from a solar panel installation along with the ability to envision the work that might be required to achieve the installation result.

YouTube – Solar Energy Installations

Me I get a little picky when it comes to my house, so I’d probably have to leave town for a week or two and take a carnival cruises or something so that I wouldn’t sweat the outcome and could just enjoy the result once I came back.

I love these how to videos.  I want to learn how to do these things myself.  I am not knocking the commercial products available, but before I make my investment in those big budget solar items, I want to have a better understanding of the technology and application and a hands on approach with how to solar videos for example works for me now.

That said, we are talking about electricity and that requires a great deal of respect, caution and in many cases expertise. 

BE CAREFUL!

This is part 1 in a 2 part Solar Power video series for those of you considering a How to project.  Note, I would not recommend following these videos for instructions as I can not verify the expertise of the people that have created the video.

I would suggest that they could be used for inspiration and as part of general research before a person considers tackling a how to job by themselves.  Whenever you work with electricity directly, I recommend consulting an electrician for your own safety.

Next Steps with Solar Gold Mine

One of the next things I am hoping to research and cover, will be trying to identify the right technology or mix of technologies for a particular area.  For example, I live on a lake in North Carolina.  We do not get much wind at all, but the lake and sun are very powerful near our home.  When I used to live by the ocean, we always received a great deal of wind by the ocean. 

So for example, if I lived on the Outer Banks, wind might be a more substantive component of an alternative energy plan for my home than it is living inland by a lake.

A couple years ago I was very impressed with solar panels that could be put on the exteriors of high rise windows, almost like window tinting plastic is applied.

A spray on solar technology would be even easier, especially for smaller buildings or buildings that are not as flat as a skyscraper full of windows.

Now from a green perspective, I would have some concerns about the particles that might be released into the air, but the likely reality is that these particles could be released in a factory in Germany just as easy as on a building. Granted a factory can be a more controlled location with air filters and other precautions. A house or a large building of irregular shape is going to be a more complex target and not quite the same as mass producing rolls of solar panels on a mass production line. That said its not impossible either. We learned how to mass produce pens, and we also learned how to mass produce custom pens so figuring out a safe way to apply Solar Panels with a spray can be possible. Its probably more a question about asking the right safety questions and building up a new body of knowledge over time. Continuous improvement in solar technolgy in invention as well as in the installation and application should be the goal.

A couple years ago I was very impressed with solar panels that could be put on the exteriors of high rise windows, almost like window tinting plastic is applied.

A spray on solar technology would be even easier, especially for smaller buildings or buildings that are not as flat as a skyscraper full of windows.