It ’ s Magic !
BY RICHARD A . FLOREY Marketing Director EcoVantage Energy , inc . www ./ ecovantageenergy . com
How the Power Grid Works The US power grid has been called the world ’ s largest machine , with 5,800 power plants , 3,200 utilities , and over 2.7 million miles of power lines . As a result , most energy utilities are granted monopoly control over a local market with the mandate to provide low-cost , reliable energy as a public good . To enforce this mandate , utilities are either publicly owned or , more commonly , heavily regulated by state regulatory commissions that set the prices that utilities are permitted to charge consumers .
What Exactly is Energy ? Well , for this scenario , the specific form of energy we ’ re talking about is that which has been harnessed to serve our lives . That said , here ’ s an interesting thought ; the warmth and light we get from burning wood , oil , charcoal or coal and all the energy we receive into our bodies from our food , is all stored energy from our Sun . Think about that for a minute . Energy from fossil fuels is energy from the Sun that has been stored , like data in a flash drive ; energy to be revealed to us upon its destruction . Mind . Blown .
How PV Cells Work What if you could just take that energy , sun energy , as it comes and turn it into power ? Well , you can do just that . That ’ s what is happening when the sun ’ s rays , photons , strike the photo cells in a solar panel . The difference is , the energy is not stored , but rather , the photons strike the cell ’ s silicon particles that release an electron . The rest is magic . Or , here ’ s some official science talk to help explain , from physics . org . electrical imbalance within the cell , which acts a bit like a slope down which the electrons will flow in the same direction ”. See ? Magic .
Set it . Forget it . No Mess ! If there ’ s any one thing I ’ ve been most impressed with , having gotten to know Solar since coming to EcoVantage , it ’ s such a clean technology . I mean literally . Of all the ways to make electricity , other than hydroelectric and geothermal , solar leaves zero waste byproducts ; no carbon or radioactivity ! Solar panels do , however , need washing from time to time , so , there is that . Otherwise ,
Nuclear Waste solar panels are practically maintenance free and create
zero pollution .
In Conclusion We at EcoVantage believe having a grid-tied solar system with battery backup is the simplest , most efficient and most responsible step forward in harnessing energy for our lives .
“ As these ( photons ) hit the silicon atoms of the solar cell , they transfer their energy to loose electrons , knocking them clean off the atoms . The photons could be compared to the white ball in a game of pool , which passes on its energy to the colored balls it strikes . Freeing up electrons is however only half the work of a solar cell : it then needs to herd these stray electrons into an electric current . This involves creating an
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