Enjoy A Green Energy Home

Enjoy A Green Energy Home

With all the improvements in green energy technology, it is now simpler than ever to begin adapting your house into a green energy home. A green energy home makes usage of renewable sources to supply hot water, power, heating and security.
There are a variety of methods to making your house a green energy home.
The first is solar power. In your green energy home you could put in a solar warming system to heat and store water for use, and put in photovoltaic solar panels to convert the sun’s rays into power. They could be rather expensive if you bought and had these systems put in by a specialist. However, there are numerous resources and guides on the market to produce your own solar panel and hot water systems that are much more affordable.
a good way to turn it into a solar power house is to employ passive solar technology during construction If your house is still being built. This means making use of the south-facing sides of your house for heating and cooling, if you are in the Northern Hemisphere. By putting in many light-efficient windows and heat regulating bricks on the south-facing side, these passive solar strategies help make your house into a green energy home.
Making use of a windmill on your property is the another method. Windmills are driven by the wind to generate power and even pump water from an outdoor source. To produce clean electric power, Wind turbines can be fixed on your rooftop or in your yar. Like solar panels, domestic windmills can be bought and installed commercially, but that costs a lot of money. So, in recent times a wide selection of low-priced sets have been made put on the market for people to make their own wind turbines and install their own green energy home plans.
Jeff Sokol is an author, and expert in using Green Energy to Click Here for More Ways to Increase Fuel Economy.

Very Useful Window Cleaning Mysteries

Very Useful Window Cleaning Mysteries

Window cleaning can be a difficult task. They never get clean no matter what someone does to try to get them clean. There will always be streaks and marks that can be difficult to remove without the right equipment and the proper technique. There truly are window cleaning secrets of the trade.
Starting with a squeegee and a scrubber is the best way to prepare to clean a window. Squeegees that are longer in length will not cause as many streaks as shorter ones. Soap, water and a good cloth or paper towels are also a good idea to use on the window.
Spraying window cleaner onto the window itself is the ideal way to get started. Using a rag to squirt into is not necessary and is just an extra step. A sponge could make a good scrubber. Scrubbing the windows is so the next step to remove the dirt and fingerprints. Getting all of the fingerprints can be difficult if they are oily or greasy as it can be much more difficult to remove these flaws.
Now the squeegee is the primary piece of equipment. Starting in an upper corner and working out and down is the best technique to not make smudges and streaks. Do not use a small squeegee as this will do nothing but to increase the amount of time it takes to do each window. The most challenging window cleaning secret of the trade is not to leave streaks and leave a flawless transparent window.
Wiping the squeegee of in between the swipes on the window will make it so it does not streak as much. It is also a good idea to take a paper towel and wipe the edges of the window so there are not streaks down the sides of it. This will make the window sparkle even more in the sunlight because there is not anything around the edges.
Using cloudy weather to clean the windows is best to see the marks on it so they can be cleaned easier. Sunlight can reveal everything about the window that should not be there. The direct sunlight without some cloud cover also makes the window dry faster.
Although cleaning windows might seem easy, it appears there are more effective procedures. Window cleaning secrets of the trade will help to decrease the time an effective cleaning takes. Removing streaks and getting the proper shine have been very difficult for some people. Slowing down and focusing on the task, as well as the use of the right materials will get near perfect results every time.
Learn all of the information and details you need about window cleaning services today! When you select the professional window cleaning service in London, you will be able to enjoy beautiful windows and increase the curb appeal of your property fast and easy!

Minimize Electricity Bill by LED Lighting

Minimize Electricity Bill by LED Lighting

After the hit of economic crisis,every individual looking for ways that can help them reduce the costs of actually running a home. Without exception of the every business we are talking right now, irrespective of the size and or industry has one major issue- how to make money.They all need to reduce their monthly bills and expenditures without taking measures such as making redundancies and foreclosures. Many are finding their profits by following these money saving steps for not to damage their business reputation.One way that all the above can be achieved is through the use of LED lighting. Because this lighting requires less energy and last for long time.
In fact because of its abilities Californian government banned the usage of incandescent bulbs after adapting LED lighting.So let us see what factors made the California to take such a decision.
These LED light bulbs are not quite similar to all bulbs.The presence of halogen gas is the main element for their long life span.The interaction between the halogen and tungsten gives such different characteristics that no other bulb has.The reason incandescent lamps run out of life is the burning out of the thin tungsten filament.But in the LED lamps the presence of halogen prevents this.
LED light can withstand higher temperatures; where as incandescent bulbs can burst.They are cool to the touch and do not contain any mercury or other hazardous substances.
Because of their directional output,they have unique design features that can be exploited by clever designs.LED lights are more rugged and damage-resistant than compact fluorescent s and incandescent bulbs.LED lights can be installed under counters, in hallways, and in staircases; concentrated arrays can be used for room lighting. Waterproof, outdoor fixtures are also available.Some manufacturers consider applications such as gardens, walkways, and decorative fixtures outside garage doors to be the most cost-efficient.
LUKING OPTO-ELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD was founded in the year 2000 in China,specialized in 3D V-CUTTING light panels (LGP), LED lighting ,LED panel light,LED perdent lighting,LED Light Bulbs. LED ceiling lighting and saving.These LED light bulbs are not quite similar to all bulbs.

Why to Choose IGNOU for Admission in College Stage

Why to Choose IGNOU for Admission in College Stage

In India there is a huge demand for correspondence courses since most of the people who couldn’t take up full time classes would opt for them. There are many institutions in India which offer correspondence courses but the one university that stands out is IGNOU because of the convenience it offers to its students.
There are so many IGNOU correspondence courses offered to the students every year and it seems to be growing in popularity among those aspiring to complete their bachelors/masters/diploma/certificate/PhD courses through distance education. It provides perfect solution for everyone who dreams to hold a degree or masters along with their current job without actually spending time in the college.
The students who wish to get Admission in IGNOU just need to grab the opportunity and be online accordingly. If the assignment writing procedure is followed with thorough professionalism then success is assured. With proper completion of world class IGNOU and involvement of IGNOU assignments students turn out to be efficient managers. The regular practice and Assignment writing in these projects assure success.
Sincere practice in some hours of day for IGNOU Course will assure you success. These Courses offer a platform with valuable degree certificate and also provide valuable knowledge to cope up with growing industries. Proper online surfing will help obtaining more information about the IGNOU Courses and its future prospects. You need to follow some basic principles of IGNOU Assignment which is equal to your efficiency and talent and just you can practice and can get idea to be prepared for IGNOU Examination.
IGNOU provides millions of student with education they would not normally have access to, the Indira Ghandi National Open University certainly has a success story that may well serve as an inspiration to many other countries and institutions for distance learning.
IGNOU4U is a Website which is meant only to provide detail information about IGNOU, IGNOU Courses.

The Origin of Perfume

The Origin of Perfume

Did you know where perfume originated from? For as long as man has existed, he (and she) has attempted to disguise his own natural odour with that of perfume, trying to recreate many of the pleasant smells nature has to offer. Man has attempted to add natures scent to his skin, his clothes and the air he breathes.
The term perfume is derived from the Latin words “per” and “fumume” meaning “through” and “smoke” or “through smoke”. This comes from early attempts where oils were extracted from plants and flower and then burnt to produce an aroma, much like incense. This aroma was created through the smoke or “Through Smoke”, hence the term perfume.
Today many products are known as perfume but true perfumes are actually defined as oil extract of the original substance stored in distilled alcohol, water can also be used. The perfume market is a huge market with the United States leading the way with sales in excess of $2 billion with many discount perfumes being available.
The history of perfume can be traced back to Biblical times with the bible recording the Wise Men at the birth of Christ carrying gifts of frankincense and myrrh, both used as a perfume.
The Egyptians made an incense of henna, myrrh, juniper and cinnamon called kyphi. They also soaked woods, gum and resin in water and used the resulting liquid as a body lotion. The Egyptians were also known to perfume their dead.
Perfume became popular in Europe in France during the reign of King Louis XIV.  King Louis was so fond of perfume he became known as the perfume King. His courts were filled with oils, petals and fragrances placed in bowls and dispersed around the palace to freshen the air.
Today many of the ingredients of fragrances are natural including grasses, spices, wood, balsams, animal secretions and fruit. Only around 2,000 of the 250 000 species of flowering plants actually produce a natural oil, therefore synthetic substances must be used to recreate certain scents. Many scents are also extracted from animals like musk and castor.
Today we find ourselves in the privileged situation of being able to acquire designer perfumes at the click of a mouse. Let’s not forget the luxury that they are and how lucky we are to have such easy access.

An Overview of Forex Trading, Market hours, Rates, Liquidity and Spread

An Overview of Forex Trading, Market hours, Rates, Liquidity and Spread

Since Forex market is open for 24 hours, investors can make the transactions any time they want. In the forex market, investors can take good positions responding quickly to the changing economic conditions. Unlike stock markets, forex market is decentralized. Hence, the investors or account holders can trade currencies from anywhere.
Spot rate and Cross rates:
The spot rate refers to the market price of a currency, measured in terms of another, on a particular day. The most traded or liquid currencies are termed as MAJORS. The Majors consists on the US dollar (USD), the Euro (EUR), the British pound (GBP), the Swiss franc (CHF), the Canadian Dollar (CAD), the Australian Dollar (AUD) and the Japanese yen (JPY).
Quote and Spread:
Before making the transaction, the investors ask their concerned dealers for a quote. The quote represents the buying and selling price of a currency, e.g. the quote for Euro 1.2043 – 1.2048. The difference between the selling and buying prices is called as Spread.
Advantages of Forex trading:
During the recent years, the average daily turnover of the forex market has been growing rapidly because more and more people are taking advantage of this unique. Resultantly, the market has been well established. To increase your chances of making money in the forex market, you need to use a dynamic trading platform. Following are the advantages of forex trading:
•    24-hour Trading: Since the forex market is open for 24 hours, participants get to trade currencies whenever they want. Hence, the investors can respond to latest developments in the global economy and take a position accordingly in real quick time.
•    Increase in Leverage: The forex market offers great leverage. Leverage refers to the amount an account holder can trade currencies against the deposited money in the account. For example, to trade $200,000 of currency, with a margin of 1%, an investor will only have to deposit $2,000 into the account. In other words, leveraged trading is the margin. Taking the margin as1%, if you have $1000 in your margin account, you can trade currency up to $100,000. If you anticipate the movements in Forex prices, you can earn greater profits through higher gearing.
•    Lower Transaction Costs: Unlike stock markets, low commissions and transaction fees are charged in the forex market.
Liquidity:
Forex market is considered as the most liquid market in the world. In the forex market, investors can easily sell their holdings because there is always a large number of brokers and dealers who buy currencies. As a matter of fact, the liquidity for major currencies is very high. Following are the advantages of liquidity in forex trading:
•    It ensures the price stability of the currencies
•    The investors can easily take a position responding to changing economic conditions
•    The investors receive a fair market price of the currencies
•    The investors or account holders are less vulnerable to liquidity risk.
Participants of Forex market:
Participants of the forex market are commercial banks, central or national banks, currency stock exchanges, government and private commercial companies (such as foreign trade firms, investment funds), insurance and pension funds, individual investors and the broker companies. The large commercial banks are the most significant participant of the forex market. After large commercial banks, the brokerage houses are the most active participants in the market.
Structure of the forex market:
The structure of the forex market refers to its broad framework that consists on three tiers namely the interbank market, large retail banks and funds and retail foreign exchange firms. The structure of the forex market will help you understand how foreign exchange transactions go through. The breakdown of each tier and the interaction between them is mentioned below:
•    Interbank Market: The Interbank market comprises on the largest banks and central banks. The large commercial banks and the central bank trade currencies via a system known as EBS. EBS can simply be defined as the software application. It provides the interbank participants of the forex market with bank’s resources helping them understand the supply and demand. Depending upon the supply and demand conditions, the participants can develop fair prices to trade with each other.
•    Retail Banks: Retail banks allow the customers to exchange currencies. When people exchange currencies, the retail banks move the currency around from one branch to another. The retail banks earn profit with the help of spread, a different price for buying than for selling. In case the retail banks need a particular currency, they approach to the tier above them which is the interbank market.
•    Retail Forex Brokers: The retail foreign exchange brokers allow the individual traders to open accounts with them to trade currencies in the forex market. Generally, the retail forex brokers have good relations with interbanks and retail banks because they need to take prices from them. How does retail forex trader offer prices to retail traders? In simple words, they take prices from the interbanks banks retail banks, add a markup and offer the new prices to the retailer traders.

Western dreams: The Alamosa Solar project, the world's largest CPV plant

by Solar Server International Correspondent Christian Roselund

Image by Amonix

Ambition

The Western United States is a big place. The sheer scale of the landscape overwhelms; in many states you can drive hundreds of kilometers in any direction, through prairies, forests, mountains and deserts, without encountering a city.

This land has always attracted ambitious individuals; after the Native Americans came trappers, prospectors for gold and silver, farmers, ranchers, those fleeing religious persecution, and more recently, hippies and entrepreneurs.

In the Western state of Colorado, on the high prairie of the San Luis Valley, facing the wall of the San Juan Mountains, is one of the most ambitious solar projects yet undertaken. Above the rabbitbrush and greasewood are a series of 15 by 21 meter arrays of lenses, rising on hundreds of metal poles like an alien orchard.

This is Cogentrix' Alamosa Solar project, the world's largest concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) project, which we bring you as Solar Server's November 2012 Solar Energy System of the Month.

The San Luis Valley

The location in the San Luis Valley is important for understanding this project. The high, dry climate of the valley has lent itself to limited agriculture, mostly alfalfa, potatoes, lettuce and barley, as well as ranching.

Alfalfa field under cultivation. The valley is seeing limitations on the use of water. Image by Klepastic

However, agriculture in the valley is seeing difficult times. "The San Luis Valley is undergoing a transition away from an agricultural economic base due to increasing restrictions on the use of water," notes Cogentrix Energy Project Developer Jef Freeman. 

With its extremely arid climate and high elevation, the land is ideally suited to another kind of harvest. Freeman notes the "outstanding sunlight characteristics" which make the land ideal for CPV, which requires not only abundant sunlight, but direct, unfiltered sunlight, known as direct normal irradiation (DNI).

Cogentrix is not the first company to notice this. In 2007 SunEdison built an 8.2 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant near the town of Mosca, Colorado, which at the time was the largest PV plant in the United States, and the valley boasts some of the highest rates of home PV adoption in the nation.

Capturing the sun

The Alamosa plant is comprised of 3,528 Amonix 7700-60 and 7700-63 CPV "Mega-Modules", mounted on 504 dual-axis tracking units (utilizing hydraulics provided by Hawe), seven to a tracker.

Amonix' CPV technology is based on the use of mulijunction PV cells. Image by Amonix

Each Amonix module uses over 1,000 acrylic Fresnel lenses to concentrate sunlight up to 500 times onto small multi-junction solar photovoltaic (PV) cells. These cells can reach 31% module efficiency, an approximately 10% raw gain in efficiency over the most efficient PV modules without concentration.

CPV manufacturers and developers including Amonix state that this technology can offer a lower levelized cost of electricity than PV technology, however in order to do so CPV, like concentrating solar power (CSP) requires specific light conditions, as well as the use of tracking devices.

The trackers at the Alamosa Solar plant follow the sun's motions throughout the day using a hydraulic system by Hawe, which is driven by a custom-mounted controller. Each of the trackers holds 60 kW of CPV attached to a Solectria inverter, delivering in total 30 MW of capacity.

This makes the Alamosa project almost four times as large as the next-largest CPV plant in the world, the 7.8 MW Navarra Solar Park in Navarra, Spain, and a breakthrough for CPV technology into the big time.

Sealing the deal

The plant is the result of a solicitation process opened in early 2009 by Xcel Energy subsidiary Public Service Company of Colorado. The process, as approved by the Colorado Public Service Commission, helps to meet Colorado's ambitious renewable portfolio standard (RPS) of 30% by 2020 for private utilities.

However, following the sale of electricity to Xcel, several other significant hurdles stood between Cogentrix and its goal of building the plant. CPV technology uses less water than does agriculture, but developers still needed to secure water rights for the project.

Several hurdles had to be overcome before construction could begin, including obtaining water rights, a height variance and securing financing. Image by Amonix

"The project required obtaining specific Colorado and Alamosa County variances and permits," recalls Cogentrix VP Freeman. "For instance, to obtain the necessary water rights for potable and lens cleaning water, the project team worked closely with County conservancy officials to develop a program of water augmentation into the San Luis Valley groundwater system."

Also, the height of the project exceeded an existing 15 meter county height limitation. Freeman notes that the project team worked with Alamosa County through the state delegated 1041 permit process to secure permits for construction, including a height variance.

Financing

However, the largest hurdle was likely financing. Here, being the first CPV project of this scale was not an advantage.

"Because the project is the first of its kind, conventional financing was not available," notes Freeman. "Traditional financial institutions required at least two years of operating performance data in order to adequately gauge the risk profile of the project before offering financing terms for review."

The project team was ultimately able to secure a loan from the Federal Finance Bank, backed by a U.S. DOE loan guarantee.

Building the future

In order to meet project deadlines, Cogentrix began work on the project in April 2011 with project partners Stantec and Mortenson, financing the work through its own equity while pursuing the DOE loan guarantee. Cogentrix VP Freeman notes that again, the size of the project and its innovative nature brought challenges.

Cogentrix VP of Development Jef Freeman notes that the greatest challenge was the unprecedented scale of the project. Image by Amonix

"By their very nature, innovative projects such as the Alamosa Solar project often bring equipment supply, construction and operational challenges," observes Freeman. "Each occurred at some point during the construction and start-up of the Alamosa Solar project."

Freeman states that the biggest challenge was the project scale, particularly the 15 meter by 21 meter assemblies. The project also required 45 kilometers of grounding cable throughout the site and 84 km of underground electrical cable for carrying the power produced in the field to the interconnection transmission line at 115 kV.

Hard land: Building for ice, wind and other challenges

Freeman also notes that the physical location, while offering rich solar resources, also presented big challenges.

"The mountainous terrain required the engineering designers to account for extreme temperature variations (-43 degrees up to +35 degrees C), a frost line of 107 cm below site grade, a relatively high water table, and the presence of invasive rodents," notes Freeman. "This required that the selection of materials and equipment met the functional needs of the project while also tolerating extreme conditions."

Finally, the project had to take into account strong winds, which led to equipping each tracker assembly with its own independent anemometer to measure wind speed, so that the assemblies can be moved to the flat, face-up position if winds exceed 45 kilometers per hour (kph). A centralized control system puts the whole field into stow position if wind speeds exceed 48 kph.

Solar harvest

Cogentrix completed the project in only 12 months. Image by Amonix

After roughly 12 months of construction, Cogentrix put the Alamosa Solar project into service in April 2012. Freeman credits the team from three companies with the project's success. "It was imperative to have quality ownership, engineering, construction and operational personnel involved to ensure the project’s ultimate success," states Freeman. 

Freeman notes the combination of engineering talent and Cogentrix and Stantec as well as Mortenson's construction expertise, stating that this combination enabled the project to address the multiple challenges that it faced during the construction process and conclude on time. He describes the plant as a role model for similar plants, noting that the project broke new ground in many ways.

"In order for the conventional commercial lending community to get comfortable with risks associated with innovative projects, an operating track record is needed," explains Freeman. "The Alamosa Solar project is well on its way to establishing such an operating track record."

The facility has an availability of 98%, and is meeting contractual obligations with Xcel Energy. Cogentrix, Amonix, and their project team, working with the federal and local government, have shown that once again, the West can deliver on dreams.

Former Amonix CEO Brian Robertson. Image by Amonix

Footnote: Brian Robertson (1973-2011)

On December 22nd, 2011 former Amonix CEO and Board Director Brian Robertson died in a plane crash in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, only four months before the Alamosa Solar plant achieved commercial operation. Mr. Robertson was also a co-founder of SunEdison, and a person who left a mark on the solar industry and the world.

We at Solar Server want to take a moment to remember the pioneering spirit of Mr. Robertson, and his contributions to CPV and the solar industry.