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Latest Trina Solar Panels Review Predicts Great Performance in Hot Aussie Conditions

April 5, 2013 by 13 Comments
trina solar logo and checksheet

Trina solar panels tick a lot of boxes

If you are thinking of buying Trina solar panels –  reviews that you can trust are critical to helping you in your research. After all, unless you are an uber solar geek like me you probably have never heard of the Trina brand before (they are one of the biggest solar panel manufacturers on the planet by the way).

Reliable, honest solar panel reviews are very hard to come by. Why? Firstly because properly testing a solar panel takes at least a year – so that you get all the seasons. Secondly it takes a big investment in carefully calibrated measurement hardware. [Read more...]

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Your Solar Panel Warranty : What you need to know

February 27, 2013 by 2 Comments
solar panel warranty choices

What warranty are you really getting?

One of the most important things you have to watch out for when buying solar is the warranties that are offered. All too often people end up going with a cowboy firm because they have been reassured by their “25 year solar panel warranty”. What many people don’t realise is that, in reality, this warranty can be worthless.  You really need to understand how solar warranties work when you are buying a system that is designed to last 30 years or more, so you can separate the worthless promises from the genuine guarantees… [Read more...]

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Skyscraper solar glass the key to cities’ sustainability?

February 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Dye Sensitised Solar Cells

Is this what the windows of the future will look like? Picture: OxfordPV

Imagine, in a time in the not-too-distant future, when tall office buildings will have their photovoltaics built into their structure. Tall skyscrapers for example will provide their own energy needs through their glass windows and frontage. More than that, the buildings will be pumping clean alternative energy back into the power grid.

A bit far fetched I hear you say, perhaps your correspondent needs a Bex and a good lie down? [Read more...]

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Be Careful When Calculating Solar Panel Efficiency

December 18, 2012 by 5 Comments
Solar Panels

Crunching the numbers on your solar panels’ performance is fun!

One from the mailbag today that is bound to please fellow solar nerds:

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How Do You Know If Your Roof Is Good For Solar Power?

November 1, 2012 by 1 Comment

Back to the absolute solar basics today on the SQ blog!

In this video I describe the 3 things you need to understand about your roof before buying a solar power system.

And here’s the transcript if my pink shirt gets too much for you: [Read more...]

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Are your “Green” Solar Panels killing Chinese villagers?

October 30, 2012 by 2 Comments
toxic waste outflow

Solar Panel production produces large quantities of toxic waste. Where does that waste go?

If you are looking to invest in solar panels for environmental reasons, you’ll be pleased to know that, the solar electricity you will get from those panels will be 40 to 50 times less carbon intensive than electricity generated from coal.

But before you buy those solar panels and start basking in their green glow, you should be aware that the environmental impact of those panels might not be all good news. [Read more...]

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Latest solar cell breakthrough a nark’s worst nightmare

October 29, 2012 by 74 Comments
nanowore design

Nanosilicon contacts like these can go underneath the solar cell instead of on top where they block some of the sunlight. Pic: Bandgap Engineering

It must be really depressing being a solar nark these days. With the increased popularity of solar power throughout Australia and the world, and regular announcements of improvements in technology, better storage capacity and cheaper prices, solar power is going through the roof (or on the roof). The more the narks whine about what they see as the limited capacity of solar, the more breakthroughs in technology occur to push back the possibilities of clean, solar, renewable energy future for our world. [Read more...]

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Poly vs. Monocrystalline Solar Panels – Let’s put this argument to bed!

October 22, 2012 by 3 Comments

One steaming pile of Solar BS that you hear all the time from worst sales people in this industry – who will feed you any line to get a sale – is that polycrystalline panels are better than monocrystalline solar panels, or vice versa.

In this video I finally get off my chest why you should avoid anyone spouting such drivel:

Transcript is here if you don’t like listening to angry, sweary solar geeks: [Read more...]

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Spinach-powered solar? Yet more benefits from eating your greens

October 15, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Spinach doesn’t only make Popeye kick ass – it might help make dirt cheap solar panels too.

We cover quite a bit in this column in our quest to bring you (the reader) up to speed on the latest in solar policy, news and development. From solar cars, to government policy (or lack of) to the latest solar technology to hit our shores. But we’ve yet to talk vegetables, their obvious benefits and how this relates to solar power. This week we change all that. [Read more...]

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How Do Solar Panels Work?

September 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Ever wondered how solar panels actually work? We all know that they convert light into electricity – but have you ever stopped to wonder just how the heck that happens. Here I do my best to explain the inner functioning of a solar panel in plain English:

[Read more...]

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