#solar technology australia

[advancedsolartechnology]

Solar Power Perth - How to Get the Most Out of Your Solar Power System

Solar power perth is a great way to reduce your electricity bills. The exact savings depend on your energy consumption and the size of your solar system. Other factors can include your roof orientation, tilt and shading.

Typically, a 6.6kW solar energy system will cost between $4,000 and $8,000. Government rebates and incentives, such as the Small-Scale Technology Certificates scheme, help offset these upfront costs.

Solar Panels

Solar panels perth convert sunlight into electricity, reducing your energy costs and contributing to a greener future. They operate by absorbing sunlight and turning it into energy via the photovoltaic effect, discovered by French physicist Edmund Becquerel in 1839.

The current from the panels flows through conductive wires to an inverter, where it’s converted into alternating current (AC) power for use around your home. Extra electricity that isn’t used can be sold back to the grid through a feed-in tariff, further lowering your energy bills.

Solar panels come in a range of sizes and configurations, but all are designed to operate efficiently in Perth’s sunny climate. Choosing the right system size will ensure you meet your energy needs and maximise savings. Monocrystalline panels are the most efficient, made from a single silicon crystal and performing well in lowlight conditions or Perth’s abundant sunshine. Polycrystalline and thin-film panels are more affordable but offer less efficiency. They are a good choice for homes with limited roof space.

Inverters

The inverter is the heart of your solar system. It converts the DC energy your panels generate into AC electricity that your household uses. A high-quality inverter maximises energy output, helps you monitor your system and communicates with the grid. It’s also hard-working and will be under more stress than your solar panels, so it’s important to choose a robust inverter.

There are three distinct types of inverters, each offering unique benefits. Microinverters optimise the energy output for each panel, while hybrid inverters work with battery storage systems to enable greater energy independence. Lastly, iStore inverters utilise excess energy from your system to heat water for costeffective home heating.

Batteries

Solar batteries store energy and use it when the sun is not shining. They are an important complement to solar systems in Perth and can help reduce electricity bills and increase energy independence. They can be DC coupled, AC coupled, or integrated with hybrid inverter systems.

They convert direct current (DC) electricity into alternating current (AC), the type of energy used in homes and appliances. The storage capacity of batteries is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). Choosing the right battery size depends on your energy needs and how much you want to cut your dependence on grid power.

There are several types of solar batteries on the market, including lithium-ion and lead acid. It’s best to shop around based on usable kWh, price per kW and manufacturer warranty. Ideally, the battery should also provide backup power in the event of a grid outage. Battery storage also makes your solar system eligible for the Distributed Energy Buyback Scheme, which will remunerate you at 0.03c Off-Peak and 10 c Peak for the electricity it stores and exports to the grid.

Installation

A well-designed Solar power perth system can harvest a substantial amount of energy. Homeowners can achieve impressive electricity savings with an average payback period of a few years. Factors such as energy consumption, roof size, and system size can influence the payback period.

Homeowners can choose from monocrystalline or polycrystalline panels for their Perth solar power installation. Monocrystalline panels are known for their durability and high efficiency. They are also space-efficient. Polycrystalline panels are made of multiple silicon crystals and are less expensive than monocrystalline panels. Both types of solar panels perform well in the city’s sunny weather.

Choosing the right installer is important to ensure that your solar system meets your energy needs. Be sure to check the company’s credentials and ask about warranties. Also, be wary of deals that are too good to be true. A reputable installer will not offer a product or service that isn’t of high quality. In addition, the company should be CEC-accredited.

[dandelionsresilience]

Dandelion News - November 15-21

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735 or check out my Dandelion Doodles! (sorry it's slightly late, the links didn't wanna work and I couldn't figure it out all day)

1. Wyoming's abortion ban has been overturned, including its ban on abortion medication

“Wyoming is the second state to have its near-total abortion ban overturned this month[…. Seven other states] also approved amendments protecting the right to an abortion. A lawsuit seeking to challenge the [FDA]’s approval of abortion medication recently failed when the Supreme Court refused to hear it[….]”

2. Patches of wildflowers in cities can be just as good for insects as natural meadows – study

“This study confirmed that small areas of urban wildflowers have a high concentration of pollinating insects, and are as valuable to many pollinators as larger areas of natural meadow that you would typically find rurally.”

3. Paris could offer new parents anti-pollution baby 'gift bags' to combat 'forever chemicals'

“The bag includes a stainless steel baby cup, a wooden toy, reusable cotton wipes, and non-toxic cleaning supplies as part of a "green prescription". […] The city will also have 44 centres for protecting mothers and infants that will be without any pollutants[….]”

4. Indigenous guardians embark on a sacred pact to protect the lowland tapir in Colombia

“The tapir is now the focus of an Indigenous-led conservation project[… A proposed “biocultural corridor”] will protect not only the populations and movements of wildlife such as tapirs, but also the cultural traditions and spirituality of the Inga and other neighboring Indigenous peoples[….]”

5. Denmark will plant 1 billion trees and convert 10% of farmland into forest

“[…] 43 billion kroner ($6.1 billion) have been earmarked to acquire land from farmers over the next two decades[.… In addition,] livestock farmers will be taxed for the greenhouse gases emitted by their cows, sheep and pigs from 2030, the first country to do so[….]”

6. The biggest grid storage project using old batteries is online in Texas

“[Element operates “used EV battery packs” with software that can] fine-tune commands at the cell level, instead of treating all the batteries as a monolithic whole. This enables the system to get more use out of each cell without stressing any so much that they break down[….]””

7. Durable supramolecular plastic is fully ocean-degradable and doesn't generate microplastics

“The new material is as strong as conventional plastics and biodegradable, [… and] is therefore expected to help reduce harmful microplastic pollution that accumulates in oceans and soil and eventually enters the food chain.”

8. Big Oil Tax Could Boost Global Loss and Damage Fund by 2000%

“[… A] tax on fossil fuel extraction, which would increase each year, combined with additional taxes on excess profits would […] generate hundreds of billions of dollars by the end of the decade to assist poor and vulnerable communities with the impact of the climate crisis[….]”

9. Rooftop solar meets 107.5 pct of South Australia’s demand, no emergency measures needed

“[T]he state was able to export around 658 MW of capacity to Victoria at the time[….] The export capacity is expected to increase significantly as the new transmission link to NSW[…] should be able to allow an extra 150 MW to be transferred in either direction by Christmas.”

10. Light-altering paint for greenhouses could help lengthen the fruit growing season in less sunny countries

“[Scientists] have developed a spray coating for greenhouses that could help UK farmers to produce more crops in the future using the same or less energy[… by optimising] the wavelength of light shining onto the plants, improving their growth and yield.”

November 8-14 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[nando161mando]

[hot-water-heater-brisbane]

The Hot Water Systems Showdown: Rheem, Aquamax, and Thermann

In the realm of hot water systems, selecting the right brand and model is paramount to ensure that your home is well-equipped with a reliable source of hot water. Three leading brands that have earned a reputation for efficiency and quality are Rheem, Aquamax, and Thermann. In this article, we’ll delve into what sets these brands apart and why you should consider them for your hot water needs. Read more

[renewableenergyblogs2023]

Do you want to know how to cut your energy usage with smart devices?

[knighted-princess]

Is it normal for Astronomy textbooks to read the Astronomical Units abbreviation, AU, as the Australian Dollar?

Because my online textbook read "AU" as both "AU" and "Australian Dollars"!

(P.S. The abbreviation for the Australian Dollar is AUD. Why is this happening???)

I just listened to it again, and the Australian Dollar keeps showing up in different part lines, that were just pronounced "AU" last time...

What?

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

New SpaceTime out Monday

SpaceTime 20241230 Series 27 Episode 157

NASA's Parker Solar Probe touches the Sun

NASA's Parker Solar Probe has made history flying closer to the Sun and travelling faster than any other spacecraft ever.

New lunar samples show the Moon was still volcanically active 2.8 billion years ago

New data from China’s Chang’e-6 sample return mission to the far side of the Moon suggests the landing site was still volcanically active approximately 2.8 billion years ago – far more recently than previously thought.

Unveiling the uncharted Milky Way

Astronomers have developed a new stellar chart providing a more complete map of our Milky Way Galaxy.

The Science Report

Drinking tea or coffee associated with a lower risk of head and neck cancer.

Study finds that 1 in 127 people are on the autism spectrum.

A major breakthrough in energy storage technology.

Skeptics guide to grounding socks

SpaceTime covers the latest news in astronomy & space sciences.

The show is available every Monday, Wednesday and Friday through Apple Podcasts (itunes), Stitcher, Google Podcast, Pocketcasts, SoundCloud, Bitez.com, YouTube, your favourite podcast download provider, and from www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com

SpaceTime is also broadcast through the National Science Foundation on Science Zone Radio and on both i-heart Radio and Tune-In Radio.

SpaceTime daily news blog: http://spacetimewithstuartgary.tumblr.com/

SpaceTime facebook: www.facebook.com/spacetimewithstuartgary

SpaceTime Instagram @spacetimewithstuartgary

SpaceTime twitter feed @stuartgary

SpaceTime YouTube: @SpaceTimewithStuartGary

SpaceTime -- A brief history

SpaceTime is Australia’s most popular and respected astronomy and space science news program – averaging over two million downloads every year. We’re also number five in the United States.  The show reports on the latest stories and discoveries making news in astronomy, space flight, and science.  SpaceTime features weekly interviews with leading Australian scientists about their research.  The show began life in 1995 as ‘StarStuff’ on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) NewsRadio network.  Award winning investigative reporter Stuart Gary created the program during more than fifteen years as NewsRadio’s evening anchor and Science Editor.  Gary’s always loved science. He studied astronomy at university and was invited to undertake a PHD in astrophysics, but instead focused on his career in journalism and radio broadcasting. Gary’s radio career stretches back some 34 years including 26 at the ABC. He worked as an announcer and music DJ in commercial radio, before becoming a journalist and eventually joining ABC News and Current Affairs. He was part of the team that set up ABC NewsRadio and became one of its first on air presenters. When asked to put his science background to use, Gary developed StarStuff which he wrote, produced and hosted, consistently achieving 9 per cent of the national Australian radio audience based on the ABC’s Nielsen ratings survey figures for the five major Australian metro markets: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth.  The StarStuff podcast was published on line by ABC Science -- achieving over 1.3 million downloads annually.  However, after some 20 years, the show finally wrapped up in December 2015 following ABC funding cuts, and a redirection of available finances to increase sports and horse racing coverage.  Rather than continue with the ABC, Gary resigned so that he could keep the show going independently.  StarStuff was rebranded as “SpaceTime”, with the first episode being broadcast in February 2016.  Over the years, SpaceTime has grown, more than doubling its former ABC audience numbers and expanding to include new segments such as the Science Report -- which provides a wrap of general science news, weekly skeptical science features, special reports looking at the latest computer and technology news, and Skywatch – which provides a monthly guide to the night skies. The show is published three times weekly (every Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and available from the United States National Science Foundation on Science Zone Radio, and through both i-heart Radio and Tune-In Radio.

[mysticmellowlove]

Subby with Fem!Reader wife who is like the shit. I mean she is very well known around the world for her humanitarian philanthropic projects that she has made absolute bank from. With being the boss she is, she has to travel a lot for work and events.

But what about her poor little (he’s actually tall as hell) husband? She brings him along everywhere. Where ever she goes everyone will always see him there. Holding her hand in paparazzi pics, or standing on the corner of a stage when she is giving speeches.

He said he would be a househusband for her but because she has so much money(and let’s assume he has money from something) that she has house attendants and such so she doesn’t need him too. Instead, she puts him in charge of projects and basically makes him her lap dog that she carry’s in her Birkin everywhere she goes. He just loves being with her and traveling the world for work with her. What a dream.

note; just a lil something something

warnings; fem reader

You two are the world's power couple

With your organisation you usually were on the move all the time, getting to see the world in its most natural forms

Beautiful jungles, stunning deserts, the far reaches of the oceans, some of the most secluded islands... they were all in the palms of your hands.

You had been to Tuvalu most recently to assess the situation there, tornado victims in America, bushfires over in Australia... you had even raised awareness about oil drilling off the coasts of some of the most beautiful places on earth

And right next to you was your husband, a dedicated techie and an intense simp

He runs a tech start-up, one that tries to find alternatives to building and powering their products to lessen the strain on earth

This includes synthetic materials compared to earth's resources, implementing a solar-powered screen and trying to work towards an alternative to wind turbines in coastal areas.

That's why you two did collabs, it's why you two met.

You were drawn to his innovation and he was drawn to your passionate causes

Together you were almost unstoppable, two rich people who actually wanted to help others

Most of your shared money went to charities, building homes, helping the disadvantaged and putting in place plans for the future

Of course, you had a couple of vacation homes in some of your favourite places but those were also used as home bases for your travels.

UN meetings and WHO research, you two were the main funders of these branches and you attended nearly all of the meetings.

Sometimes things got busy though, so you'd send your devoted husband on a little trip

While you took care of things over in America he'd be over in Asia, networking with some of the best technology companies while also offering aid to humanitarian projects

There was hardly a moment when the two of you could actually be alone, either there was work to be done or your house's attendants would be buzzing away

When it was quiet though you two loved to spend some time together, just in each other's presence

He loved to massage you, not because it was an opportunity to touch you but because... it was an opportunity to touch you

His most favourite thing to do though was to rest his head on your tummy and let you play with his hair, he found it relaxing!

He'd let you do anything to him basically but you were always so gentle with him

He's a very spoilt man who gets almost everything he wants

All he has to do is give you puppy dog eyes and he's under the table eating you out while your heeled foot is stroking his cock

He loves being inside you as well, just cockwarming you

If you want him to do something all you have to do is ask but if you want to make things a little more interesting wear a short skirt and then ask, maybe bend over so he can see the swell of your ass

Such a needy man, he'd be on his knees begging for a taste

[probablyasocialecologist]

"Part of the degrowth literature talks about how historically energy and emissions decoupling has not been fast enough, and uses this to argue for a degrowth strategy," says Kikstra. "We show that this is not a black-or-white debate. The nuance lies in the fact that also under degrowth strategies, forms of decoupling are necessary. But these are structurally different dynamics, which relate to a broad set of policies. A lot of new research is required to model such strategies, and we lay out different options to do so." "The results of the study suggest that fast emissions reductions in countries like Australia could be enabled in scenarios characterized by reduced or zero growth. Possibly even faster than in virtually all of the most ambitious mitigation scenarios described in the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report Scenario Database," says Bas van Ruijven, co-author of the study, research group leader, and principal research scholar in the IIASA Energy, Climate, and Environment program. The study also shows that reduced energy demand paired with lower GDP per capita lessens technological feasibility concerns by reducing the need for upscaling solar and wind energy and limiting future material needs for renewables as electricity generation stabilizes in the second half of the century.

[dragonthunders01]

Spectember D15: Posthumans

5 million years has been since the last human being die on earth, but is a world still ruled by humans, or what descended from them.

All started for the struggle for a civilization that collapsed in a cataclysmic event of interplanetary scale that annihilated the biosphere and a good chunk of the human population, for sure it was not pollution or the man’s hand, or even something like an asteroid, maybe was an extraterrestrial invasion? A supernova? Whatever was this event, it was strong enough it pulled out a civilization that was already on their early steps on traveling to star systems and already was settled across the solar system, it was the endgame for all of them.

The last remaining survivors did the best to stand and find ways to perpetuate the species, but when options at short term turned useless there was a last hope to humanity to survive until the world they live on would recover, they focused the last resources on build a vault designed to last until the habitable conditions of earth returned and repopulate the planet thanks to thousands of human specimens samples that could be born and reclaim the world in the future helped by the synthetic hands of long term lasting artificial intelligences.

Though whatever happened in the planning, something went wrong, something caused to make those restored humans to be shaped into what was sort of similar to them but more ape like, was this deliberated or if it was an inconvenient? if it was ideal for mankind to rise like their ancestors or if this “devolution” was something sketched for the artificial systems as a way to secure their offspring for a systematic failure? Is another question which will likely have no proper answer, but the result of this turned at the end successful for the survival of the biological lineage of humans.

When that humanity arose of the ruins of the again habitable earth, they sort of resembled lanky shorter versions of a chimp, brownish, with a more developed diet thanks to a modification in their digestive system and dentition allowed them to exploit every resource available as generalist omnivores. These creatures which could be called the "woodland dwellers" conquered most of the continent in matter of centuries, they did not need transport or technology to do it, they just traveled, wandered like their ancestors although they no longer were bipedal.

They started somewhere in Eurasia, eventually crossing to new regions and in a thousand years the majority of the world that was easy to access through routes was filled with these, all of them started to establish wherever food was easy to find, then came those that started to venture in new environments, new climates, migrated across continents.

In 50 thousand years, there were new populations that isolated themselves and became adapted to their respective environments: Tundra, Grasslands, canopies, the deserts, the coasts and seas, rivers, etc., all product of constant migration and colonization of new terrains.

100 thousand years, few ice ages went and came, they have turned the balance of diversity further towards speciation at a rhythm that only will benefit those species that can be flexible to change, they manage to colonize America, as well expand towards Africa and many of the island regions across the pacific ocean somehow reaching up to Australia, and so conquered most of the planet with exception of Antarctica.

1 million years, many of those ecologically adapted or regionally isolated populations have turned into different species, they still resemble the woodland dweller to a degree but they have changed considerable depending of their environment, with new behaviors, sizes and faces.

3 million years, the world was starting to see the new men shapes, some robust, some more slendy than their ancestors, some agile, some slow walkers, bipedal, facultative bipedal, quadrupeds, a lot of them took advantage of being the only dominant megafauna to reign as only a handful of small surviving mammals, resilient birds and many reptiles and amphibians represent competition, some have started to take over but it will be a long time until the posthumanity is dethroned from their state, meanwhile the oceans and rivers are dominated by shark and fishes, though there were already the start of a branch of the human dwelling species that became semiaquatic, their evolutionary path is increasingly fast.

And now 5 million years hence, a lot of these new posthuman species have specialized and turned even more different of their ancestral form, many look like an amalgamation between different animals with features of many of their gone monkeys and ape relatives. For things of natural selection and that speciation the new species that evolved of the isolation for the last 2 million years have migrated and now claimed another place on other continents, especially in America which in these million years saw a wave of posthuman species that replaced many of the endemic species, and some of those moved towards Asia. These ecosystems have one of everything, browsing or grazing herbivores, specialized prey eaters (insectivores, mollusk eaters, scavengers), varied lineages of omnivores, and full carnivores.

Specifically one of the carnivore lineage that evolved of the original "Woodland dweller" came from a specialized form reduced in size, adapted on hunting small animals and after millions of years these started to increasingly expand their prey range, growing in size as they replaced previous predatory forms that became stagnated. With the new diversity of the posthuman formed ecosystem growing in complexity, the new predatory forms could rise to hunt these down. Some are fast small prey hunters, some became more arboreal, some are more prominent on the grassland or mountains, all of them came in a considerable range of sizes from the extinct domestic cat to a panthers, but upon the appearance of large herbivores, a new more formidable and heavier predator evolved, this was the Spiketooth.

Spiketooths are among the largest terrestrial carnivores of earth, with a height of 2.3 meters tall and weight some 300 kg, their range extend across Eurasia, coming on the most temperate regions, they are heavy predators adapted for ambush and wrestling their prey into submission rather than fast hunt and kill. They hunt down large posthumans like the Eurasian slothmen, heavy descendants an arboreal heavy species from Africa that resemble a ground sloth, though formidable fighters with their long hand claws, or the armored species like the Temperate Lockskin, fatty and hairless posthumans that are semi bipedal, descendants of the tundra species that moved to the tropics and lost their fur due to the climate they live on, turning their skin very robust made against medium size predators, they often hold a handful of small sized gibbon like posthumans that feast on parasites and live in sort of symbiosis with their host Lockskin, often even being able to warn these of the incoming attack of a spiketooth.

This large carnivore evolved specifically to deal with the thought skin of these animals, with hypertrophied conical incisive that often pressure and cut through the hardest epidermis and are capable to pierce any defense of the large forms, with their carnassial teeth they are capable of tear down and cut with quite efficacy the meat of their prey, often taking also chunks of bones if they are capable off.

[andmaybegayer]

My parents have installed an 8kWh battery backup because frankly it sucks not to have power 4-8 hours a day. Pretty much everyone in South Africa who can afford one is installing one! But it's really stupendously expensive and it makes me think about how ridiculous the people suggesting that grid scale storage is viable are.

Look. I don't think we will never be able to do grid scale storage. There's lots of promising new battery and capacitor technologies. I give it decent odds that in the next century someone will develop a battery that rivals kerosene for cost per kWh of storage. But whenever we talk about tools for solving climate change I feel like a lot of people forget that it's a pretty imminent problem!

If I told you "hey, I know you're looking at that Toyota Corolla so you can drive to work. Well, I'm working on a flying car. It's going to be so much faster, and it'll cost the same amount as a Toyota Corolla, and I'll have it ready in a few months. Look, I've got this tiny scale model to show you that it's on the way, please give me the money you were going to spend on the Toyota Corolla and I'll give you a flying car when it's ready." you would laugh at me. Every single engineering project comes in over budget and over time, if it's finished at all. Scale models are nothing when you need to solve big problems. Everyone understands this with bridges, why do they not get it with gridscale storage.

Every day some guy says "hey look we built a sodium battery pack it took our lab six months to build 100kWh worth but we totally promise that we'll have mass production down by 2025 please don't think about whether you are designing a future grid heavily dependent on fossil fuel baseloads we'll have huge batteries by then look there's the one in Australia it stores literally seconds worth of grid capacity." and I feel like I'm going insane.

This is not a technology that is "ready to go" this is the shit we make fun of when a university PR department claims they've cured cancer (in mouse cells (in a culture ( with additional marker proteins (and killed the healthy cells too whoops))))

All the current climate change targets are aiming for things in 2050 and it feels like gridscale storage gets used as an easy excuse for politicians who don't want to explain why they're making a grid that happens to be completely reliant on fossil fuels. They just go "oh we're investing in renewable technologies ;)" while sheepishly standing in front of the gas pipelines.

They might not even be industry shills! Some of them are but I think some of them are genuinely taken in by the renewables grift. They see the endless fields of wind farms when they visit the German countryside or whatever and think wow :) renewables really work :) we're going to fix climate change :) and have never understood an eqCO2/kWh value in their life.

People reporting on SMR and renewables say things like "Nuclear is too expensive and impractical compared to wind and solar which is why we're not investing in it" but that's only true if you believe you can run a grid on wind and solar alone! Otherwise you have to say the quiet "and hundreds of gas turbines with fuel storage on standby" part out loud.

[advancedsolartechnology]

Are Solar Panels a Ripoff?

The process of purchasing a solar system is often harrowing for consumers. Representatives are often pushy and may make lofty promises. Some salespeople also use electronic contracts that are hard to read and difficult to get out of.

Unrealistic promises can be a red flag. For example, a company that claims you’ll get a check from the government or that your electricity bill will disappear is misleading.

They are an investment

The growing popularity of solar energy has fueled innovation, but it has also attracted scam artists. These bad actors use disreputable tactics to steal the spotlight from reputable companies. The best way to avoid them is to learn about state and federal incentives before making a decision.

A reputable company will be honest about the costs and benefits of solar. They should give you a detailed estimate and answer all of your questions. They should also tell you about the incentives and rebates that are solar panels a ripoff ? available in your area.

Some companies may offer a no-cost installation or $0 down deal. However, these deals are usually a solar lease or power purchase agreement (PPA). In this case, the solar company owns and operates the panels on your roof and sells electricity to you at a reduced rate. This type of arrangement is not ideal for most consumers. The old saying “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is” applies to this type of marketing.

They are a long-term investment

Solar panels are a long-term investment that can save on electricity bills and help the environment. However, consumers should be aware of false and misleading claims made by some companies. These claims can cause consumers to lose tens of thousands of dollars.

Some solar salespeople make it seem as though a home solar system is free, when in reality it can cost the consumer $20,000. It’s important to research and compare quotes from several companies before choosing one. Be sure to check credentials and references and read the contract carefully.

Another common scam involves leasing or power purchase agreements, which do not give the consumer ownership of the panels. This can exclude them from federal or state incentives and can result in hidden fees, unfavorable rates, and restrictive contracts. It’s also important to know that the tax credit for home solar is limited. This means that it may be more beneficial to lease or buy solar equipment rather than own it.

They are a maintenance investment

Many homeowners are excited to save money with solar power, but they must be aware of some shady companies that try to take advantage of consumers. To avoid them, it is essential to research solar companies and compare quotes before signing a contract. A reputable company will be transparent about costs and incentives. They should also provide information about the sizing of their systems and answer all your questions.

Some scams involve false claims about costs and savings. For example, some solar companies have been accused of overstating consumer eligibility for tax credits. These claims have triggered regulatory scrutiny and violate state laws.

In addition to a warranty on your system, you should also check the company’s policy on repairs and replacements. These services are not cheap, but it’s important to ensure the quality of your panels. A damaged panel will not perform well, so you should contact a professional to fix it. You should also make sure the company will recycle your old panels in an environmentally friendly way.

They are a warranty investment

Investing in solar technology Australia is a great way to save money and reduce your carbon footprint. However, it’s important to understand the industry before making any big purchases. Many scam artists take advantage of the booming green energy trend, and it’s up to homeowners to know how to spot bad actors. By educating yourself on the industry, laws, and incentives, you can be better prepared to avoid scams and shady companies.

Homeowners should also be wary of ads that promise free solar systems. These advertisements typically involve a power purchase agreement (PPA) or solar lease, which require monthly payments to the company that owns the panels. It’s also important to remember that federal and state tax incentives and net energy metering may affect the final cost of a system.

Finally, it’s important to be aware that solar contracts are for 20 years or more. Signing a lease or PPA can make it harder to sell your home, and if you have a loan, the contract will need to be paid off before selling.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Canary Media:

Smart Wires has spent more than a decade putting its grid-boosting technology to the test in Australia, South America, and Europe. Now, the Durham, North Carolina–based company is finally getting a crack at projects in the U.S., backed by federal funds and policies supporting technologies that could unlock gigawatts of capacity on the country’s existing power grids.

In October, Smart Wires was selected for two projects that will receive a combined $60 million in U.S. Department of Energy funding. They will be the first large-scale U.S. deployments of Smart Wires’ SmartValve power flow control devices, which can digitally increase resistance on individual power lines in a transmission network to redirect power onto underutilized lines.

These advanced power flow control (APFC) systems are among a set of so-called grid enhancing technologies — GETs for short — that could play an important role in mitigating grid bottlenecks. These logjams block wind and solar farms from being connected to the grid, causing billions of dollars in congestion costs and making the grid less reliable during summer heatwaves and winter storms.

But U.S. transmission utilities, which earn money by building new infrastructure rather than making their existing transmission networks run more efficiently, have lagged other countries in deploying these technologies. That lag has spurred the Biden administration and some states to institute a set of policies to speed GETs deployments to help meet clean energy and grid reliability goals.

At an event last month to introduce a new grid modernization collaboration between the White House and 21 states, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm called GETs ​“the lowest-hanging fruit for being able to get additional capacity on the grid — and for the least amount of money.”

Ted Bloch-Rubin, Smart Wires’ director of business development for the Americas, was at last month’s White House event. ​“Secretary Granholm said what we’ve been trying to say for a long time,” he told Canary Media in an interview last month. ​“This is low-hanging fruit. Let’s get on it.”

Smart Wires’ U.S. efforts are among 58 projects across 44 states targeted for a total of $3.5 billion in DOE grid modernization grants from a program created by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

One of the company’s two projects is with transmission utility Vermont Electric Power Co. (VELCO) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and targets a key interconnection for moving wind and hydro power between New York and New England.

[o-craven-canto]

This (from Wiki) is a graph of Earth’s temperature over the last 450,000 years. We are, in fact, in the middle of an ice age, the Quaternary Ice Age, defined by the year-round presence of ice at the poles (for now, *cough*). (For Earth’s history as a whole, permanent polar ice is in fact not the norm.)

The Quaternary Ice Age consists in a series of glacial periods, each about 50 to 100 thousand years long, in which glaciers may come down as far south as Paris and New York, separated by brief interglacials, each less than 20 thousand years, in which the polar ice withdraws behind the Polar Circles. That peak in temperature at the right edge of the graph is our own Holocene interglacial, which began 11,700 years ago. The whole of recorded history, everything from the development of agriculture onward, happened inside it, on the trail of a glacial period ten times longer. We could expect it to end, with the onset of another glacial period, some 10 or 20 thousand years from now, but the effects of anthropogenic climate change on this cycle are not yet predictable.

The last interglacial before ours is known as Eemian (in the European nomenclature) or Sangamon (in the American one). It was a very similar period of warming -- in fact, significantly hotter than our own times, with hippopotami wallowing in the Thames -- lasting from 130,000 to 115,000 years ago. Fifteen thousand years of mild weather, well long enough to fit a story as long and complex as the one from the first Levantine wheat farmers to us (and half again).

In that time, Homo sapiens was still a strictly African species, just making short-lived forays into the Near East; Eurasia belonged to our close cousins, Neandertals and Denisovans, and possibly to the last smatterings of Homo erectus in the southeastern jungles. Our dear brothers Neandertals, whose behavior is revealed ever more complex and imaginative, until their sudden disappearence in the middle of the next glacial period.

What were they up to, in the ice-free Europe of the long Eemian greenhouse, long enough for civilizations to rise and fall a dozen times, long enough to go from the stone sickle to the Mars rover? Most traces on the ground would have been erased when the glaciers came down again, the glaciers whose stupendous weight would carve giant lakes from Erie to Ladoga. What if they had already had better places to go to, when our conspecifics showed up in a land that was already depauperated by frost?

Why would anyone think the “little grey people” in UFOs are aliens? Have you any idea how many specific contingent events made up our evolutionary history, how vanishingly unlikely it would be for the human form to arise on another planet? Those are Neandertals, homesick after thirty thousand years of exile, and they’re coming home.

OK, fine, fine, a technological Neandertal civilization would have left massive evidence (intensive farming, driving out of megafauna, fossil fuel depletion, unusual metal concentrations) that we would have noticed, advancing glaciers would not have erased evidence so completely and in fact would not prevent us from seeing isotopic traces of technical activity, such a civilization would not have been confined to Europe and yet there is no trace whatsoever of pre-Homo sapiens human presence in the Americas or Australia, nor there is any trace of sapient activity in the Solar System older than the 20th century, and UFOs are most probably not real. Don’t take this too seriously, guys.

[shri-homes]

Energy-Efficient Building Techniques in Tarneit

In reaction to the global movement towards sustainability, the construction industry in Tarneit, an emerging suburb of Victoria, has been integrated. In particular, house builders Tarneit can incorporate sustainable and efficient methods, materials, and technologies in building construction. 

These methods benefit the environment and are also financially sustainable for homeowners as they help cut down costs incurred in the provision of energy. This blog evaluates the various high-quality, energy-efficient building methods defining future housing in Tarneit.

Solar Power Integration

Integrating solar power systems is one of the most significant steps towards energy-efficient building. House builders in Tarneit increasingly embed solar panels and thermal systems in new constructions. Solar panels capture solar energy and directly convert it into electricity. 

Solar thermal structures harness sun energy to warm water, which reduces the use of steam on non-renewable power assets. This cuts carbon emissions and hence supports the environment while lowering utility expenses. 

Additionally, promoting incentives for solar power in Australia attracts new homeowners to embrace this power source.

Advanced Thermal Insulation

Proper insulation, therefore, plays a significant role in energy conservation, whereby temperatures within homes are well regulated, lowering the chances of using heaters or air conditioners frequently. House builders in Tarneit employ advanced insulation techniques, including foam insulation and high-quality batten insulation.

These materials are installed in the walls, roofs and floors as insulation and resist heat flow in cold and hot seasons. Insulation is crucial for making homes more comfortable by significantly reducing noise levels.

High-Efficiency Windows

Another strategy house builders in Tarneit use is installing energy-efficient windows to enhance home energy performance. Multiple-glazed or triple-glazed windows are made up of several glass panes separated by a gas with very low thermal conductivity. 

These windows also play a part in controlling indoor temperatures, preventing the formation of condense and giving better soundproofing. 

The frames employed in making these conservatories include fibreglass or composite frames, which are more energy-efficient and long-lasting.

Water-Saving Fixtures

Water performance in buildings is now considered one of the predominant additives of sustainable construction. In today's Tarneit homes, newer and more innovative houses feature energy and water-saving amenities such as low-flow toilets, showerheads, and faucets. 

Experienced house builders in Tarneit prefer these fixtures to minimise water usage in daily life while maintaining functionality without achieving high levels of water usage. 

By using significantly less water per minute compared to traditional fixtures, they help conserve a critical natural resource and lead to substantial savings on water bills. 

The deliberate incorporation of water-efficient technology in homes demonstrates a commitment to environmental stewardship and economic efficiency.

Use of Sustainable Materials

The desire for building materials plays a vital function in the environmental effect of a construction undertaking. House builders in Tarneit use recycled building materials that are not obtained directly from the source and have been recycled first. Some sustainable materials used in construction include recycled steel, glass, re-use wood and bamboo. 

Also, paints and adhesives are non-toxic, and sealants are used to reduce the emissions of VOCs, which harm the inhabitants of homes by providing them with good air quality.

Implementation of Smart Home Technology

Smart home technology is crucial today and significantly affects home energy management. Some of the features in houses in Tarneit include intelligent thermostats that control heating and cooling equipment depending on the number of people using the house and the climate. 

For instance, LED lighting consumes less energy than traditional lighting; programmable appliances and water heaters also help save energy. These technologies allow owners to screen their power consumption behaviour in detail and, for this reason, be in a function to make rational selections.

Green Roofs and Living Walls

Some innovative house builders in Tarneit are incorporating green roofs and living walls into new constructions. These characteristics provide good thermal performance, minimise the speed and impact of water on buildings, contribute to air quality, and diversify the avian fauna within cities. 

A green roof is a vegetative layer covered with vegetation and a growing medium or partially or fully developed plant layer on a waterproofing layer. 

Similarly, living walls are part of the building's exterior or interior walls, covered with plants. They enhance a building’s insulation and add aesthetic value to the property.

Optimal Orientation and Layout

This is a fact because the position of a building and its architecture determine how much energy it will consume. Climatically responsive architecture is apparent, where house builders in Melton strategically place numerous windows and doors to maximise natural light and air circulation within the buildings. 

Additionally, the structures are oriented in alignment with the direction of the winds and the sun. This approach minimises using artificial lights and mechanical air conditioners, thus saving power. 

Such thoughtful placement enhances energy savings and ensures that living spaces maintain a natural comfort throughout the seasons, creating healthier and more sustainable living environments.

Final Takeaway

Thus, the residents of Melton who choose to live in a house constructed with the following features can have a relatively environmentally friendly way of life meeting the ecological requirements of the contemporary world. Various dedicated house builders in Melton are adopting these building practices, paving the way for a future where all newly constructed homes will be as energy-efficient as possible, reflecting a commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainability.

[peridotglimmer]

For your ask game:

If you got to go to space (and say we have the technology, you can go anywhere for however long you want), do you have a particular itinerary in mind?

Oh my gosh. Okay, you've tapped into my special interest since age 3 now! I'll try to keep this short. (And I'll probably fail. I cried when the Artemis II was announced; that should tell you enough about my love for space (travel).)

There are a few things I'd love to see. First up would be the International Space Station. It's such a technological marvel filled to the brim with science experiments. Science on the floor, on the walls and the ceilings. Not that they have a floor and ceiling, zero gravity and all, but you get my point. I'd want to know everything, what they're working on and why. I'd also love to pick the astronauts' brains.

Next up would be Deimos, the smaller of Mars' two moons. It's relatively small, with a radius of just over 6 kilometres. I used to imagine myself there whenever my anxiety got to me. It felt so calming, picturing myself looking at the surface of Mars from a small, smooth rock.

Then, Saturn. I want to see Saturn's polar storm. It's hexagonal and we don't know why. That's enough reason for me to want to go there.

Planet Nine is next. If it exists, I want to visit it. Planet Nine is a hypothetical planet in the outer region of the Solar System. Its existence would explain the behaviour of a few extreme trans-Neptunian objects, bodies way beyond Neptune that orbit the Sun at enormous distances compared to Earth. And if it doesn't exist (there are other explanations) well, then at least we'll have closure!

Assuming we can leave the Solar System, I want to go see how Voyager 2 is doing. Voyager 2 is a space probe launched on August 20 1977, to study the outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) and interstellar space. It left the Solar System in 2018 and is still travelling through space, still sending data back to Australia. That's freaking amazing.

If we can get there and not die on approach, Sagittarius A* would be next. Sgr A* is the supermassive black hole at the Galactic Center of the Milky Way. It has an asterisk in its name because its discovery was considered extremely exciting, and an asterisk is normally used to denote excited atoms. Scientists are such dorks.

Finally, we're headed back to Mars. We're picking up the Spirit and Opportunity rovers and taking them home.

And then I'd probably start dreaming of more destinations to visit...