Author Topic: History of Renewable Energy THE FOSSIL FUELERS DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW (Read 677 times)

AGelbert · « **on:** May 14, 2014, 03:46:57 pm »

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Many believe that solar energy is a late twentieth-century phenomenon. Let It Shine: The 6000 Year-Story of Solar Energy will change this misconception. Let It Shine shows, for example, that six thousand years ago the stone-age Chinese built their homes so every one of them made maximum use of the sun’s energy in winter.

So begins the story of the genesis of solar energy told in Let it Shine, the world’s first and only comprehensive history of humanity’s use of the sun. Page after page the story brings to light information never before unearthed.

Three thousand years ago the Chinese developed bronze concave mirrors to focus sunlight onto combustibles to start their cooking fire. Just recently dozens of these solar igniters – called yang-suis have been unearthed by archaeologists, making them the oldest extant solar device.

2500 years ago, for example, the sun heated every house in most Greek cities. Years later ancient Roman architects published solar self-help books to show people how to save on fuel as firewood became scarce, and fleets scoured the known world for much needed supplies.

During the renaissance Galileo and his contemporaries planned the construction of sun-focusing mirrors to serve as the West’s ultimate weapon against its Islamic enemies. Leonardo da Vinci entertained more peaceful applications. He aimed at making his fortune by building mirrors a mile in diameter to heat water for the Florentine woolen industry.

Much later, during the industrial revolution, engineers devised solar-run steam engines to save Europe from paralysis should it run out of fossil fuels.

As electricity began to power cities, the first photovoltaic modules joined the grid on a New York City rooftop in 1884.

More than one hundred years earlier a Swiss polymath modeled global warming by trapping solar heat in a glass-covered box just as carbon dioxide holds in solar heat above the earth. Using the same type of glass-covered box to harvest solar energy, enterprising businessmen established a thriving solar water industry in California at the beginning of the 1880s!

Let it Shine brings to light newly discovered documents suppressed by the Nixon, Carter and Reagan Administrations, that if known at the time by the public and the Congress, solar energy would have definitely played a larger role in the American energy scene during the last forty years.!

Let it Shine presents the step-by-step development of solar architecture and technology and pertinent energy policies. By providing the background for today’s vibrant solar industry, a deeper understanding emerges of how solar energy applications have evolved and performed and their promise for today’s world. The book is not merely a technological treatise though. It highlights the context in which these developments have occurred
and the people who have made the solar revolution possible, revealing a whole new group of unknown technological pioneers, as well as people famous for other accomplishments never before known for their work as the solar advocates and technologists they were.

Who would think Socrates as a solar promoter? Yet in a work by his admirer Xenophon, Socrates presents the basic plans for designing a solar house.

Vitruvius, a Roman famous to this day as the architect of architects, transmitted the wisdom of the Greeks on building with the sun. Did you know that the first aspiring solar entrepreneur was Leonardo da Vinci? Einstein’s famous treatise on Light Quanta, which won him the Nobel Prize, definitely qualifies the great scientist to be regarded as the father of modern photovoltaics. Then there are the forgotten ones like Gustav Vorherr, who opened up the first school of solar architecture during the 1820s in Munich and his mentor, Dr. Bernhard Christoph Faust, the first person to write a complete book on a solar topic. Thousands of newly trained solar architects trained in the work of Faust fanned out to build solar homes throughout Europe. Sympathetic despots of Bavaria and Prussia required their subjects to build following the teachings of these men, resulting in many solar structures going up in Europe during the first half of the nineteenth century. The climax of their work was the transformation of an urban area in Switzerland becoming the first modern Sun City.

And who has heard of Williams Grylls Adams and Richard Evans Day, discoverers in 1876 of photovoltaics, or Charles Fritts, who put up the first roof-top solar array on a New York building in the 1880s?

These are but a sampling of what’s to be found in the blogs based upon Let it Shine.

Table of Contents

I Early Use of the Sun

Chp 1 Solar Architecture in Ancient China [6000 BCE –]

Chp 2 Solar Architecture in Ancient Greece [500 BCE. – 300 BCE]

Chp 3 Roman Solar Architecture [100 BCE – 500 ACE]

Chp 4 Burning Mirrors [900BCE– 1700s]

Chp 5 Heat for Horticulture [1500s – 1800s]

Chp 6 Solar Hot Boxes [1767 – 1800s]

II Power from the Sun

Chp 7 The First Solar Motors [1860 – 1880]

Chp 8 Two American Pioneers [1872 – 1904]

Chp 9 Low Temperature Solar Motors [1885 – 1915]

Chp 10 The First Practical Solar Engine [1906 – 1914]

III Solar Water Heating

Chp 11 Early Solar Water Heaters [1891 – 1911]

Chp 12 Hot Water – Day and Night [1909 – 1941]

Chp 13 A Flourishing Solar Industry [1923 – 1950]

Chp 14 Solar Water Heating Worldwide Part I [1930s – 1960s]

Chp 15 Solar Desalination [1943-]

IV Solar House Heating

Chp 16 Solar Building during the Enlightenment [1807 – 1850]

Chp 17 Solar Architecture in Europe after Faust and Vorherr [1850 – 1939])

Chp 18 Solar Heating in Early America [1200– 1912]

Chp 19 An American Revival [1931 – 1950s]

Chp 20 Solar Collectors for House Heating [1882 – 1962]

V Photovoltaics

Chp 21 From Selenium to Silicon [1876 –]

Chp 22 Saved by the Space Race[1958-]

Chp 23 From Space to Earth [1968-]

VI The modern Era

Chp 24 Prelude to the Embargo [1945 -1973]

Chp 25 Solar Successes in the 1970s and 1980s

Chp 26 America’s First Solar City [1920s -]

Chp 27 Solar Water Heating Worldwide, Part 2 [1973-]

Chp 28 Photovoltaics for Every Rooftop [1978 -]

Chp 29 Better Cells, Cheaper Cells [1956 -]

Epilogue – Epilogue

Author: John Perlin

http://cleantechnica.com/2014/05/14/intro-6000-years-solar/#kaZ8yV6lM4kPQOCw.99

Agelbert NOTE: Are all the above Cornucopian dreamers?

OR, ARE THEY PRACTICAL, INTELLIGENT, DECENT, HONEST PEOPLE WHO KNEW (as the ones alive KNOW) THAT WE LIVE IN A PLANET WITH FINITE RESOURCES AND MUST USE THE ENERGY WE REQUIRE RENEWABLY OR NOT AT ALL ?

There is no such thing as CHEAP fossil fuels but there IS, AND CONTINUES TO BE, such a thing as greedballs who want keep energy SCARCE in order to cash in on it with total disregard for the biosphere. THAT is what fossil fuelers are all about, NOT about providing cheap energy for civilization as they mendaciously claim.

Kill the STUPID, LYING, PREDATORY CAPITALIST "fossil fuels are cheap" mantra or let THE STUPID, WAR LOVING, PROFIT WORSHIPPING ARSE HOLES WHO PUSH IT KILL THE BIOSPHERE!

CHOOSE OUR FUTURE:
THIS --->

OR THIS -->

Have a nice day ignoring the truth or help stop the fossil fuel crazies and PASS THIS ON with or without attribution. It's time we called these ignorant forks on the last century of BS PRO-Fossil Fuel propaganda, lies and distortions about the history of human energy use in general and renewable energy use in particular, the laws of thermodynamics and common sense.
The conscience free, evil, greedball STUPIDITY called "Game" theory is behind the fossil fueler twisted Predatory Capitalist "caloric intake is IT" mindset. Reject it and adopt respect for all life as you respect yourself or die stupid.

AGelbert · « **Reply #1 on:** May 20, 2014, 06:34:43 pm »

Planting the “SEEDS” of Solar Technology in the Home

Data-rich predictive models help determine which consumers buy solar equipment and why.

Mike Janes, Sandia National Laboratories
May 20, 2014 | 1 Comment

In an effort to better understand what persuades people to buy photovoltaic (PV) systems for their homes, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories are gathering data on consumer motivations that can feed sophisticated computer models and thus lead to greater use of solar energy.

A primary goal of the project is to help increase the nation’s share of solar energy in the electricity market from its current share of less than .05 percent to at least 14 percent by 2030. This is the second year of a three-year effort.

“If we can develop effective and accurate predictive models, we can help identify policy variables that could increase purchases of residential PV systems and ultimately help advance the mission of the SunShot Initiative,” said Kiran Lakkaraju, Sandia’s project lead. Specifically, he said, an effective model of solar purchase dynamics can be used to predict and even influence consumer purchasing decisions.

Sandia National Laboratories researcher Kiran Lakkaraju leads a modeling project that supports the goals of the Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative. The work aims to create a model that predicts household solar energy system purchases based on such variables as price, energy savings, environmental concerns and other factors. Photo by Randy Montoya.

The modeling project, part of the Solar Energy Evolution and Diffusion Studies(SEEDS) program, is one of many activities in the Energy Department’s SunShot Initiative, which seeks to make solar energy cost-competitive with other forms of electricity. SEEDS projects are designed to investigate methods for transforming the operations of solar researchers, manufacturers, developers, installers and policymakers.

The projects will be discussed at a May 22 workshop at the Department of Energy’s SunShot Grand Challenge Summit. The event takes place May 19-22 in Anaheim, Calif.

Sandia’s solar energy program includes deep research and development in areas such as PV systems, concentrating solar power, grid integration and solar codes and standards.

Computer Models Predict Homeowners’ Likelihood to Buy, Invest in PV Systems

Sandia’s approach is to collect and analyze large amounts of data, said Jerry McNeish, manager of the labs’ quantitative modeling and analysis group. The information has led to two different models, one that predicts how likely an individual is to buy a PV system and one that predicts how long that individual will take to make the investment.

Working with project partners at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE), project researchers are conducting surveys of consumers in San Diego County, including 1,000 respondents who have bought PV systems and another 1,000 who have not. Data from the surveys will be studied by Sandia and Vanderbilt University quantitative modeling experts and fed into modeling tools.

CCSE leads the market characterization of the San Diego regional solar market, including focus groups, pilot programs and field testing of messages.

Experiments Analyze Effectiveness of Incentives, Framing of Messages

Additional data is being collected for the Sandia project via a field experiment conducted by collaborator The Vote Solar Initiative, which will analyze how consumers respond to economic incentives, discounts and even peer effects when friends, family or co-workers purchase PV systems.

Sandia National Laboratories researcher Joshua Letchford processes survey data gathered from a sampling of both San Diego photovoltaic adopters and those who have not yet adopted in that region. The questions on the surveys were influenced by the results from the initial predictive models and touch on issues such as environmental awareness, energy independence and information about life events. Photo by Randy Montoya.

Another experiment, conducted online by The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, is exploring how the framing of messages can influence whether consumers will invest the time to learn more about installing PV systems. Researchers will examine how different demographic segments are influenced by messages and will study the influence of such issues as environmental awareness, energy independence, information about life events and how messages are received.

Other predictive variables, including the square footage of homes, the national unemployment rate and even seemingly inconsequential factors, such as whether consumers own a swimming pool, are also part of the models.

Consumer Data Models Will Help Identify Likely Solar Buyers

“We’re essentially creating a model that predicts household solar energy system purchases based on such variables as price, energy savings, environmental concerns and other factors,” said Lakkaraju. “But then we’re also running experiments that feed results back into the model. We have a cycle where we use the model to test and generate hypotheses about solar panel purchases, but then we test these hypotheses through experiments to improve the model.”

The Sandia-developed models, Lakkaraju said, have already predicted purchasing behavior 200-500 percent better than current models.

The team also is investigating novel financing structures that go beyond straightforward “purchases,” such as third-party ownership through leasing or power purchasing agreements. These aren’t strictly purchases yet are seen as key to the industry’s growth, Lakkaraju said.

The research team will test their modeling tools, recommendations and draft guidance on using the models in additional field experiments.

“The significance of this work is that it will help identify those likely to purchase PV systems and help forecast future market trends,” said Lakkaraju. “Ultimately, it will help those in the solar industry to more effectively bring solar energy to consumers.”

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/05/planting-the-seeds-of-solar-technology-in-the-home

1 Comment

A. G. Gelbert
May 20, 2014

All well and good. But let us never forget that the Federal Reserve can facilitate the transition to solar energy simply by providing the same (or a percentage point lower as an incentive) financing capital for carbon neutral home refits and new homes with solar and other renewable energy technologies. This is a problem that CAN OBVIOUSLY and SUSTAINABLY be fixed by throwing money at it.

Of course, we know why the Federal Reserve will CONTINUE to throw money at the pernicious habits of Wall Street that are ruining our economy and defending the fossil fuel criminal syndicate both inside an outside of our government, don't we? It's what predatory, conscience free, pollute and don't give hoot Capitalism is all about.

The newly released book, "Let it Shine", brings to light newly discovered documents suppressed by the Nixon, Carter and Reagan Administrations, that if known at the time by the public and the Congress, solar energy would have definitely played a larger role in the American energy scene during the last forty years.

http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/renewables/history-of-renewable-energy-the-fossil-fuelers-don't-want-you-to-know/msg1129/#msg1129

How the Promise of Chemurgy Was Dashed By Big Oil

http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/fossil-fuel-folly/how-the-promise-of-chemurgy-was-dashed-by-big-oil/msg3/#msg3

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Author Topic: History of Renewable Energy THE FOSSIL FUELERS DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW (Read 677 times)

AGelbert

History of Renewable Energy THE FOSSIL FUELERS DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW

AGelbert

Re: History of Renewable Energy THE FOSSIL FUELERS DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW

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