Sunday, February 15, 2015

Emob 6 in 1 Educational Solar Energy Kit Brain Storming Games



Emob 6 in 1 Educational Solar Energy Kit Brain Storming Games (Blue, White) 

This is a solar educational kit by which you can show and teach children the important benefits of solar energy.  This is a good step for the children to start learning about solar energy.  This is something like fun and easy to inspire the interest in children.  From this kit, you can create six different fun solar toys to play and show how the solar power is used to drive small electric motor.  It is very easy to assemble and no tools are required for the 6 in 1 robot kit.  You can make models like car, robot, wind mill, helicopter and air boat.  This could be a learning and play tool for children as well as parents.

Features of the Emob 6 in 1 educational solar energy kit

  • Suitable for age groups :  8  to 15 years
  • Type of product :  Science and Discovery
  • Character : Windmill, Robot, Helicopter, Plane, Air boat and Wheeler
  • Powered by  : Solar power .   no battery required


How to buy this product

This product is available from FlipKart website for a price of Rs. 327.  The actual price is Rs.990 where as Flipkart is providing a discount of 66% and is available at Rs.327. The procedure to buy this product from Flipkart website is given below.


  • Just visit www.flipkart.com
  • After visiting the above link,  click on "Buy Now" button
  • Follow the instructions given there after clicking on "Buy Now" and make the payment 
  • Once the product is purchased, it  will be delivered within 3 to 4 days to your postal address by Flipkart.



EViO ESP-3000-PM1085-BL EViO 3000 mAh Solar, USB Power Bank 3000 mAh

Do you want to charge your mobile in a remote place where there is no power supply available?   Is it possible to charge the mobile phone at a place where there is no electricity and the mobile battery down?  Yes!  it is now possible with the EviO ESP-1200-1028MS-BL battery bank.   

The EViO ESP-3000-1PM1085-BL  is a  3000 mAh dual solar and USB power bank which is an excellent battery back up for the mobile devices and smart phones.  The mobiles can be charged through direct sun light or USB.  The device uses the latest technology in solar panels to provide efficient charging solution.   The device is very light weight but durable and compact size and designed for outdoor use.  So you can charge your mobile phone at any place even in the forest,  only thing is that there should be sun light.  Here are general specifications of the solar battery bank from EviO.


Specifications :


  • Connectors :  Mini USB, Micro USB, iPhone
  • Brand : EViO
  • Designed for :  MP3/MP4 Players, GPS, Mobile Phones, Suitable to Power up and Charge iPod, PDA, Bluetooth and Other Digital Devices, Digital Cameras, PSP
  • Model Number : ESP-3000-1PM1085-BL
  • Battery capacity : 3000 mAh
  • Battery type : Li-Polymer battery
  • Power source : USB  or Solar
  • Color : Black



How to buy this product

The product is available with 1 year warranty from Flipkart website.  The package contains Blackberry connector, Nokia small PIn, iPhone PIn, Mini USB, 1 piece of charging and discharging cable, Samsung Pin, 1 piece of manual and warranty card.  The product is available for a price of Rs. 1,599 from Flipkart website. The actual price is Rs.2,499 but the website is offering a discount of 36%.   Here is the procedure to buy the product from Flikpkart website.

  • Visit www.FlipKart.com website first.
  • After visiting the above link,  click on "Buy Now" button
  • Follow the instructions given there after clicking on "Buy Now" and make the payment
  • Once the product is purchased, it  will be delivered within 5 to 6 days to your postal address by Flipkart.





TATA Power Solar Diva 15L2 Solar Lantern

The TATA Power Solar Diva 15L2 Solar Lantern is a product from TATA Solar Power.  This device can serve as a torch or as a table lamp.  The device has adjustable brightness
settings for the torch.  Over-charge, over-discharge and short circuit protection are provided. There is also an indication for battery's state of charge.  Some of the features of this produce are listed.


Components of the system :  

    • Solar module / array: 3Wp
    • High efficiency LED luminaire: 2W (Torch light) + 1.2W (Table lamp)
    • Sealed maintenance free Li-ion battery: 3.7V-3Ah 
    • 2-in-1 mobile phone charging cable
    • USB charging cable for charging through AC

Features available :

    • Mobile phone charging option available
    • Compatible with both AC charging and solar module
    • Up to 6 and 4 hours of continuous operation from a single charge for Table light and Torch respectively
    • Charging time: 5 hours

How to buy this product:

This produce is available from Flipkart website.  It is available for a price of Rs.1900.  Here is the procedure to buy this product from FlipKart website.  .

  • Just visit www.flipkart.com
  • After visiting the above link,  click on "Buy Now" button
  • Follow the instructions given there after clicking on "Buy Now" and make the payment 
  • Once the product is purchased, it  will be delivered within 3 to 4 days to your postal address by Flipkart.




Benefits of Solar Power

Solar Panels also called as Photovoltaic or PV modules convert sunlight directly  into electricity.  The solar panels reduce the amount of electricity coming from fossil fuels by supplying the electricity with clean, renewable energy from sun.

There are so many benefits of using solar panels.  Let us see what are the benefits of using the solar panels for electricity.

Benefits of using Solar Panels for electricity 


  • Solar panels reduce the electricity bills dramatically.  
  • Helps us from rising electricity rates :  Electricity rates are rising between 4 to 7% per annum.  The Sun, how ever never invoices you.  You are essentially purchasing 25 to 30 years of electricity at today's rates by installing solar panels for electricity.
  • Advantage of Government incentives : The Government is also providing rebates and discounts and financial assistance for the people who are going to install solar panels for generation of electricity.  
  • There is no pollution :  The solar panels never produce any pollution.  The only pollution that is generated in relation to solar panel is during the transportation and manufacturing of solar cells and also during mining of the materials required to produce them.
  • Can be used as power source in remote locations :   Solar power is ideal for providing a source of electricity in remote places where it is either impossible or impracticable or uneconomical to install a mains electricity supply.   This includes remote locations like hills, garden sheds etc..  One example is the space where highly advanced solar panels are used to provide a source of electricity for satellites and also for international space station.
  • It is renewable energy :  Solar power is renewable.  Even though Sun is not available at night, it is guaranteed to come up the next day.  This process will occur as long as life can be supported on earth  That means we will be benefited by solar power for the rest of our lives unlike fossil fuels which eventually run out.
  • No noise is produced :  Solar panels have the advantages that they do not produce any noise while generating electricity.  This makes solar panels more attractive to home-owners who may have been considering a domestic wind turbine which woudl have produced significant noise.
  • There is little maintenance :Solar panels never need any maintenance or little maintenance.  There are no moving parts in solar panels so there is little to go wrong with a system which was installed professionally.  The only maintenance needed is the annual cleaning of the panels which can be performed by the house owner himself.  





Saturday, February 14, 2015

Gram Power - Affordable Renewable power to all

Gram Power is a energy technology company founded in 2010.  They provide cutting edge Smart grid technology to provide electricity to remote villages in developing countries.  Yashraj Khaitan ( Indian) and Jacob Dickinson ( American ) are the founders of the company.  They are engineering graduates from the University of California.  


They have set up India's first smart micro grid in Rajasthan in 2012 to provide electricity for lights, buttermilk machines, televisions, and fans.  Gram Power's  core innovation is in their Smart Grid Distribution technology which consists of their smart meters and Grid monitoring systems to provide on-demand theft-proof power to the users.  They are using solar panels for generation of power.  

Khareda Lakshmipura village in Rajasthan never had any electricity till 2012.  But after 2012  the village had enough power that even if the north Indian grid fails,  they would be able to view Televisions.  

Gram power was established in that village in Rajasthan in 2012.  The company provides continuous power to remote villages at a very less cost.  Similar to mobile recharge, we can pay money in advance as per our requirement of electricity..  So you need to recharge for a certain amount of money and they will provide you electricity through micro grid. The smart meter provided by the company will show you details of the usage of electricity, amount of money in your account and how many more hours you can use the power etc....   

Micro Grid

Gram Power's Micro Grid  is powered by a centralized array of solar panels which collect the sun's energy and convert it to  DC power.   Surplus solar energy is stored in an array of batteries  providing users with a continuous supply of energy even during peak usage times and at night, when the solar panels do not provide any electricity.  The DC power  from the solar array and batteries is converted to AC electricity using inverter which is then distributed throughout the service area via small overhead power lines.   The system is monitored wirelessly by Gram Power for energy theft or other usage abnormalities.

Each house is provided by a smart meter which draws energy from the micro grid and keeps track of how much of pre paid energy the user has remaining and provides a display to the user about the power consumption of their appliances.  

A local village entrepreneur purchases bulk energy credit from Gram Power, which is wirelessly transferred to an 'Energy Wallet' that Gram Power provides to each entrepreneur. The entrepreneur then transfers this credit to individual Smart Meters in the village. Once recharged, the meters can be used to operate a variety of household appliances or even higher power water pumps for irrigation.
Gram Power's microgrids can also be integrated with the utility grid. This ensures that the infrastructure is not wasted when the utility grid reaches the village, and in turn makes the utility grid more reliable by adding in decentralized generation.



Friday, January 9, 2015

What is solar water heating?

Solar water heating is nothing but the conversion of sun light into renewable energy for heating the water by using a solar thermal collector.  There are a number of technologies available worldwide for solar water heating systems.  

For heating water using solar energy, a collector fastened to a roof or a wall facing the sun heating the working fluid which is either pumped ( in active systems ) or driven by natural convection ( passive systems ) through it.  The collector could be made of simple glass-topped insulated box with a flat solar absorber made of sheet metal attached to copper heat exchanger pipes and dark colored.  or a set of metal tubes surrounded by an evacuated glass cylinder.  The heat transfer fluid for the absorber may be the hot water from the tank but more commonly is a separate loop of fluid containing anti-freeze and corrosion inhibitor which delivers heat to the tank through a heat exchanger ( commonly a coil of copper heat exchanger tubing within the tank ).  Copper is very important component in solar thermal heating and cooling systems because of its high heat conductivity, resistance to atmospheric and water corrosion.  

Residential solar heating installations fall into two categories - Passive and Active systems. Both of these systems typically include an auxiliary energy source ( electric heating element or connection to a gas or fuel central heating system ) which is activated when the water in the  tank falls below a minimum temperature setting such as 55  °C.  Hence hot water is always available.  










Oil India commissioned 5 MW Solar Power Plant in Rajasthan

Oil India which is the second largest Government owned exploration firm in India has recently commissioned a 5 MW Solar Power Plant in Rajasthan.  Oil India has so far has built only small solar power plants.  But now it has built and commissioned its first grid connected 5 MW Solar Power Plant at a village Raghwa in Ramgarh district in Rajasthan.




The plant was inaugurated by OIL Chairman and Managing Director Sri S.K.Srivastava. The company is planning to expand this unit by another 9 MW which will be completed by the end of year 2015.  The 5 MW Solar Power Plant with Polycrystalline Technology was set up at a total cost of Rs.41.49 Crores.  There are 20,400 solar modules in the plant each having a capacity of 245 watts.  An over head transmission line of 11.49 Km has been constructed to feed in the generated power to the Grid.