Solar Energy ArticlesSolar Panels - Added Benefits The solar panels, as we have seen before have a lot of benefits. The benefits enlisted by the solar panels are not only limited to the customer who make their usage, but also to the businesses who invest millions of dollars just to improve the technology behind the solar panel manufacturing and fabrication processes. Generally it is seen that the third and the most neglected stakeholder in the electricity production and distribution is often neglected to a great extent. That is our environment. But in the case of solar panels, the environment is considered of utmost importance. As a matter of factor, this resource to harness the green energy was the basic motivation behind the technology to harness the energy of the sun. In this article, we are going to see the added advantages of solar energy apart from the ones that are listed above. The added advantage of the solar panel installation to make use of the green energy is as per the study conducted at a research lab at the University of California at San Diego. This study reveals that the solar panels when installed on the high rise buildings as a part of the BIPV (Building integrated photovoltaic system), serve a different purpose which has not been brought into picture till this date. That added advantage of the solar panels is that they can be very well used in order to bring about a cooling effect to the building on which it is installed. This requires the concept of thermal imaging to be used. The scientists in their study have brought out the fact that the solar panels can be viewed upon as giant cooling machines that can often be used in order to bring shade and induce a cooling effect to the buildings. The observations that were done on behalf of this study revel some statistics which state that the buildings that lie beneath the solar panel installations can be cooled to an extent of about 5 degree Fahrenheit than the ones which do not have any solar panels installed on them. The cooling effect which is unknowingly induced by the installed solar panels is seen particularly during the summer season. The parts of the buildings under observation that fell under the shade offered by the solar panels installed on them had much more cooling effect on to them than the parts of the building that were exposed to the bare sunlight. The researchers also found out that the tilting of the solar panels can really be very much beneficial and of prime importance in regulating the air flow beneath them. This further adds to the cooling effect imparted by the solar panels to the buildings. The air regulation process is much more effectively guided and made efficient by the solar panels. The scenario is a different one, however, during winter. During winter, the solar panels become effective in the sunlight in providing some warmth to the buildings. However, the main role of the solar panels is seen and realized at the nights when it gets very cold. The solar panels, although they were not built for the regulation of heat purposes, are very much effective in terms of locking up some heat within themselves and causing an insulation effect. They trap the heat and thus keep the buildings underneath very warm and cozy. This offsets the solar heating effect that is caused essentially during the day time. Statistics reveal that the solar panels trapped the heat to an extent of 38 percent inside them and thus opposed heat flow away from the buildings. All in all, the cost advantage in terms of money for the customers is of 5% because of the savings generated from cooling effects of solar panels. This 5% is applicable as a discount in the price of the solar panels. Related articles
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