PV solar panels for a crazy world


"An extraordinary road towards an
electric-driven world enhanced with PV."



Cleaning your PV solar panels

April 25th, 2013

One very important factor often overlooked by PV solar panel (photovoltaic) owners are cleaning.

Just like your car, the dirt and dust in the atmosphere can leave your pride and joy with an unsightly layer of grime attached. This dirt and dust can hurt your panels’ performance if left unchecked.

The importance of cleaning your PV solar panels.

The importance of cleaning your PV solar panels.

With your feed-in tariff revenue for photovoltaic panels being reliant on producing the maximum amount of energy to gain the maximum amount of income, then the importance of keeping your solar panels clean seems obvious.

Solar panels do work well, even when dirty. NASA’s Rovers have demonstrated this on Mars. With an expected lifespan of six months when first launched in 2004, the success of the rover’s longevity on the Martian landscape has been down to their extraordinary solar panels, which have kept the rover powered, despite their accumulated layers of red dust. Read the rest of this entry »


PV solar panels in the United Kingdom

March 29th, 2013

Here at Power My Home, we have always encouraged people to get an installation while the going is good.

Waking a sleeping dragon is never a good thing.

Waking a sleeping dragon is never a good thing.

Many have adhered to this advice and now enjoy the financial benefits, now and for the next three decades to come. Having PV solar panels (photovoltaic) installed on your roof is a no-brainer in today’s world of energy uncertainty and insecurity.

The importance of solar panel technology is not yet realised by most people in the west again, just because most people are still in the mindset of cheap and abundant resources.

The old world of affordable energy is over, but the Chinese government has noted solar technology’s importance in the 21st-century. Read the rest of this entry »


Gas rationing is a call to action

March 25th, 2013

This week has seen a definite warning shot across the bow of HMS Great Britain.

A warning of impending gas problems.

A warning of impending gas problems.

With the unseasonable snow leaving our already vulnerable nation with little gas supplies, we should all use this proximity of potential rationing of gas supplies as a ‘call to action’ to reduce our dependence on this most vital of modern necessities.

The additional news this week of a tanker from Qatar relieving Britain’s gas supply drought will see most people breathing a sigh of relief. However, the energy-savvy among us will see this as an opportunity to protect our homes from future problems. Read the rest of this entry »


A layman’s guide to peak oil

March 12th, 2013

Looking back through human history, there has always been insights on the horizon before any major change or upheaval. The massive increase in population and industry since 1965 is arriving at a time when the amount of oil available and reduced over the same period. Another insight, almost certainly!

Oils peak production graph.

Oils peak production graph.

Imagine, If you had to travel from John ‘O’ Groats to Lands End on half a tank of fuel. You know that once the fuel gauge hits empty, then you will have to walk the rest of the way. With this in mind, would you, ease off the accelerator and conserve your fuel for maximum efficiency or hit the throttle harder and rush to your destination without care? Read the rest of this entry »


Humanity needs to grow-up

March 5th, 2013

For a government to admit to a problem, it would first have to have a solution. Using global heating as an example, hearing such news, the people would demand a solution, but there is no solution when every nook and cranny of your civilization works against the obvious solution.

Reducing the burning of hydrocarbons in a world reliant on growth contradicts itself.

This leaves any government impotent and obviously reluctant to admit its shortcomings, so it’s best just to leave it for the next administration, parliament or even generation to deal with.

Scepticism is a far easier solution to adopt than to face the actual problem head-on.

A sceptic comes in two types: Read the rest of this entry »


A tale of stale friendship and the toxic pizza

February 25th, 2013

I have some wonderful and kind long-term friends back in my hometown, but searching for good or appropriate friends in my location seems to be harder to achieve. I write this for my son who one day will read this and hopefully learn from his daddies tale of woe.

Real friendship is forever.

Real friendship is forever.

After dropping off my son to his mothers, I decided Pizza would be a one-off treat for my tea, so I put this half supermarket and half self-made creation into the oven and waited with anticipation and a rumbling tum. Ten minutes later and the house filled with smoke!

Once the thick, toxic smoke had cleared, I discovered that someone had left a plastic grill handle in the bottom of a brand new oven, which I didn’t see when putting my pizza. The pizza was now toxic and as I am about to find out, so was a new friendship. Read the rest of this entry »