There are some things that every soldier should know about and there are things that every American citizen should be proud of. Not only should we be thankful for our soldiers time in enlistment but be proud that the Army is taking huge steps in the effort to use sustainable energy like solar power. The Army Times is a newspaper that not only enlisted members can subscribe to but the public as well.  The paper features on a regular basis the next best thing with solar usage. These feature articles can be for various sustainable technology with different things in the field and what’s new on base relative to going green. Solar highlights are right next to various articles applauding the brave and the more inspiring stories of how equal standards are for all military members now. As you can see, the Army holds reducing a logistics foot print with solar power in high regard.

Hostile Fire Detection Sensor

One of the ways they are using solar technology in the field is to have a battery free sniper finder. The Hostile Fire Detection Sensor nicknamed Firefly is a 360- degree surveillance apparatus that can study enemy fire, locate where it came from, and then direct the soldier on exactly where to take aim. This aids the soldier directly in finding sniper attacks in Afghanistan. This Firefly sensor can be attached to a wall or onto a soldiers’ back and uses a combination of acoustics or shortwave infrared detectors to work. This Firefly unit combines with the RENEWS technology which is already in place in the field. The acronym stands for Reusing Existing Natural Energy, Wind & Solar system. This is a kit that uses solar or wind to recharge battery packs soldiers use in the field. Changing power sources can be a hazard on the field. It only makes sense for the Army to utilize solar in a mobile way by having RENEWS kits provide the sensors with 1.2 kilowatts of continuous energy. The connection of these two systems has aided in further study of hopefully making other small unit power collaborations and have them be all the more “ARMY STRONG”.  Thank you Army for your service to our country and I am proud to hear about the progress to use more sustainable methods in the military.

For more Solar News check out the website below for the Army Times. Use the search feature for ‘solar’  and you can see a number of cool articles pop up.

http://www.armytimes.com

“Five things every soldier should know about battery-free sniper finder.” Army Times. 1 July 2013: Page 3.

    Part of the wing©

Solar Power in the AIR!!!

Something exciting flew into the Midwest and it has to do with what we love most: Solar Power!!! An airplane named Solar Impulse made a stop in Saint Louis.  This is a solar powered airplane that made a grand tour of America in an attempt to circle the globe. It made a pit stop in Saint Louis and the plane was in lay over for a few days in early June to allow people to view it. It’s the first solar plane to fly day and night. For the U.S trip it flew more than 3500 miles. This is a Swiss made plane and with a 208 feet wingspan, it appears to look like a big glider. There are about 12,000 solar cells on this thing to power four electric motors. These motors will in turn drive the propellers. The engines will collectively create 40 horsepower and the plane requires 2,000 feet of runway to take off with. It will lift off the ground at 22mph.  With all of the lithium batteries included and the carbon fiber materials too, the plane weighs only 3,500 pounds.  Unfortunately, it mostly maintains a 40 mph speed but I say because of the fact this thing can fly at night, clean technology truly is reliable! That’s ok about speed because with the way technology makes leaps and bounds hopefully one day that Boeing 747 © you board for flight will have no need for fuel expect the clean energy from the sun. Sustainable technologies need to be encouraged so be sure to check this plane out on their website and continue to push for innovation!

www.solarimpulse.com

Blog by Julie Glenn

    Solar Impulse on the ground©

Pretty photo of Solar Impulse in flight!!! ©

Thanks to Ten K Solar our Chameleon house looks extremely spiffy! They helped to hook us up with the tenK RAIS PV system that is their trade mark. It’s a system that combines PV modules, reflectors and the racking all put together. When this was mounted to our flat roof a beautiful wave like pattern appeared. This system provides more kWh per square foot because of its high density energy production. What makes this system truly unique is the way if any part of this module is disrupted, say from shade for example, the rest of the system can still act normally. You only lose a few percentage points of output. To get technical the actual cool aspect of their solar module is the way connections go both directions on the actual panel in a mesh grid. This is verses the alternative which is wiring in a series. Compared to other panels that could be affected majorly in the energy production department if a weather incident occurs, this tenK RAIS PV system will just keep chugging along. If it ever does encounter weather damage the module can be replaced and the new module will freely be mixed with the other modules.

Maximum power point tracking wired parallel can accept reflections. You can see in our Chameleon House roof picture that the multi colored window like apparatus reflects light and increases light energy consumption by a lot. It reflects because its coated by 3m film that will only allow rays that can be used to be reflected. The rest gets passed through the glass to prevent heat build up. Efficiency jumps to 160 percent of the rated output with this panel and coated glass combo.

Safety is kept in mind with this system also. The tenK RAIS PV system only works when attached to a complete circuit. An advantage is it does not work during installation and firefighters can get this thing powered down with a kill switch so to say.

This company has headquarters in Minnesota and they have had great customer service with a passion for making solar project dreams come true with as low as cost as possible. Don’t be afraid of their unbelievable deals they have. It’s just this company has the passion behind them to make as much solar panel systems as possible and to help businesses and customers latch into the Solar Movement! Please check out their website and get inspired on top of the inspiration you may experience following our Chameleon House Journey!

http://tenksolar.com

Blog by Julie Glenn