About Green Systems

ABOUT WATER TANKS

The size of tank you need depends on a number of factors including the roof area, water usage and physical constraints of your property. Obviously the larger the tank, the more effective it is in conserving water. Capturing rainwater from your roof is a great way to supply water for a range of purposes including washing clothes, flushing toilets and watering your garden. Rainwater tanks can also help you save money on your water bill, especially if you also use other water saving devices such as dual flush toilets, water-efficient showerheads, trigger nozzles and tap timers. Overflows or discharge pipes from roof mounted evaporative air conditioners or hot water systems should not be allowed to discharge onto the roof catchment area. Choosing a rainwater tank. Tanks are available in a range of materials in different shapes and sizes. The most common material used is galvanised steel which is light and provides for easy transportation. Concrete and ferro-cement tanks are strong and long lasting and can be installed under the ground. Fibreglass tanks suitable for collecting rainwater are manufactured with a food-grade coating on their interior surface. There is also an increasing range of tanks manufactured from synthetic polymers including polyethylene. Plastic tanks should be constructed of materials that are at least food-grade standard. When installed, your tank should be covered and every access point, except the inlet and overflow, should be sealed. If an access point is left uncovered, there's a risk of children, adults and animals drowning or contaminating the water. The inlet should incorporate a mesh cover and a strainer to keep out foreign matter and to stop mosquitoes and other insects getting into the tank. The overflow should be covered with an insect-proof screen. Installation and maintenance. Your roof size will determine the volume of water you are able to harvest. You may need to make changes to the position of your downpipes or gutters to maximise the volume of water flowing to your tank. Safety and water quality. Making sure water quality is good depends on correct design and installation, followed by sensible maintenance of your rainwater tank and catchment area.

ABOUT SOLAR POWER

Solar cells cleanly convert sunlight into electrical energy. The cells consist mainly of silicon, with some added variants - typically boron and phosphorous. An imbalance, or displacement, of electrons held in the in the silicon cell creates an internal electrostatic field. Sunlight provides a stream of energy particles called photons. These photons streaming from the sun penetrate into the silicon cell and strike silicon atoms. This ionizes the atoms causing the outer electron to break free - the free movement of electrons is electric current. Energy powers our homes, businesses, and industries - and is fundamental to our society. The process however, of generating electricity is the country's largest industrial source of air pollution. The cells are sealed in a glass substrate and aluminium frame called a solar module. Our solar cells are laminated between high transmissivity, low-iron 3mm tempered glass and a sheet of Tedlar-Polyester-Tedlar (TPT) material, by two sheets of Ethlene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) to prevent moisture penetrating into the module. This means that the energy decisions we make every day can encourage the development of new power sources, save natural resources, and help preserve the quality of our environment. When the current flows to the power-consuming item - such as a battery - the electrons are de-energised and flow back to the original cells ready to repeat the process. The process enables the cell to continue to produce power as long as the sun shines on it. This process of converting light (photons) to electricity (Voltage) is called the photovoltaic (PV) effect. Each solar cell is capable of producing approximately 0.5 Volts from this process. To increase the Voltage, cells are connected together with 36 cells needed for 12-Volt applications. The amount of current these solar cells will produce is governed by the size of the individual cells. Hence a 2 Watt 12 volt module has 36 small cells and a 120 Watt 12 Volt module has 36 much larger cells. The output of the module is influenced by the amount of sunlight shining on it. On cloudy days it may be only 10% of that on a bright sunny day. Modules are manufactured according to cell size with a 80 watt module having twice the surface-cell area of a 40 watt module.