Category: News

Wilderness Trace Solar is excited to be a participant in the upcoming EVolve KY Electric Vehicle Ride & Drive Event being held on Saturday, September 8, 2018 from 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.  at Whole Foods Market, the Summit at Fritz Farm, 4059 Finn Way, Lexington, KY 40517.

What do Electric Vehicles and Solar Energy have in common?  They are both CLEAN energy performance for use in our daily lives!  Our Office Manager, Laura Zaspel, takes great joy in driving her Electric Vehicle to work at Wilderness Trace Solar – every day! She is doubly excited to participate in this event as a member of EVolve KY and an employee of WTS!

If you have an interest in either Solar Energy or Electric Vehicles – OR BOTH – please join us for this event.  For more information about EVolve KY – click here.

Kentucky Solar Energy Society (KYSES) Annual Meeting

May 19, 2018

11:30 am  – 4:00 pm

The 2018 Kentucky Solar Energy Society Annual Meeting will be hosted by Wilderness Trace Solar located at 70 Stewarts Lane North, Danville, Kentucky 40422 (On the By-Pass, next to the Boyle County Jail).

Anyone who is interested in solar and renewable energy in Kentucky is invited to attend the KYSES annual meeting. Lunch will be provided. The keynote speaker is former Kentucky State Auditor and current solar activist, Adam Edelen.

After the meeting there will be a tour of several local solar sites.

The Kentucky Solar Energy Society (KYSES) was formed in 2007 by solar enthusiasts and professionals to inform, educate and advocate in Kentucky on issues of energy conservation, energy efficiency, solar and other renewables.

For more information go to kyses.org or call 859-439-0620.

What’s this? Vampire power? Phantom Loads? October is Energy Awareness Month, and on this Halloween-eve it’s a great time to look at how eliminating vampire power, and taking other measures, can aid you in reading your energy consumption.

Even if you aren’t considering solar, reducing your energy usage can save you money! If you are considering solar, then reducing your energy usage can reduce the size of solar power system needed to cover you annual energy usage!

Consider these quick ways to decreasing your energy usage:

1. Cut out vampire power: Electronics that are plugged in, but not being used, can still result in phantom loads. Even though the appliance isn’t being used, when the appliance is plugged in it can still pull electricity. TIP: Using power strips can make it easy to “unplug” lots of electronic devices at once by just switching the power strip on and off.
2. Ditch the screen-savers: Computers are often among the biggest energy users in an office, so turning off the monitor and choosing to shut down your computer rather than leaving a screen-saver on can cut out a lot of unnecessary energy usage!
3. Choosing lights: LED bulbs are the most energy efficient light bulbs, using about 75% less electricity than incandescent bulbs. They also last longer!
4. Turn off lights: Such a simple solutions, but it adds up!
5. If you run air conditioning and/or heating often, make sure you aren’t losing excessive amounts due to poor insulation, doors, and windows. When possible, opt to put on a sweater instead of cranking up the heat.
6. Consider upgrading existing appliances, heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), hot water heaters, refrigerators, etc. If these appliances use a large amount of electricity, it may be worth upgrading to an energy efficient model.

Check out these articles to learn more!

https://green.harvard.edu/tools-resources/poster/top-5-steps-reduce-your-energy-consumption

https://www.choice.com.au/home-improvement/energy-saving/reducing-your-carbon-footprint/articles/five-ways-to-reduce-your-households-energy-use 

One of the most abundant energy sources on the Earth is light, or solar radiation, from the sun. But how do we plug into this vast energy resource?

Our first hints come from plants, bacteria, and protists. These organisms have been using photosynthesis to generate biomass for a long time, but what does this mean?

Cells that perform photosynthesis utilize the solar radiation of light from the sun to produce glucose, or food energy. In chlorophyll a, or other accessory pigments, solar radiation is absorbed, allowing the conversion of carbon dioxide and water into glucose, which releases oxygen.

CO₂ + H₂O → C₆H₁₂O₆ + O₂

The energy chlorophyll a absorbs causes electrons to be excited. When chlorophyll a’s electrons are excited enough, they leave.  These free electrons are then transferred to electron carriers that aid in reactions generating energy and biomass for the organism.

The idea that solar radiation can be converted into electricity is one of the founding elements of solar power. Electricity is energy from the flow of electrons. So, how do we free electrons in artificial cells and generate a flow to produce electricity?

Photovoltaic (PV) “Solar” cells were developed to do just this. In one solar cell, semi-conductive materials (usually silicon) are treated at the front and back of the cell to generate positive and negative ends. When sunlight shines on silicon, electrons are released. The electric field produced by the differently charged ends causes the electrons to flow, and this flow is direct current (DC) electricity!

Check out the video below to learn more about how solar panels work!

There are only 4 days until the solar eclipse! Are you unsure about what you should consider in order to safely view the eclipse? Here are some pointers:

• Alway supervise children using solar filters
• Outside the path of totality, you must always use a safe solar filter to view the sun directly.
• The only safe way to look directly at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun is through special-purpose solar filters: “eclipse glasses” or hand-held solar viewers. Be sure to obtain your eclipse glasses from a reputable vendor.
• Carefully read and follow the instructions that come with your glasses. If they are scratched or damaged then do not use them.
• Look away from the sun when putting on and removing the glasses. Do not remove the glasses while looking at the sun.
• If you normally wear eyeglasses, keep them on. Put your eclipse glasses on over them, or hold your handheld viewer in front of them.
• Homemade filters or ordinary sunglasses ARE NOT SAFE for looking at sunlight.
• DO NOT look at the uneclipsed or partially eclipse sun through an unfiltered camera, telescope, binoculars, or other optical devise.

What if I Don’t Have Eclipse Glasses or a Solar Viewer?

An alternative method for safe viewing of the partially eclipsed sun is a pinhole projection. For example, cross the outstretched, slightly open fingers of one hand over the outstretched, slightly open fingers of the other, creating a waffle pattern. With you back to the sun, lookout your hands’ shadow on the ground. The little spaces between your fingers will project a grid of small images on the ground, showing the sun as a crescent during the partial phases of the eclipse. You can also just look at the shadow of a leafy tree during the partial eclipse; you’ll see the ground dappled with crescent suns projected by the tiny spaces between leaves.