Our first ever prize giveaway - Win £250, gift vouchers or an iPad Mini 2
It's nearing 2016, and what better way to kickstart the new year than to do our first ever giveaway. From now until January 31st 2016 @ 23:59 all that you need to do, to be entered into the prize draw is to follow us on Twitter. Our Twitter handle is @CdsElectrical and to RT (retweet) our pinned tweet on our profile. Good Luck.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
Christmas is upon us and the new year is just around the corner. We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and to have a happy and prosperous New Year.
2015 has been a great year for CDS Electrical. We expanded our work force so much so that we had no option but to physically relocate our offices to much larger premises that we are now operating from. We are looking forward to see what 2016 brings us.
CDS Electrical are closed for business from Christmas Eve until January 3rd 2016; ready for full operation from January 4th 2016.
Despite being closed over the Christmas period, we are still going to be available to carry out any works that you may need done. However, emergency call out rates will apply.
CDS Team
Your next smartphone screen might be a solar panel
Back in August 2014, researchers at the Michigan State University created a fully transparent solar concentrator, which could turn any window or sheet of glass, such as your tablet or smartphone screen into a photovoltaic solar cell.
Scientifically, a transparent solar panel is something of an oxymoron. Solar cells, specifically the photovoltaic kind, make energy by absorbing photons (sunlight) and converting them into electrons (electricity). If a material is transparent, however, by definition it means that all of the light passes through the medium to strike the back of your eye.
To get around this limitation, the Michigan State researchers use a slightly different technique for gathering sunlight. Instead of trying to create a transparent photovoltaic cell (which is nigh impossible), they use a transparent luminescent solar concentrator (TLSC). The TLSC consists of organic salts that absorb specific non-visible wavelengths of ultraviolet and infra-red light, which they then luminescence (glow) as another wavelength of infra-red light (also non-visible). This emitted infra-red light is guided to the edge of plastic, where thin strips of conventional photovoltaic solar cell convert it into electricity.
Benefits of having solar panels installed to your home or business
The UK Government set out a target to have 10 million homes equipped with solar panels before 2020 as a good starting block to show that the UK can do their bit in lowering greenhouse gases and utilise the power of renewable energy.
The government decided to set up a tariff, known as the 'feed-in-tariff' that allows home owners to earn up to £13,450 tax free to help incentivise people to make the move and get the panels installed.
Besides that incredible potential financial gain, there are also a few other benefits that we would like to point out;
Earn £13,450 from the Government feed-in tariff, on top of having a reduced or non-existent electricity bill. A win win situation.
Protect yourself from the rising energy costs by not having to depend on large energy companies. You generate your own electricity.
Adds value to your home – Estate agents are now looking at solar panels as a revenue generating asset
To benefit the most out of solar panels, it is a case of sooner the better. The tariff rate is subject to change as it gets updated every three months. However, once you have the solar panels installed you are locked in for 20 years, ensuring you earn that higher rate disregard to what the current rate new adopters of solar panels will be receiving.
Plans for the world's tallest skyscraper to run entirely on solar power
Competition around the world to have the world's tallest skyscraper is something that has been going on for a while now. The status of having the tallest tower brings in additional interest in the country and ultimately helps to boost the economy. What is new however, is to have the world's tallest skyscraper to run entirely on solar power.
​Iraq has put forward plans to build the largest skyscraper in the world. Nicknamed 'The Bride' is set to stand at a staggering 3,780 feet tall. A whole 1,000 feet more than the world's current highest skyscraper, the 'Burj Khalifa'.
​The Bride, which will have a total floor space of 5 million square feet will be entirely powered by the solar energy that it will harness from the sun. With temperatures in the region reaching 110+ degrees Fahrenheit during the summer season, it makes this a prime candidate to pull off such ambition.
5 ways homes kept cool before air conditioning
The modern air conditioner was not invented until the 1920's, and it wasn't until the latter half of the 1900's that they started to become a common occurrence. It still use to get hot and sticky back then at certain times of the year like it does in present day; so what did they do to keep the home cool back then?
Well, here's 5 ways people kept their homes cool before the wave of air conditioning came in to play;
Tall ceilings
Ceilings as high as 10, 12 and in some cases even 14 feet were common in older homes. As heat rises to the ceiling, it allows for the air below that to remain cool and comfortable. Additionally, ceiling fans that were powered by electricity or elaborate rope systems also helped to facilitate air movement.
A transom, which is a small window above a door allows for warmer air at the ceiling to circulate up to higher floors providing more air movement throughout the house. Transoms over exterior doors often had hinges which made opening and closing them an easy task.
Asides from wanting a nice big window to look out on your grand estate, these large windows would let large quantities of heat which has built up in the house to escape. Additionally, thick drapes and curtains would often be used to stop any heat coming in.
Reflective roofs and ceilings
Many older homes had light coloured or silver metal roofs made of lead, tin or copper. This was a great way to reflect heat away from the home to reduce interior temperatures.
Thick walls
Thick brick masonry or stone walls were a great insulator and did well to keep homes cool. Walls that could be up to 24 inches thick were common in certain parts of the world and were capable of blocking sunlight coming in during the day, whilst keeping the place warm at night as the chill would set in.
Solar powered roadways? It's a thing now
A little over a year ago, the Netherlands created a world's first. The first bike path to be made of solar photovoltaic cells. The path connected the capital city of Amsterdam to a couple of its neighbouring suburbs. It was a pilot program to see if solar roadways would be a profitable and plausible solution moving forwards.
The prototype was a costly project that came in at $3,700,000, but of course that was a one off prototype and for future versions the cost of production would be significantly reduced.
It's been a year in operation and the developers are referring to the project as "a huge success". They also feel they can now create solar roadways that will be profitable in just 15 years.
The great thing about the solar roadways is that it brings a whole multitude of advantages. For example, the developers have visions of it improving traffic management, having dynamic lighting and sign-age and ultimately be able to wirelessly transfer energy to cars.
Solar powered floating eco-home, that's 98% recyclable
After years of research by the architect Giancario Zema, EcoFloLife brought his idea into a reality and have made the first floating eco-home that is almost entirely recyclable. A staggering 98% of the eco-home unit can be recycled.
The eco-home pod boasts a spacious 1,000 square foot of floor space, with a diameter of 12 metres and a height of a lofty 4 metres. The rounded wooden roof is topped off with a 60 square meter array of solar photovoltaic panels that is capable of generating 4 KWp.
The developers created a "sophisticated system of internal natural micro-ventilation and air conditioning" to classify the building as a "low-consumption residential habitat." The WaterNest 100 also features a flexible interior design that can be changed to suit different uses. If the owner doesn't intend to use the unit as a home, the floating ecological pod could easily be reconfigured into an office space, lounge bar, restaurant, shop, or exhibition space.