Why use proxy for such a popular and widely available site as YouTube? It seems absurd for most users with unlimited Internet access from home. But the reality is often surprising. Sometimes using a proxy for YouTube watching is recommended, and sometimes necessary. Let’s see the potential reasons why one does not simply walk into youtube.com.

Is YouTube Legal in Your Country?

Though YouTube is considered the main video hosting in the world, in certain countries it is completely blocked. The list of these countries includes:

·       China – as a part of The Great Firewall. And still, it’s the 11th in Chinese site rankings.

·       Iran and South Sudan. The formal reason is the controversy around the famous Innocence of Muslims that was uploaded to YouTube.

·       North Korea, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan – for security reasons by their authorities imposing severe censorship.

·       Eritrea. The real reason may be national problems with bandwidth.

Maybe by the moment you are reading it, YouTube is also blocked in Russia and Belarus. Other countries may ban certain videos or even channels on it. The reasons may be political, religious, or simply commercial.

Is YouTube Allowed in Your Company?

Sometimes, employees want to relax or distract themselves at the office. But corporate networks may be configured to restrict YouTube from them. Should you be content with watching it on your smartphone on 4G? No, but you can try using a proxy. If your OS settings are locked, you may want to use Firefox or another browser with built-in proxy functionality. Or use a web proxy that doesn’t require fiddling around with settings but is available through an URL. There are such services, though they are usually full of ads. In addition, they are often rather slow, so you will have to wait until the video is fully cached (which may take long).

Of course, it’s a rather rare case, because there is often a situation when an employee indeed needs some instructional video on YouTube. On the other hand, video streaming services distract the employees from their duties and consume numerous gigabytes. It’s often logical for companies to ban YouTube.

Is the Content on YouTube Restricted?

Due to copyright or legal issues, some content on YouTube is available for certain countries only or, on the contrary, is blocked in certain countries. The most famous story of this sort is the dispute between YouTube and GEMA, the German performance rights protection alliance. Because of this dispute, many music videos have been blocked on YouTube for German users. And how do you think they worked around this? Bingo.

Anything Else?

There may be other reasons why you may want to use YouTube with a proxy. The most obvious: you need to see how the video looks from another country. For example, if you run an international ad campaign, you want to check whether your ads are targeted right and are shown before related videos. If it covers several countries, you’ll need more than one proxy for your YouTube research.

Another reason is your wish to hide the fact you have watched (or rather uploaded) a certain video. You can later remove it from your history, but your ISP can save the link and then, say, provide this information to the authorities if they request it. If you want to avoid it, a proxy is a must rather than an option.

Finally, you may want to increase the number of views for your videos with bots. But, as YouTube does not count multiple launches from the same IP, you will have to change it with dynamic proxies to benefit from automation. This is a separate form of promotion, though, and we don’t find it suitable to discuss here. We just admit that it exists as a reason to use proxies with YouTube.

How to Choose a Proxy for YouTube

Will any proxy do if you need to watch YouTube with it? No, not all of them are created equal. There are several criteria that your perfect proxy for YouTube should comply with. The criteria include:

·       A solid data plan, especially if your aim is watching and/or uploading videos. YouTube is voracious for megabytes, so you’ll need lots of them.

·       Changeable locations. Especially for promotional purposes.

·       Residential IPs if available. Otherwise, anti-bot protection may stand in your way.

·       Affordable price. No need to explain. But don’t fall for free ones, as you for sure want your privacy protected, and free proxies can be far from the optimal choice when it comes to privacy.

You choose the crucial criteria according to your needs. If you need a YouTube proxy for automatable tasks, data volume is not crucial, but the IP pool is. For uploading or watching videos, one shared IP is enough, but megabytes matter. In the end, there is always the right proxy for your YouTube activity. Pick the right one and do your thing surely.

 

Scanners convert all the physical documents into digital format and, as a technology, has revolutionized the way we save and access data at home or office space. As a result, there is no need to use a vast storage space to safeguard your files, documents, and other critical confidential documents when a small pen drive or hard disk can do the work.

Though all scanners scan the image, the quality and effort it requires differ according to their model number and features.

Choosing a good scanner that suits your professional or personal needs is a must as they come with a variety of features and updates, and as a buyer, one should be aware before choosing from a list of high-performance Canon document & image scanners.

Let us discuss the tips to follow that you should consider before buying a scanner.

• Fast or slow – A scanner with a slow-scanning speed per minute will take longer to scan a large number of documents, resulting in lost work time. The price of a scanner is determined by its speed; thus, small households and companies can afford to compromise on the speed in order to save money as compared to the big businesses.
• Types of scanners – There are four basic designs to choose from as per your requirement.

1. Flatbed – This is more popular due to its general utility and convenience. There is no need to cut corners of the document, and it offers the best-in-class resolution for a low volume of job work.
2. Sheetbed- Best to use for bulk scanning jobs and if you plan to create a paperless office space where piles of paper need to be converted into a soft copy of digital format. Then, all you need to do is feed the documents in the machine and let the scanner do the magic.
3. Portable – Also known as handheld, and as the name suggests, it provides mobility and flexibility to carry and use while traveling or for minimal use without occupying much space. Their battery-operated wireless feature sets them apart; however, despite low scanning quality, it does a decent job of keeping you going.
4. All-in-one – A printer, scanner, and fax machine all compiled in one set and is famous as a jack of all trades and master of none. Our advice is if you want a quality scanner, go for a standalone, but if budget and space is a constraint, then this multifunction machine is a good fit.

• Salient features

* Keep the paper size of the document in mind while buying a scanner and choose the one as per the maximum size of your documents.

* The Average number of dots per inch (DPI) is 600 for regular work, but you need to upgrade to a higher resolution for photos and better scanning quality.

* Connectivity – Consider that multi-connectivity option for better functioning for an office space with more than one workstation.

Most people take photos on their phones and their cameras. Some of those people are talented photographers who can take photos that tell a story. However, professional photography is a whole different world, with its own rules and tips that beginners should know before entering the field.

In this article, we asked Eugene Bernshtam for some tips on professional photography. He is a professional photographer who specializes in events and product photography.

1. Study the theory of photography

There are many books written on this topic that will help learn the rules. The more you know about them, the better your photos will be.

2. Go to different photo exhibitions

This will help you acquaint yourself with other professional photographers. Also, go to the local library and search out relevant books for your type of photography (landscape, architecture, still life, etc.).

3. Use a camera at least twice the minimum focal distance of the lens

To use this tip, you need to know the minimum focal length of your lens. For example, if you have a 35mm lens, use at least 70mm or higher. This can help maximize the depth of field and reduce unwanted objects in the photo.

4. Increase white balance to take better photos on cloudy days

If your camera’s white balance is set to “cloudy,” you will get warmer photos (increased yellow and red). The opposite is true if your camera’s white balance is set to “sunny.” This tip can help create better exposure for your photos.

5. Always have a source light when photographing people

It doesn’t need to be strong light, but it should give even illumination across the face. Otherwise, your photo will come out too dark or too bright.

6. Take multiple shots

This is particularly important when photographing people. The more you take, the better chance you have in getting a great and natural shot that looks like it was taken by chance and not with a tripod in sight.

7. Get to know your camera

This tip is especially useful for beginner photographers. While it’s not necessary, it will make your life easier when attempting to take professional photos. In addition, knowing the buttons and what they do will help speed up post-processing in post-production software.

8. Always shoot in RAW

Shooting in JPEG format locks in your photos and limits your options when post-processing. On the other hand, shooting in RAW will give you the freedom to edit your photos, making them look even better than the original shot.

9. Master the use of natural light

This is a great opportunity for beginners to practice their skills and learn how light works (shadow, reflection, etc.). But, unfortunately, it’s also very difficult to master due to its unpredictability.

10. Use a tripod or a monopod when possible

Using these helps minimize blurriness, which will make your photos look professional. Unwanted blurriness is common for beginner photographers who are still learning how to take non-blurry photos, so using this tip will help greatly in avoiding that.

11. Focus on light and shadows

Light, shadow, and reflection all play a vital role in photography. Learning how to recognize them will help you take better photos.

Technology’s impact on society is undeniable. Technology’s part of everyday activities, from smartphones that connect to the internet to keyless cars to Bluetooth, enabling voice calls to play over car speakers.

Technology’s also had a significant impact on various industries. From agriculture to health care to manufacturing, technology is improving processes. TIBCO is a company that produces cutting-edge data science software. As an industry leader, TIBCO produces tools used by many groups of people. Let’s look at these tools and who needs them in closer detail.

Large businesses utilize multiple TIBCO software tools.

Businesses are constantly implementing new technology that enables them to increase efficiency and reduce costs. Suppose your company wants to increase energy efficiency and reduce utility costs. With TIBCO Spotfire® software, clients can reduce their energy consumption and related costs. Businesses can also customize analytics platforms, ensuring access to visual analytics and real-time insights used to make informed business decisions.

Application integration software is one of the TIBCO tools that benefit multiple users. Application integration software lets applications, known as apps, communicate and function together. Apps are programs people regularly use, mainly if they carry a smartphone or smartwatch. Suppose you use mobile banking to stay on top of your finances. You’d download your bank’s app on your smartphone or tablet and use the app to access your account. Perhaps you want to track your steps throughout the day. You can download a step counter app to count your steps.

Businesses also use multiple apps, and one challenge for businesses is integrating different programs to transfer data or access relevant information. Application integration software uses the TIBCO technology to connect applications to your cloud and integrate those applications. Building an application programming interface (API) enables you to integrate programs and host them on different platforms.

Small businesses use TIBCO software tools.

Small businesses benefit from service providers using TIBCO software to expand services. To understand how application integration works, consider how clients can use several APIs via Paypal. Small businesses benefit from invoicing, Mass Payments, and Express Checkout apps to streamline operations and multi-task. When service providers, such as Paypal, use application integration to produce custom APIs, it improves business processes for all consumers, including small businesses. APIs make it possible to simplify operations. Businesses can also use APIs to support automation.

Small businesses can use analytics software to generate actionable data to reduce costs, expand marketing campaigns, and acquire resources. Like big businesses, small businesses can use analytics tools to learn about their clients, gather relevant business data, and evaluate data. Small businesses can also use application integration to connect database tables with interfaces.

Suppose a company that sells computers maintains a database storing consumer information. When a client calls with a product query, customer service representatives can use customized APIs to access the client’s purchase information to verify the model and age of the computer. This information can be transferred to another department if they need to supply a patch or software update.

Various industries use TIBCO software tools.

TIBCO’s software addresses numerous business issues, which is why people use it in multiple industries. For example, a company producing medical diagnostic equipment may use software to analyze data to determine which type of equipment to manufacture. Data analysis software allows companies to identify sales trends and supply issues affecting production, enabling companies to replace materials that aren’t available. Companies also use actionable data to adjust prices to account for higher production costs stemming from supply chain issues, higher gas prices, or increased labor costs.

TIBCO software has practical applications that benefit retailers and consumers. With TIBCO General Interface Builder, companies can develop customized interfaces users interact with when acquiring data. A retailer’s interface can draw stock data from a database table, enabling the retailer to determine whether an item’s in stock. With APIs, retailers can determine when to order more stock.

TIBCO offers multiple software tools. Spotfire® and application integration apps enable users to gather data and connect programs, improving operations for large and small businesses in multiple industries.

In the heart of Silicon Valley lies San Francisco Bay University, a nationally recognized university committed to providing students with an exceptional education. In line with its commitment to training a high-tech workforce, SFBU has built on its success in preparing new professionals for the Information Technology industry by offering students top-rated computer science programs.

San Francisco Bay University strives to be at the forefront of technological change while providing students with a high-quality education in various disciplines.

San Francisco Bay University aims to meet Silicon Valley’s most pressing needs, including hardware and software design engineers, software application specialists, networking experts, managers trained in the application of computers to business, and business personnel with experience in entrepreneurship and venture capital management.

The University currently offers a plethora of computer science courses, including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data science, structured programming, object-oriented analysis and program design, computer organization principles and operating systems, database principles and applications, and principles of computer networks.

SFBU’s degree programs include both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science, as well as a master’s degree in electrical engineering.

A Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from SFBU boosts employability in fields such as high technology. There is a massive demand for workers who understand AI, networking, data science, software development, cybersecurity, and Python programming. SFBU meets this demand by educating students who want to succeed and contribute to the Silicon Valley community.

A Master of Science in Computer Science unlocks limitless possibilities for those who crave innovation and career advancement. San Francisco Bay University’s computer science program focuses on innovation and cutting-edge concepts. You also may mix and match in-person and online courses, or choose to take courses 100% online.

SFBU’s Master of Science in Electrical Engineering prepares you for a career in the fields of embedded systems design, development, and application. The surge in popularity and implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) has created a large demand for electrical engineers who have knowledge and hands-on experience in designing and developing the electronics that control and process data on smart devices. SFBU meets this demand by educating students who want to succeed and contribute to the Silicon Valley community.

The University also helps students with job placement and professional networking. SFBU’s Career Services Center assists students with resume preparation, interview skills, and job search strategies.

With its commitment to providing high-quality education, San Francisco Bay University is an ideal choice for students looking to advance their skills in the Information Technology field.

“SFBU takes pride in the quality of education and services that we provide to our students.”, said Thawi, Dr. Thawi Iwagoshi, Dean of the School of Engineering at San Francisco Bay University. “Our friendly instructors and staff pay close attention to the students and help them to succeed. Through our BSCS program, you will learn subjects that meet current industry trends and acquire essential skills through hands-on learning to begin a successful career.”

It’s easy to apply for a degree at SFBU. Simply create your account on MySFBU Applicant Portal, complete your online application for your intended program, then mail your official documents to the SFBU Admissions Office. The team at San Francisco Bay University is ready to help you succeed in the high-tech industry.

Expats worldwide rejoiced as they heard they can cash the stimulus checks too. That sounds great, but it’s not without its flaws!

Why?

Because stimulus check scams are popping up everywhere now. According to data, these scams have cost Americans approximately $300 million!

It’s scary, we know, but don’t worry – we’ll show you how to spot stimulus check scams from a mile away! Also, we’ll show you one cool online tool you can use to secure your traffic when you cash your stimulus check online.

How to Tell If You’re Dealing with a Stimulus Check Scam (4 Signs)

We scoured the web to find reports of stimulus check scams. After hours of research, we managed to put together this list of the most common tell-tale signs:

1. You Get an Unsolicited Email or Phone Call

The IRS or Treasury Department won’t directly contact you to tell you it’s time to submit your stimulus check application. Neither will they call or message you to ask for personal information or ask you to pay an upfront fee (we’ll get to this in a bit).

Keep in mind that modern technology makes it extremely easy for anyone to impersonate a government agency – either over email or phone. If you receive unsolicited emails about stimulus checks, just ignore then. Better yet, report the sender, mark the emails as spam, and block the sender’s address.

2. There’s a Sense of Urgency

If you’re talking with someone claiming to help you get your stimulus check, and they try to pressure you into taking an immediate action, that’s likely a scam.

No, you won’t lose your chance to claim your stimulus check if you don’t pay an upfront fee right then and there. Or if you don’t share sensitive information like your credit card numbers, bank account login credentials, or Social Security number. Anyone who says that is lying to you.

3. You’re Asked to Verify Sensitive Information

You should be wary of any messages or phone calls that ask you to verify personal information. No, the IRS won’t give you a call or text message to ask you to verify name or Social Security number.

If you are told to access a link to verify the info, here’s what will happen – you’ll end up on a fake site. Once you type the requested info, the hackers running the site will have access to it.

It’s easy to see why that’s a problem, right?

Once they get their hands on your personal data, they’ll be able to use it to commit identity theft.

4. You Need to Pay an Early-Bird Fee

Please remember – you won’t be able to get your stimulus check funds faster if you pay an upfront fee. If someone tells you that, they’re a scammer – especially if they ask you to pay through a PayPal link or with cryptocurrencies.

And no, there’s no such thing as paying an extra fee to get more funds. If you do that, the scammer will just run away with your money.

How to Securely Cash Your Stimulus Check

So now you know how to avoid stimulus check scams. That’s a good start – but you’re not done yet! Just because you can avoid them doesn’t mean it’s still safe to cash your check online. It’s very risky to do that still – especially if you use public WiFi. If it’s unsecured (it doesn’t have a password), hackers will be able to spy on your traffic and steal sensitive data from you.

And you’re not out of the woods even if you use secured WiFi networks. Most of them use WPA2 to encrypt your data, and that security standard is vulnerable to a serious cyber attack.Sure, you could use a network that uses WPA3, but that’s not good enough either – WPA3 also has security vulnerabilities!

So what should you do then?

The answer is simple – just use a VPN! VPNs will let you securely cash your stimulus check abroad no matter where you are in the world.

How VPNs Keep You Safe

The main thing VPNs do is encrypt your traffic. That means they make your data completely unreadable. Even if you use an unsecured network, hackers won’t be able to eavesdrop on your traffic. If they do that, they’ll only see gibberish.

For example, instead of seeing bits of data that reveal your Social Security number, they’ll only see things like Jhfgsh523hUFSt3hj.

And VPNs encrypt your data end-to-end, so only the VPN app (which you install on your device) and VPN server (which you connect to) can decrypt your traffic.

But Wait, There’s More!

Because VPNs encrypt your traffic, they make it pretty much impossible for cybercriminals to redirect your connections to phishing sites with MITM attacks. They’ll have no idea what sites you’re supposed to end up on, after all.

Also, many top VPNs have ad blockers. They block ads, of course, but that’s not all – they’re also configured to block connections to malicious sites. So even if you get a phishing message and accidentally click on a malicious link, you won’t end up on a fake stimulus check site. The VPN’s ad blocker will automatically drop the connection.

How to Use a VPN to Secure Your Traffic

VPNs are very consumer-friendly tools. Here’s what you need to do to use one to securely cash your stimulus check:

1. Subscribe to a good VPN (like ExpressVPN or NordVPN). There are free VPNs, but we don’t recommend using them – they’re not secure, have buggy apps, and are very slow.
2. After you create an account, download and install the VPN provider’s app on your device.
3. When you’re done, run the app and connect to a VPN server. The closest one is good enough – that’s the best way to have the fastest speeds.
4. Go ahead and handle your stimulus check paperwork! All your traffic will be secured by the VPN so nobody will be able to spy on it or manipulate it.

How Do You Avoid Stimulus Check Scams?

Please let us know how else you can spot a stimulus check scam and which security tools you can use to protect yourself from them. Also, if you use a VPN, please tell us which one and why.

 

Our world never stands still, constantly evolving. New discoveries happen every time. One of the modern developments is cryptocurrencies. Nothing like this has never happened before in the history of human existence. The most popular cryptocurrency is Bitcoin. We would like to dwell on this topic in more detail, because it deserves special attention.

Now cryptocurrencies are quite a profitable investment. Many people are trying to make money on it. If you are interested, you can buy bitcoin with cash on a special exchange. Using this service, you get a guarantee of complete safety. In addition, here is the most profitable rate. So, everyone can make a profitable operation.

You can fill out a form to buy cryptocurrency right on the website. It will take you very few clicks. Despite the fact that cryptocurrencies are quite firmly in our lives, we are beginning to think about them more often, many people still do not fully understand what it is.

In more simple words, cryptocurrency is a digital currency, which has no material form. Its main difference from all other currencies is that absolutely no one can control it. All changes take place under the guidance of the algorithm, which was originally laid by the developers, it is impossible to change it.

It may seem to some that only a select few people can create their own currency. However, in fact, absolutely everyone can create his own cryptocurrency. Of course, this is one of the ways of making an income. Of course, many people, when they reach a certain level of wealth, find it necessary to make investments. Then the question arises as to what kind of investments they should make.

At the moment, cryptocurrencies have risen to the same level as world currencies, gold and real estate. However, many people still believe that investing in cryptocurrency is dangerous, unprofitable and generally stupid. In order to dispel this myth, you need to familiarize yourself with the benefits of investing in cryptocurrency. Then you will be able to draw certain conclusions for yourself.

Benefits of investing in cryptocurrencies:

– Decentralization. Cryptocurrencies are not controlled by any major company or government of any country. They are handled by independent developers.

– Cheap transfers around the world. In fiat assets, the amount of the fee is determined by the distance to which the transfer is made. The duration of the transfer is different for each company. In some it can take several days, and some organizations can do it in an hour.

– Uninterrupted operation of the network. Of course, there are occasional attacks, but they are not particularly devastating. It makes no sense for miners to destroy their source of income. The maximum that can expect is small failures.

– Deflationary nature. Cryptocurrencies are not subject to inflation.Even if demand for them increases, the price will rise. This is a major advantage of cryptocurrency against the dollar and other currencies.

– An easy way to invest. No special licenses or special knowledge is required to start investing and earning from it.

– Protective Asset. When there is an economic crisis in the world or in a particular country, cryptocurrencies are especially popular because people lose confidence in conventional currencies. They try to find an alternative.

Nowadays, cryptocurrencies can bring decent money. However, it is extremely important to study this field seriously. Then it will be possible to get a positive result for yourself.

Screen time is the feature we needed well before 2018. Unfortunately, Apple didn’t release it until then.

Since we have screen time now, let’s see exactly how to use it and get the most benefits it has to offer.

What Is Screen Time?

Screen time is an Apple product feature in settings. Each week, you receive an update on your daily average screen time. In your settings, you can see a chart that shows which days you spent the most time using your screen.

It even breaks down which apps you’re using the most, breaking them down into categories such as social, entertainment, productivity and finance, creativity, shopping and food, information and reading, and others.

These categories help you see which apps you are using the most and how productive you are with your time spent on your phone.

If you are a parent, you can even use the resource for setting up screen time with your family to break down and control your kids’ screen time.

Screen time enables you to limit your or your family’s time spent on your phone in general or on certain apps. It can be easy to waste time away from scrolling. Screen time makes you more self-aware of your time on your phone.

You can set up a daily or customized schedule for when you want ‘screen time’ and ‘downtime’ turned on. Keep reading to find out how to use the screen time iPhone feature.

 

How to Use Screen Time

Go to settings or search on your iPhone ‘screen time.’ Once opened, you will get an overview of your current weekly screen time. Click ‘see all activity’ to get an in-depth overview of which apps you are using the most.

If you scroll down, it even tells you how many times you’ve picked up your phone and when the first pickup of the day was. This is great to track when you first use your phone after waking up.

If you want to limit your phone time and begin a morning routine without reaching for your phone first thing, using this resource comes in handy.

Downtime

The next feature is downtime. Downtime is great to use if you need to schedule in time where you aren’t on your phone, with the exception of important phone calls, for example.

Downtime works great for knowledge workers needing to get work done without the distraction of their phones by their side.

To use downtime, activate it and set your daily or customized schedule from when you want certain apps to be deactivated from your phone.

App Limits

App limits let you limit your amount of time on whatever apps you choose. If you spend too much time on Instagram, you can limit your daily time to twenty minutes.

You can search for the app you want or use the categories provided to limit social apps to a certain time, for example.

Communication Limits

Communication limits allow you to sort through who is allowed to call you when screen time is activated. You can choose all of your contacts, group calls, or everyone.

You can also customize allowed call lists for when downtime is enabled as well. This allows you to choose exactly which contacts you want to be able to reach you. Again, this is great to utilize when you are getting work done and only want emergency or certain work calls to come through during the allotted time.

Always Allowed

Always allowed are contacts and apps, which are always allowed during downtime. Specifying which apps and people you can use and communicate with during downtime will alleviate the pressure of downtime.

Sometimes, downtime can seem daunting. If we know we aren’t supposed to be on our phones, the desire to use our phones increases. Instead, with the always-allowed feature, our minds can be put to ease.

We can be assured that whoever needs to get ahold of us can, and vice versa. If there are work apps or other apps such as safari we need to use for various reasons during downtime, we have that freedom.

Screen time isn’t supposed to be a prison. Instead, it’s supposed to be a tool to use to be more productive, healthier, and well-rounded.

Using Screen Time for Kids

You can also limit your kids’ downtime, app limits, and privacy settings through family screen time.

Setting up a password makes it so that when your kids’ allotted screen time is up, they have to use a password to bypass it. Since you can choose which apps to set this up with, they can still use their phones for other purposes if they need or want to.

Tracking your children’s screen time is a great way to get them to spend their time creatively and productively.

What Happens If You Forget Your Password?

Forgetting an Apple I.D. password is the worst. If you forget your specific screen time passcode for whatever reason, don’t worry. Here is how to turn off screen time without password.

This is helpful for those forgetting their password because they never reach their screen time limit.

Take Advantage of Screen Time

Take advantage of screen time’s amazing features. It’s especially useful for monitoring your kids’ activity and keeping them from using their phones too much.

Take the initial time right now to set up all of your screen time’s features. This initial, small-time investment allows you to integrate more self-awareness into your daily phone use routine.

 

We all know solar energy has been around for a long time now. But in recent years, there has been an explosion of new technological advances in the solar industry, some of them completely new, some of them built over decades of advancements and figuring things out.

What this means is that right now we are on the cusp of changing how we collect, store, transmit, and use solar energy on a grand scale. While other forms of energy are also seeing growth, none of them are seeing quite the expansion that solar is, and with innovations all the time, there is no chance of that slowing down.

We’ll outline a few advancements that are noteworthy right now and how they are changing the renewable energy landscape.

Hetero-Junction Technology

What this is, is a technology that began being developed in the ’80s and has only just recently become a standout that is poised to replace the current solar energy collection method of choice. Hetero-Junction Technology is the combination of several membranes of solar energy-absorbing materials, in this case, various layers of silicon, that collect the solar energy, process it into electricity, and a final layer that improves efficiency by collecting leftover residual solar energy that can be used as well.

This is drastically improving the way that solar is being collected, the rate it is collected, and how much can be gained from each panel. This could make solar installations much more energy efficient.

Microinverters

With each product generation that passes, each new batch of microinverters is becoming more and more powerful and able to draw more and more electricity out of each solar panel.

Microinverters are tiny chips attached to each individual solar panel instead of one at the base of the array, that optimize the flow of energy from the solar panel. This means that even solar panels in cloudy or shaded areas can have optimized output. A microinverter is able to optimize the output of an individual panel without disturbing the output of the other panels in the same array. This is the opposite of old-style string inverters which attach to the base of the array and optimize the performance of the entire array based on the poorest performing panel. This method leads to diminishing returns.

Home Solar Systems

Homeowners are starting to take notice of the fact that home solar energy systems are starting to get a lot cheaper. Not only that, battery technology and conversion technology have advanced to the point where traditional homeowners can now offset large portions of their electric bills by installing a home solar system.

What’s particularly interesting is that highly efficient homes are actually able to generate enough power to cancel out their electric bill and return some energy to the power grid. Many folks are now simply waiting on power grid technology to catch up with the potential for solar.

We hope these innovations we’ve shown you have helped to change the way you think about solar and renewable energy as a whole.