Go Greener Tips

More and more people in the USA and worldwide are thinking about the possibility of installing an alternative energy system to power their homes. The most popular choices among home owners are solar power systems and wind energy systems. The preferred choice depends on your location: there is no point in installing a solar panel in a place where it won’t get enough sunlight! However, for most locations, solar energy is a better choice (and it can always be complemented by a wind turbine, just in case!)

Solar generators produce electricity using so-called solar cells or photovoltaic cells, which convert the energy of sunlight to electric energy by the photovoltaic effect. These devices have been developing rapidly over the past few decades, and now solar power systems are much cheaper and more efficient than it was just ten years ago. From the economical viewpoint, it is certainly very feasible to install a residential power generator as a supplemental energy source to cut on electricity costs. Moreover, solar power may be even more economical for you, because many states and regions offer substantial incentives to consumers such as tax breaks or direct rebates.

Why choose solar electricity for your home? Besides obvious economical considerations, it has the following benefits:

- Clean. It doesn’t require burning fossil fuels and doesn’t produce greenhouse gases.

- Plentiful. The solar power is truly unlimited for any practical purposes. The amount of energy radiated by the Sun that reaches Earth each minute is more than the yearly energy consumption of the entire planet.

- Easy to install and use. Solar panels don’t require complex and expensive maintenance after they are installed.

Overall, installing your own home solar power system is definitely a great way to cut back on your electricity costs and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

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Many of us know that solar energy is a good thing, but few really understand why. Therefore, I compiled a comprehensive list of solar energy advantages and disadvantages that will enable you to make an educated decision whether on not Solar Power is right for YOU.

Solar Energy Advantages

1. Saves you money

* After the initial investment has been recovered, the energy from the sun is practically FREE.
* The recovery/ payback period for this investment can be very short depending on how much electricity your household uses.
* Financial incentives are available form the government that will reduce your cost.
* If your system produce more energy than you use, your utility company can buy it from you, building up a credit on your account! This is called net metering.
* It will save you money on your electricity bill if you have one at all.
* Solar energy does not require any fuel.
* It’s not affected by the supply and demand of fuel and is therefore not subjected to the ever-increasing price of gasoline.
* The savings are immediate and for many years to come.
* The use of solar energy indirectly reduces health costs.

2. Environmentally friendly

* Solar Energy is clean, renewable (unlike gas, oil and coal) and sustainable, helping to protect our environment.
* It does not pollute our air by releasing carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide or mercury into the atmosphere like many traditional forms of electrical generations does.
* Therefore Solar Energy does not contribute to global warming, acid rain or smog.
* It actively contributes to the decrease of harmful green house gas emissions.
* It’s generated where it is needed.
* By not using any fuel, Solar Energy does not contribute to the cost and problems of the recovery and transportation of fuel or the storage of radioactive waste.

3. Independent/ semi-independent

* Solar Energy can be utilized to offset utility-supplied energy consumption. It does not only reduce your electricity bill, but will also continue to supply your home/ business with electricity in the event of a power outage.
* A Solar Energy system can operate entirely independent, not requiring a connection to a power or gas grid at all. Systems can therefore be installed in remote locations (like holiday log cabins), making it more practical and cost-effective than the supply of utility electricity to a new site.
* The use of Solar Energy reduces our dependence on foreign and/or centralized sources of energy, influenced by natural disasters or international events and so contributes to a sustainable future.
* Solar Energy supports local job and wealth creation, fuelling local economies.

4. Low/ no maintenance

* Solar Energy systems are virtually maintenance free and will last for decades.
* Once installed, there are no recurring costs.
* They operate silently, have no moving parts, do not release offensive smells and do not require you to add any fuel.
* More solar panels can easily be added in the future when your family’s needs grow.

Solar Energy Disadvantages

* The initial cost is the main disadvantage of installing a solar energy system, largely because of the high cost of the semi-conducting materials used in building one.
* The cost of solar energy is also high compared to non-renewable utility-supplied electricity. As energy shortages are becoming more common, solar energy is becoming more price-competitive.
* Solar panels require quite a large area for installation to achieve a good level of efficiency.
* The efficiency of the system also relies on the location of the sun, although this problem can be overcome with the installation of certain components.
* The production of solar energy is influenced by the presence of clouds or pollution in the air.
* Similarly, no solar energy will be produced during nighttime although a battery backup system and/or net metering will solve this problem. See http://www.dsireusa.org for details on how net metering allows you to save electricity and money.
* As far as solar powered cars go – their slower speed might not appeal to everyone caught up in today’s rat race.

To know about solar energy equipment to use and how are these important, visit renewable energy. For you to know more about renewable energy,its tips, effects of using turbines, and benefits of wind energy. More info in our energy management.

Solar Energy: Advantages Disadvantages and More.

Almost all of you has heard talk of moving toward cleaner, “greener”, energy sources these days. It’s becoming a hotter topic than ever before. But the only problem is that you’re only fed a select few solar energy advantages disadvantages.

There is so much more to this than just being more energy efficient. There are a few pros that you haven’t really heard much about through media. So, get ready for this.

Advantages

* Clean and Energy Efficient – This is the most obvious and most talked about reason to convert your home to solar. You’ve heard it a million times. Solar makes use of the awesome power of the sun and converts it to power. It’s as simple as that.
* Save Money – A lot of people don’t realize just how much money you can save with this. Let me be the first to tell you, from personal experience, that you will save A TON. After I built my own solar panels to use on our home, within 2 months our electric bill was down to $10. That’s $10 for the WHOLE MONTH. I wanted to scream. I was so used to seeing the total at $200-$300. I had to read the bill three times just to make sure I wasn’t seeing what I wanted instead of the actual amount. After a third glance I realized that it was a reality. Converting our home to solar on our own has been a BLESSING.
* Tax Credits – This is a major reason to convert your home. The government is throwing out tax credits between $250 and $3400 to people who make their home run on energy efficient sources such as solar. That’s a huge credit. So not only do you cut your electric bill down %80+, but you also get paid for doing it. Double whammy!
* Cheap and Easy to Build – I was really surprised at how affordable this really was. If you go buy pre-made panels you will find that they generally run around $1000 to $2000 EACH. After seeing that I didn’t think I’d ever be converting my home. But then I found the step-by-step guide online and it exposed where you can buy the materials to build panels on your own for under $200. BIG DIFFERENCE. And it only took up a weekend to complete the project. That guide was another huge blessing.

Disadvantages

* Cost – If you don’t construct solar panels or the solar system yourself this can be extremely pricey. As mentioned above, solar panels can cost over $2000 each and run you close to $30,000 to complete a home conversion. But again, this is only if you buy pre-made systems. Homemade systems are much cheaper and are easy to install.
* Parts for Homemade – Finding parts to make your own solar system can be hard to find if you don’t have a guide to point you in the right direction.

There is absolutely NO reason why you shouldn’t consider converting your home yourself. It was a fun little weekend project, it didn’t cost but a fraction of what pre-mades would have, and it has saved us more money than I thought it would.

To know about solar energy equipment to use and how are these important, visit wind turbine. For you to know more about wind turbine,its tips, effects of using turbines, and benefits of wind energy. More info in our energy management.

With the threat of global warming looming over our heads, it is no surprise that the world has suddenly taken up a tremendous amount of interest in renewable sources of energy. If we keep on consuming carbon spewing energy sources like oil or coal at our present rate, we will cause everlasting, irreversible damage to the environment. Hence, renewable sources of energy have become of prime importance in the current world situation.

The most popular renewable form of energy is solar energy. The power of the sun is present almost everywhere. Every minute, the sun sends down massive amounts of energy to the earth’s surface.This energy can be harvested using solar panels that can convert it into electricity.

The problem with solar energy is that it requires a large land area to be sustainable. One solar panel can produce very little electricity. Only once you have hundreds upon hundreds of such panels does the amount of electricity produced become significant.

Moreover, solar energy is not suitable for places that don’t get a lot of sunlight. Thus, places in colder climates are unsuitable for producing electricity through solar power. The current technology is also very expensive, making it unsuitable for mass-consumption.

The next most popular form of renewable energy is wind energy. Wind mills are used to turn a turbine that converts the power of wind into energy. This is a very clean, safe, and renewable source of power.

Wind energy suffers from the same drawbacks as solar power. It requires a large land area to be useful. Moreover, current technology is quite expensive. It can also be utilized only in areas that get significant windy days or in high altitude areas. This severely limits its ability to be consumed by the masses.

A lot of research money is being spent on refining these two energy sources and the results so far have been very promising. The cost of implementing and harvesting solar energy, for instance, has gone down by leaps and bounds. Within a few years, it is estimated that solar energy will be cheap enough for mass consumption.

To know about solar energy equipment to use and how are these important, visit solar power. For you to know more about solar power,its tips, effects of using turbines, and benefits of wind energy. More info in our energy management.

One of the most successful energy technologies used today is solar energy created by photovoltaic solar-cells. PV-based solar energy is what most people refer to when discussing solar power mainly because it is the most commonly marketed. While there are two separate operable solar cell types, photovoltaic and thin-film solar cells, the thin film choice is far less efficient and is not used as often.

PV solar cells take the direct approach by converting sunshine into electricity without any detours. Crystalline silicon solar cells create different types of reactions from the sun’s rays Either reflected, being absorbed or passing through without any commitment, only the absorbed photons from the sun count. Only 20% of the available source is ever captured, the same place it was ten years ago. In comparison, a fossil fuel generator converts at 28%. The record held by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory is 40.8% in August 2008. Performance is at the mercy of climate and environmental conditions.

Progressing to the point where a larger percentage of solar energy is captured and turned into energy is the direction that many of our scientists are moving in.

Concentrating solar power (CSP) is a term that many may not yet be familiar with. Using an optical lens, the sun’s heat is amplified, high temperatures are reached and water is turned into steam that can be used to power a turbine and generate electricity.

Concentrating solar power may be one of the best ideas yet and has already been tried out on a large commercial scale. The overall principal of CSP has more variables than the PV-based solar system because the power generated can be stored to meet spikes in demand and can be used in relation to other types of fuels because of the ability to share the steam turbines. There are two other different kinds of CSPs now being tested and monitored for use in large utility operations, parabolic-trough systems and dish-shaped receivers.

5-10 acres of land are demanded for each megawatt of electric capacity in the parabolic-trough system that draws the sun’s energy through long curved mirrors. As the mirrors tilt toward the sun, attached pipes carry the boiling oil to water in a conventional steam generator. But these cannot be built everywhere. Flat, dry areas work best for this solar type concept.

The dish system resembles a large TV satellite dish and tracks the sun the same way a dish will track a TV signal to a receiver. But instead of finding a signal, this dish converts heat into mechanical energy, turning a turbine. Right now there is an experimental dish set up in New Mexico that is rating the amount of energy provided.

New ideas and scientific principals are being discovered and tested every day that use the resource of the sun as a base. Practical solutions together with existing methods will continue to advance our goal of independent energy means, hopefully sooner than later.

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If you have been harboring thoughts of building your very own solar panel with a small budget, then you are in the right place. Before you begin, there are quite a few things to bear in mind, and of them is being open to trying new stuff and this will definitely increase your chances of achieving your goals. The making of your own solar panel can be done with the help of your family members and thus, it can be a great cohesion day altogether. In addition, the use of a solar panel can help you save a huge sum of money and also protect the environment at the same time.

Take a look at some of the many benefits home solar power systems can provide you and our environment:

• Green energy: When you use solar energy, you will realize that it uses absolutely no fuel other than the sun’s light. Moreover, it does not release into the atmosphere anything harmful.

• Affordability: Energy comes free. The installation cost is a one-time cost. Therefore, the investment is recovered within a few years of installation, making the power generated by solar energy absolutely free.

• Ease of use: You cannot store conventional power but you can store solar power for future use.

• Low on maintenance: The home solar power systems are easy to maintain. They do not involve high costs or too much effort, thus letting you reap the benefits of the solution comfortably.

• Free and renewable: With solar energy, you can lower or even eliminate your monthly electricity bills.

• Increase the value of your property: The price of your house tend to worth much more with the implementation of solar power systems.

• Make Money: You can sell your excess generated electricity back to the utility companies.

Basically, solar panels are dependent on sun energy to function; therefore, the most ideal location to position your panels is none other than on the roof of your home. However, there can be also other alternative locations such as on an empty piece of land that is close to the main area. The main point to take note here is that the solar panels have to be accurately angled to face the sun’s direction. This is to ensure that the solar panels receive maximum exposure to direct sun rays.

There are tons of companies out there selling DIY solar installation guides and this has made the installation process of solar panels cheap and very much efficient. With step-by-step instructions provided along with video tutorials, learning how to build a solar panel has never been easier than this approach. The cost for this DIY installation guides costs at a reasonable price of no more than $50 and the overall costs for the materials required for the building process won’t take more than $200.

To know about solar energy equipment to use and how are these important, visit energy. For you to know more about energy,its tips, effects of using turbines, and benefits of wind energy. More info in our energy management.

Benefits of solar power

Solar energy systems use the power of direct sunlight to create power and heat. Solar energy systems convert sunlight to electricity through a network of Photovoltaic panels placed in a way which harnesses the sunlight and turns it into needed electricity. Also the direct heat caused by sunlight falling on spaces or the panels can create needed heat and light in a room that is open and airy. The passive energy created is economical and abundant. Bright skies and open spaces create this luxury that we can easily and economically use.

Solar panels may be easily installed. We have known about and have used some form of solar energy for at least 40 years and really longer ago than that. Many houses or building have taken advantage of the correct placement of windows, skylights, doors, or open spaces without glass, for hundreds of years. With help a novice will be able to install solar capture materials or they may be installed by professionals.

Solar energy systems are inexpensive. Fortunately, we do not have to pay for the raw materials. There is enough sunlight that hits the earth each day to provide for our needs. The cost of the panels and related materials used to capture the sunlight is relatively low. We may even be able to pay for all of the capture materials used by simply switching over to solar energy.

The sun has served us well over the years. But there are drawbacks to solar power.

Some climates simply do not support a widespread use of solar power as a single source of energy. In places where the sun does not shine for a majority of days, a complementary source of power may be needed. In the areas where wind is more plentiful than the sun, a system of wind capture is as valuable as solar panels.

Advantages of wind power

Wind power is renewable and very cost effective

The wind turns a set of blades (a windmill) attached to an electric generator or turbine. When the wind is blowing, the blades move like a wheel. The wind can create electricity in a generator. Wind turbines are both large and small and can be used unobtrusively. In many climates the wind blows more often than the sun shines.

The use of wind systems like solar is very flexible to construct and to use. For the most part it would take more and larger components working in tandem to manufacture the kind of power one would need to run a business, while a home power generator using both wind and solar would be less demanding. It is obvious that the same technology could be applied to different sized projects. The only difference would be the cost.

Wind energy systems can be reasonably priced. Like solar, the raw material (wind) is abundant and renewable. It is there for us to capture. The systems will have a price, but when compared with the cost of buying expendable energy, wind seems like an excellent investment.

The question for you is: Do you want to change over to solar and wind energy from what you are using now? The cost is reasonable, the installation can be done by you or a professional, and the time is would take to accomplish the project is short.

To know about solar energy equipment to use and how are these important, visit solar energy. For you to know more about solar energy,its tips, effects of using turbines, and benefits of wind energy. More info in our energy management.

For many people, wood pellet fuel is now their main source of heat for their abode or company. For smaller properties small hot air stoves are used, for larger properties pellet stoves by back boilers are used plus for even larger properties pellet boilers are adopted. Wood pellet energy is uncomplicated a highly compressed form of the original biomass residues. Through a process of intense heat along with pressure, the wood particles are essentially melted as well as compressed into pellet form. The result is a highly compressed energy with a very low moisture content. The low moisture content as well as increased density are both positive. As we are all now aware of, incineration fossil fuels increased global levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Pellets can help to decrease the issue.

Learn more about Pellet Boiler

When many people think of incineration wood, they simply refer to log fires plus stoves, as this is the traditional form in which combustion biomass has taken. On the other hand pellets are very different in their combustion characteristics, even on the other hand the raw matter is the same. Log fires generally make significant amounts of smoke plus particulate emissions. One of the key reasons for this is logs usual contain around 30% moisture, even when they are regarded to be seasoned dry logs. Pellets have a moisture content below 10%, as well as burn much more cleanly without smoke. This also way less particles are put in the atmosphere. As biomass fuel pellets can made from a assortment of local resources, not only wood, this provides the opportunity for local pellet production in addition to local consumption of pellet fuels.This can bring economic as well as environmental benefits

Read more about Pellet Insert

Even yet all fuel pellets manufactured from different biomass materials may look very similar in terms of their shape, size and colour, their combustion characteristics can be very unlike. The changes can be in the ash percentage, possible clinker formations etc. And the easy fact many biomass pellet burning stoves are simply not designed to be able to cope with these issues. The stove by way of either work inefficiently using such fuels, or develop a mechanical or software failure. On the other hand there are some designs of biomass pellet burning stove which are designed to deal by means of these issues successfully. At PelHeat we focus on pellet production as well as burning solutions, are more than aware of the limitations some biomass pellet incineration stoves have, as well as the designs of biomass pellet incineration stoves which will work the finest. We have therefore developed this guide.

More information on Wood Pellet Burning Stoves

Currently fewer than 25/100 of 1 % of the power made in the UK is from wind powered turbines or natural flow, according to UK statistics; the large majority of the power is to be considered made by natural gas and petroleum. We talked to David Hislop, a retired physicist, but now full time tutor, and he said: today the equivalent of about one million residences are fuelled by wind fueled turbines; the tutor went on to say that this stops approximately 3.6 million tonnes of CO2 to be created annually and also results in vast reductions of SO2 and NOx. All of this is done by just 1576 turbines. We asked another scientist, also now a full time academic tutor at a leading university, and he said it is clear from these results that, from an environmental point of view, wind fueled turbines are a viable option as a source of power and an option that could not only be explored further but also implemented immediately. The catch comes however in the cost of the turbines and the noise and sight pollution.

The idea of wind turbines to be considered too noisy is unfounded. A great wind turbine that powers energy for a village worth of residences is as noisy at 250m as having a refrigerator in your house; far less annoying than a car driving past on a nearby road and nobody complains when somebody considers owning a new vehicle. The volume of noise created by the latest wind turbines, that make use of a magnetic system rather than a classic gearbox, is insignificant.

The consideration of a turbine being unsightly is purely a matter of taste and should not be considered when a coal fueled station is so much more unsightly. However this factor does have to be considered where an area of outstanding natural beauty is concerned.

It has also been claimed by some that there is not required amounts of wind in Britain to power the state. However there is required amounts of wind in Britain to power the nation’s power needs three times over.

From these concludes it appears that the main reason for rejecting wind fueled turbines must be cost and possibly also the amount of money that has already been ploughed into other sources of renewable fuel such as nuclear power. The cost of a wind turbine for a personal residence is as follows: Initial setup £12,000 – £14,000. Service £300-£500 a year. Annual saving £300-£700.

It can be seen from these figures that the servicing costs may outweigh the annual saving on your fuel bill. This is obviously a major problem and means that the only reason for purchasing a turbine for personal means today would be if you felt very strongly about the environment. If one were to have sufficient turbines the cost of servicing would be reduced per turbine and it is possible to see how this may be profitable. From a commercial point of view however the turbines would be profitable as there is greater tax relief from the government and as considered above the service costs would be reduced as it is likely that more than one turbine would be required.

Currently fewer than 25/100 of 1 % of the power made in the UK is from wind powered turbines or natural flow, according to UK statistics; the large majority of the power is to be considered made by natural gas and petroleum. We talked to David Hislop, a retired physicist, but now full time tutor, and he said: today the equivalent of about one million residences are fuelled by wind fueled turbines; the tutor went on to say that this stops approximately 3.6 million tonnes of CO2 to be created annually and also results in vast reductions of SO2 and NOx. All of this is done by just 1576 turbines. We asked another scientist, also now a full time academic tutor at a leading university, and he said it is clear from these results that, from an environmental point of view, wind fueled turbines are a viable option as a source of power and an option that could not only be explored further but also implemented immediately. The catch comes however in the cost of the turbines and the noise and sight pollution.

The idea of wind turbines to be considered too noisy is unfounded. A great wind turbine that powers energy for a village worth of residences is as noisy at 250m as having a refrigerator in your house; far less annoying than a car driving past on a nearby road and nobody complains when somebody considers owning a new vehicle. The volume of noise created by the latest wind turbines, that make use of a magnetic system rather than a classic gearbox, is insignificant.

The consideration of a turbine being unsightly is purely a matter of taste and should not be considered when a coal fueled station is so much more unsightly. However this factor does have to be considered where an area of outstanding natural beauty is concerned.

It has also been claimed by some that there is not required amounts of wind in Britain to power the state. However there is required amounts of wind in Britain to power the nation’s power needs three times over.

From these concludes it appears that the main reason for rejecting wind fueled turbines must be cost and possibly also the amount of money that has already been ploughed into other sources of renewable fuel such as nuclear power. The cost of a wind turbine for a personal residence is as follows: Initial setup £12,000 – £14,000. Service £300-£500 a year. Annual saving £300-£700.

It can be seen from these figures that the servicing costs may outweigh the annual saving on your fuel bill. This is obviously a major problem and means that the only reason for purchasing a turbine for personal means today would be if you felt very strongly about the environment. If one were to have sufficient turbines the cost of servicing would be reduced per turbine and it is possible to see how this may be profitable. From a commercial point of view however the turbines would be profitable as there is greater tax relief from the government and as considered above the service costs would be reduced as it is likely that more than one turbine would be required.