Go Greener Tips

Everyone is searching for ways to save money these days. There was a recent conference in Little Rock, AR where Arkansas homeowners where given the opportunity to check out just what it takes to convert to a solar-powered home that uses only about half the electricity of a typical house. Watching their responses is enlightening and encouraging to those that want to break Americas dependence on fossil fuels and foreign oil.

Option 1: Do-it-yourself improvements:
There is a common misconception that converting a home to wind or solar power is too expensive and makes a home look ugly. The truth is that there are plenty of do-it-yourself packages that cost less than $200.00 to get started. It will be a bit of work, but if you are serious about going green and don’t want to spend several thousand dollars there are lots of options.

Here are some reasons to get started:

Saving Money! Once you have assembled and installed your own alternative power supply you can save hundreds off your electricity bill each month or even eliminate your electric bill completely. If your new system creates more power than you use yourself, your local energy company will actually purchase the extra power from you!

Helping The Environment – Most electricity generated in the United States actually comes from burning coal. By converting to solar or wind power you no longer are utilizing fossil fuels – no carbon footprint! You can start getting your home running on free, renewable green energy in very short order. The solar panels or wind generators might be considered ugly by some, but those people aren’t paying your electic bills! With a little extra effort, a homes look could even be improved with a more modern appearance.

Portability – Home solar energy units can power up just about any appliance including lights, television and computers. The good news is that they can be created using parts found at almost any hardware store, and can be taken with you if you move or if you just want to rent a cabin in out in the woods for the weekend!

Reliability- Having the ability to generate your own solar or wind power can allow you to go fully off local grid. If a natural disaster strikes, such as a hurricane or earthquake that disrupts energy to your local area you can still have energy.

Home Equity – One of the key questions a buyer asks when purchasing a house is always what doe’s the utility bills run each month. Reducing utility bills homes are more affordable.

How to get started:

There are several do-it-yourself manuals on the market including This One that gives easy to read instructions and can have a homeowner up and generating power in a matter of just a few hours.

The U.S. currently only gets one percent of its electricity from wind energy. With some effort it could be up to 20 percent by 2030.

Option 2: Simple ways to cut back on power consumption:

1) Check and clean the air conditioners filter once a month, you will also breath a little better.
2) Turn off the drying cycle in your dishwasher, especially if you are not unloading the dish washer right away, anyways.
3) Install photoelectric light switches. These can turn off lights when the natural light level is sufficient.
4) Use the microwave oven instead of your regular oven.
5) Turn your fridge thermostat down to 37 degrees Fahrenheit, that’s plenty cold for most foods.
6) Lower your water heater setting to 120 to 130 degrees Fahrenheit, that’s plenty warm for most people.
7) Insulate! Even if you already have some insulation you may be able to save a lot of power by upgrading or adding on.

This article is brought to you by George Zalcman. George Zalcman has always had a passion for green technologies, and believes that we should all get on the boat before natural resources become limited. George Zalcman is part of an air to water technology hoping that this will eventually bring an end to the water crisis as well.