Posts Tagged: Energy Bills

Solar panels have become an excellent and an increasingly attractive renewable source of energy for homes and businesses. This could be attributed to three basic reasons; specifically, the growing costs of energy from conventional sources, the decreasing prices of improved solar panels for homes as well as incentives offered by governments that make green energy an attractive choice.

In America, more than 10,000 homes and businesses are powered entirely by solar panels. On top of that, 200,000 homes and businesses use solar panels to meet their energy requirements. That results in substantial savings on energy bills. Subsequently, the use of non-renewable resources like fossil fuels is decreased, which amounts to less environmental pollution.

The cost of installation for a home of a typical family can be $18-20 K if carried out by a professional installation company. These high costs prevent people from using solar panels. But anybody can save on installation costs via tax credits and state rebates. Also, if you do it yourself, the cost would only be about one-third before tax credits and rebates.

You can have a couple of choices: a stand-alone unit that requires battery to function properly or a grid-intertied unit.

A good upgrade to your home is to convert to grid-intertied solar panel system. As always, planning is the main prerequisite of successful conversion.

First, calculate the energy you will need based on past consumption. You should pick the right size of your solar panel system. An oversized unit will generate more power which you could sell to the power company, but you can only get credit and not cash for it.

After that, understand if your home is suitable for a solar system. The factors to be accounted for are as follows: available space, house orientation and climatic conditions. A good estimate of roof space is 80 to 100 sq. ft. per kilowatt. A building has to be oriented towards south for the solar energy system to be efficient, and there should be no objects that may get in the way of sunlight.

Though it is possible to mount the solar panels on poles, solar panel systems are usually mounted on the roof. With the help of steel bolts, the supports are attached to roof rafters. The panels are then installed on the supports.

Solar panel kits are readily available in the market. There are vendors that sell their panels on the web, but it is not advisable to purchase the kits from them unless you are an experienced DIY solar panel system builder.

Typical set of hardware you will need for a stand-alone grid-intertied system consists of: solar panel units, utility-interactive inverter, power meter, roof mounts, a couple of heavy duty safety switches, wirings and conduits. A DIY installation for a 1-kW system would cost a little above the $3,000 mark.

If you are not experienced in this area, you should choose a respectable supplier who is known for excellent service. It is sensible to look for DIY kits with accompanying installation manual with at least a good number of illustrations. The supplier should preferably have telephone contact, and better yet, could send an engineer in case you need consultation. Alternatively if you are lucky enough to have a friend or acquaintance who is experienced in installing home solar panels, then ask him to assist you in the procurement of the hardware as well as in the installation.

Many have shown that renewable energy can save one both money and the Mother Earth. With availability of improved, affordable solar panels for homes and businesses, solar energy is the best option for the majority of families, so start that home improvement project: install a home solar system.

We are all feeling the economic pinch and are all trying to find ways to save money. Alternative energy methods and ways to make solar power not only protect the earth and environment but can also save a household thousands of dollars each year on energy bills. Of course you need to decide which type of alternative energy would be best for your family. How would you like to learn how to make solar energy or build your own wind generator that would make them the main source of power for heating, cooling and lighting in your home?

Stop giving your money each month to the various utility companies that supply you with electricity and natural gas. You can do this and help the global economy as well as save the earth. We have less than 2% of our homes in the U.S. tapping into renewable energy sources. As a citizen of this earth we are called to preserve its resources by striving to make solar power..

You may be the type of homeowner that likes to build your own projects and are looking for ways to make solar energy yourself. With a quick online search you will instantly find that there are many solar energy companies available and new ones popping up every day. It is hard to be sure that you are hiring a qualified supplier and installer.

To get you going on the right foot there are quite a few manuals like GreenDIY Energy available on the internet for the do-it-yourself type. Whether you make solar energy just for cost saving reasons or to save the earth it is really as easy as one-tw-three. You could start by installing a solar hot water system in your home. The recovery time is a bit slow but the savings will offset any inconvenience.

It is a fulfilling feeling to realize what an effect you are having on the global economy and environment by doing something as easy utilizing wind power or to make solar energy your energy source and saving moeny as well.

In an effort to reduce energy bills, both homeowners and businesses are looking to solar power as a viable alternative. Perhaps the simplest way to implement this type of renewable energy to your system is to purchase a DIY solar power kit. Before you purchase such a kit, you should familiariaze yourself with five important points.

Solar Power Dimensions

Check the DIY kit to ensure it indicates the solar panels’ precise measurements, which will let you know if you have enough space on your roof for the solar module. Further, ensure that you know the solar panels’ weight, which is necessary information if you have roof tiles as they will factor in determining if your roof can support the solar panels. The dimension and weight are needed to determine if your roof is structurally stable for the added load.

Total Power Generation

Before you install a DIY solar power kit in your home, calculate the amount of power you use, Additionally, determine how many appliances you want to connect to the solar power system. Once you have this figure calculated, purchase an appropriate DIY solar power kit. Kits of a variety of sizes are available; further, some kits can be interconnected if one alone is not sufficient.

Durability

Solar power panels are constantly exposed to harsh outdoor elements like rain, hail, sun and snow. The frame should be made out of durable material, like aluminum. The solar cells should be covered with tempered glass.

Long-Term Warranty

Be aware that it can take years to see a return on investment for a DIY solar power kit. As such, it’s advisable to take into consideration the length of a product’s warranty prior to purchase. Most experts recommend getting a 20- to 25-year warranty on new solar panels.

Installation and Maintenance

Get a DIY solar power kit that’s easy to install. Kits that contain all the necessary components to start your own solar power system are on the market. Additionally, you should also consider one that will require only minimal maintenance over the years in service. The best choice is solar panels that require, at minimum, scrubbing once a year to have the panels work at maximum efficiency.

Anna Vera Williams helps others understand how to utilize solar power to live cleaner and more economical lives.

This article was originally published on Anna’s blog, at Five Things to Consider When Buying DIY Solar Power Kits.

We are all feeling the economic pinch and are all trying to find ways to save money. Alternative energy methods and ways to make solar power not only protect the earth and environment but can also save a household thousands of dollars each year on energy bills. Finding the right renewable energy source for your area and your home is important. How would you like to learn how to make solar energy or build your own wind generator that would make them the main source of power for heating, cooling and lighting in your home?

Stop giving your money each month to the various utility companies that supply you with electricity and natural gas. Ways of preserving our world and savinge money go hand in hand. Currently there are less than 3% of American families using alternative energy methods. We all need to make solar power and other alternative forms of energy as our main energy source.

You may be the type of homeowner that likes to build your own projects and are looking for ways to make solar energy yourself. By checking the internet you will quickly discover many companies willing to do it for you but just as many sources for building alternative energy methods yourself. If you don’t construct it yourself you will have to weed out a certified alternative energy installer.

There are also many “how to” guides like GreenDIY Energy that provide you with step-by-step instructions on how to build a solar panel or wind generator. Whether you make solar energy just for cost saving reasons or to save the earth it is really as easy as one-tw-three. There are also solar hot water systems for the home. The recovery time is a bit slow but the savings will offset any inconvenience.

If more people would start using the earth for energy, a renewable resource, and other home made energy resources such as solar and wind power it will make a difference for our environment and a satisfying experience for the individual.

It’s not as if saving money has ever been “out” of fashion, as such, but it is certainly en vogue these days. We all hate receiving those monthly energy bills in the mail and will silently curse as we open them. This would always be the time to make a resolution, vowing to turn off all unnecessary lights. Invariably though, we would forget as it didn’t seem quite so urgent for some reason. If we fast forward to today, we seem to be living in a different world. Now we are looking for a whole array of different ways to save electricity, as we realise just how pressing this need is.

Once the domain only of environmentalists and tree huggers, we now all know how important it is to cut back on our energy use, so that we do not emit carbon dioxide and damage the planet. We hear all kinds of reports on the news about how global warming is changing polar ice packs and that people in far-off countries are in danger of losing their ability to feed themselves, due to climate changes and weather pattern alterations. Closer to home, we hear that companies are going to be penalised for using too much energy and emitting carbon and imagine that these costs will be passed along to us as well.

Even if we don’t look at things from an overall perspective and express our concern for nature, we can see how energy costs themselves have exploded in recent times. Government attempts to regulate the industry have not been very successful and the whole infrastructure seems to be creaking and groaning under the strain. How much longer will the system be able to put up with spikes in energy use, as we rely on those old fossil fuels to provide the raw material? We all know the benefits of renewable energy, but we collectively have not moved forward fast enough to try and embrace them. Just think of the extraordinary ways in which we would be helping the environment if we were able to turn to wind, solar and other renewable sources for the majority of our energy.

Focusing close to home, what can we do to help the environment and ourselves at the same time? There are a number of options. For a start, we should always purchase highly efficient equipment for our kitchens and for our heating and air-conditioning needs. Look for a refrigerator, for example, that consumes around 100 KwH per year and you will be in possession of an appliance that is four times more efficient than the European Union average. You may have to spend about five or maybe 10% more to actually buy the machine, but just think about how much energy you could save and how it would help to reduce your electricity bill. These appliances may last for 4 to 5 years and the additional amount you pay to buy them up front will definitely be saved in the long run. New appliances will need less repairing and you will do yourself a favour as well by eliminating the noise coming from that old and worn fan, which seems to circulate annoyingly whenever you sit down in your most comfortable chair to watch a film!