Solar Energy Is Everywhere – Why Not Make Your Own Solar Collector?
Up in the country we used to joke about all the old cars sitting around in yards. These were either chicken coops or solar collectors. Sometimes they were chicken coops. Most of the time they were just leftover relics from a time gone by. Just sitting there rusting into oblivion. An enclosed box with glass on all side stores a tremendous amount of solar energy. You’ve had this experience after getting into you automobile on a hot summer day. Whoooweee! that seat is hot and you can hardly breath until the car is moving with the windows down.
In the fall, winter and early spring I will always go to the living room first thing in the morning and pull back the curtains, open up the blinds to let the sun in all day. This really helps keep the furnace from kicking on most of the day.
Installing Solar In Your Home is the BEST Do It Yourself Improvement You Could Ever Make
When you’re getting ready to put your home on the market, you hear a lot of advice…from friends, from family, and especially from your Realtor. And one piece of advice you are sure to hear over and over is that if you want your house to sell, you’ve got to make some upgrades and improvements. But did you know that using solar power, even just a small installation, can drastically increase both the value of your home and it’s ability to attract buyers? In this article, I’ll tell you why installing solar panels turns your home into a no-brainer purchase for the budget-conscious buyer.
Go Green And Get $$$ – How To Make Energy Efficient Improvements That Sell Your House For You
These days, going ‘green‘ is everywhere and on most everyone’s mind. It seems that most folk’s want to know how to be more energy efficient…and that includes home buyers. So if you’re getting ready to sell your home, you need to take energy efficiency into account. Green homes are easier to sell and bring more than inefficient homes, and Real-tors can use your new, Eco-friendly features to shoot your house to the top of the list. So before you start making any major improvements to get your house market ready, read this article to discover some simple ways you can add green selling points to your home…and end up boosting your market value in the process.
Water Made HOT By The Sun Is Practical – Saves Money, Builds Home Equity-Makes Sense
Solar water heaters simply absorb energy from sunlight. That energy is free to use. Sunlight energy is converted to electrical energy for the water heating purposes. In earlier days the same concept of heating water was used but with a different approach. The water was getting the heat from the warmth of the sun.
Using the sun to heat water is not a new idea. Solar energy has been used for years to heat water for homes and businesses. In some countries, solar hot water systems are mandatory for residential use. In the United States, as far back as the turn of the 20th century, solar hot water systems were common in southern California, Texas and Florida.
Today, solar heated water systems provide hot water for everything from park bathrooms and single-family homes to hospitals and prisons.
How It Works
Solar hot water systems use the sun’s energy either to heat water directly or to heat a fluid such as antifreeze that indirectly heats the water through a heat exchanger. Solar-heated water is then stored for use as needed. A conventional water heater provides any additional heating that might be necessary.
A heat exchanger keeps two different liquids physically separated but allows heat energy to pass between them. In a solar hot water system, tubes carry hot antifreeze in and out of a reservoir filled with water.
Solar hot water systems are always mounted on a south-facing roof, a south-facing outside wall, or on the ground facing south, to take greatest advantage of the sun’s rays.
2 More Valuable Advantages for Tapping The Sun’s Energy
As this series comes to an end it is only the beginning for you if we have convinced you to embrace going solar and pursue building or purchasing a whole energy system for your home. Now let’s see two more valuable reasons for using solar power.
Using Solar Energy To Raise The Value Of Your Home
The economy certainly is going though drastic changes. It’s been a rough couple of years for the real estate market also. Of course if you are a home owner wanting to be a home seller you already know this.
What can you do to build up the value of your home so as to make it interesting to potential buyers?
Although home sales are increasing steadily, the value of homes continues to struggle. One way that you can go about increasing the equity of your home is to utilize something you already have access to. Solar energy.
Advantages of Using Solar – Part 2
We were exploring the advantages of going solar for our home. You may recall in the first of a series that a “never ending supply” was number one and how there is “always a clean result” came in at number two on our list. Now let’s look at a couple more reasons why implementing solar technology into our lives make good sense.
A Measure Of Independence
Next, advantage number three is that by using the power of the sun and wind and even geothermal at our homes we can actually accomplish the reality of being self-contained. Or off the grid as is the buzz phrase. Let this simmer in the back of your mind for a minute.
Have you ever been on a real family farm? A place in the country that had chickens, hogs and milk cows? Where beehives produce sweet honey and the garden was full of bright and beautiful vegetables. They get their water from a well, grow their own food, some even build the home they live and make their own clothes, yes even today in the ‘year 2010. Why would people live that way? They do this because you can not put a price on the satisfaction of being self-sufficient.
Home Based Solar Systems Are Abundant and Affordable
Any responsible adult can make the decision to help conserve our environment, and locating affordable solar power
for your home is one good way to start. Our planet’s future depends upon us taking action now to reduce our carbon footprint. Fortunately, there are a number of alternatives for generating heat and electricity that help us reduce the consumption of fossil fuels.
Utilizing renewable energy is the most obvious solution. Renewable energy includes any regenerated energy resources that are naturally produced within a short time frame. The sun for example produces 100’s of times more energy in one minute then all life on earth could use in a 24 hour day. Power generated naturally from the sun as can be used as thermal, photo-electric or photochemical energy.
Additional power sources include wind, hydroelectric from tidal such as at damns and geothermal energy by laying pipes underground and biomass, which is wood burning. Renewable energy is not created from waste or fossil fuel, these are a form of pollution and pillaging and only encourages destruction.
Renewable means that we will never run out of the source and it is replenished naturally.
STOP! Giving Away Piles of $$$ for Electricity
There are many individuals throughout the world who are starting to realize just how important it is to use solar energy? Now you are one of those people, because, well look at you last electric bill.
Installing a home solar power system can be a good way to help the environment and cut down on your energy bills. While once an expensive option that most people could not afford, today’s home solar systems are easier to install, more efficient and less costly.
In fact, if you are handy around the house, you may even be able to install a solar system in your home by yourself. But, first, you need to decide exactly where you will install it.
Obviously, a solar power system needs sun, so these systems should be installed on top of your house or at some other space that is elevated in order for the sunlight to hit it. In addition, it should be south facing so that it is getting the most amount of sun. Typical installations are on the home roof, but if the roof is not suitable and if there is a spot on the ground that gets a lot of sunlight, then feel free to put it there.
Can Solar Energy Fit My Budget?
If you’ve ever considered installing solar collectors on your house but chose not to follow through because the costs sounded prohibitive, it might be time to reconsider. Technology has come a long way and while harnessing solar energy does have start up cost, the long term payoffs are tremendous. Maybe we can afford it. Let’s see.
Solar power is one of the most environmentally benign energy sources available. Just 20 days of sunshine produces the same amount of energy as everything stored in Earth’s reserves of oil, coal, and natural gas—yet does not come close to producing the same amount of environmental damage as even one of those options.
Passive Or Active That Is The Question – Save Money With A Solar Water Heater
A solar water heater can be the most efficient way to heat the water in your home and is easy on the environment. A solar system for heating water has solar thermal collectors that moves the heat from the thermal collector outside to the item where it is intended using a fluid system. Using a small amount of electricity, the system pumps the fluid and includes a tank or reservoir to store the heat to use later.
These systems are able to heath water for various uses including industrial, business or home users. The most popular uses for solar water heaters are hot water heating for radiant heating in the floor and for heated swimming pools.
Solar Power Kits For Your Home
Harnessing renewable sources of energy is in the forefront today. The demand for energy worldwide increases and we
all feel the effects at home. Serious and responsible homeowners will realize the importance of renewable energy and consider any options available. Considering a solar power kit might be the most practical and popular choice.
Until recently the cost of solar panels and other energy devices have been out of reach most people. Ranging from $2000 and up. But now days there is no reason to spend near that much. Today we have options like purchasing a kit or downloading a well written manual with a list of pertinent items to build our own panel or wind turbine. So if you are serious about lowering your electric bill then it is time to get serious about solar.



