What You Should Know About A Solar Power Home
Posted on 2010 under Alternative Energy | No Comment28 Feb
Many people think that the only way to have a solar power home is by installing banks of cells and batteries. Fortunately, you can use solar power in your home in some ways that are much less expensive. You can harness sun power without using any solar cells if you are willing to take a few steps.
One way that we often waste energy is in cleaning our clothing. Even if you have an energy star rated dryer, it is likely to be one of the largest energy consumers in the home. Even if you had solar cells, it is likely that you would not produce enough electricity to operate an electric dryer. You might get by with a natural gas or propane dryer since you only would have to produce enough energy to operate the motor that tumbles the clothing.
For a nominal investment, you can dry laundry in a way that will not add to your power bill. The simple old clothes line allows clothing to dry outside. On warm days, your clothing may be dry in about the same amount of time that it would take in a dryer. Most homes have yards that will accommodate at least the small square clothes line.
Other ways to take advantage of the power of the sun include opening blinds or drapes on southerly facing windows in the home during days of the winter months. The sun’s warmth filters int the home and allows you to use passive solar heating at no cost. If you have hard surface floors, they may absorb the heat and radiate it back into the home long after sunset. Window coverings need to be closed after dark as they add insulation value and minimize heat loss.
During the summer months, keeping these blinds closed in the afternoons when the sun is shining intensely helps to keep the heat outside so there is less work for the air conditioning of the home. At night, if the humidity is not a problem, you can open those windows and allow the cool evening breeze to float into your home.
A solar power home does not have to cost a fortune.
I suggest you check out my other guides on solar power home, solar energy home and solar energy panel
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