Posted on 2010 under Alternative Energy |
21
Jul
In today’s economic and political environment, landlords are struggling to conform to government regulations and tenant demands. Searching for more environment friendly ways to heat our buildings can present a real challenge.
There’s been a lot of talk recently about the many benefits of wind technology, but allow me to introduce you to solar heating tubes: the alternative green energy source. The sun is the most powerful energy source we have. Every day, 365 days per year in most environments, the sun gives us several hours of ambient heat. But most of the energy it supplies goes unused, while instead we use carbon fuels, which are rapidly being depleted, becoming more expensive and pollute the atmosphere. The situation is only going to get worse for those who continue to burn fossil fuels, so it’s time to put all the newly developed green technology to use, while many of the world’s governments are offering to subsidize the costs.
Using solar heating tubes to produce green energy comes with many benefits, both to landlords and their tenants. Depending on the amount of hot water is used in the building, the savings can be fantastic, even if solar power is only used to heat the building’s water. Obviously, buildings with differing purposes will use different quantities of hot water, but very few buildings use no hot water at all, whether it’s tenants taking showers, doing their laundry, washing dishes, or even just washing their hands. Many properties also employ radiant heat, which use coils of heated water beneath the flooring to heat the whole building. If this is the case with your buildings, you will be able to cut your heating bills considerably, if not entirely.
Solar heating tubes represent a new approach to solar energy and are much more efficient than standard solar panels. In places like New York solar energy is typically not the best way to harness green energy as the climate is so changeable. However, solar heating tubes will continue to be effective even through the winter months. The solar heating tubes can be positioned in such a way that they can absorb the sun’s energy throughout the day, as they have a larger surface area than conventional solar panels, which require direct sunlight to work at optimal levels. The energy collected is then stored in copper rods and surrounded by a vacuum-sealed tube, which allows almost none of the energy to escape. The tubes are so well insulated that the surfaces of the tubes are often cool to the touch even while inside the copper rods can be over three hundred degrees Fahrenheit. The introduction of these two recent advances in solar technology enables landlords to make use of solar power in climates where it was once though to be impractical, such as those with much cloudy weather and colder climates. If you are a landlord in New York solar energy is now within your grasp.
This really is one green energy system that you will want to be on the cutting edge of. Installing solar heating tubes won’t just reduce your carbon footprint and help save the planet, but it also has the potential to leave a lot of extra green in your bank account. When you put those two things together, it’s awfully hard to ignore the benefits of installing solar heating tubes.
Craig Axelrod is a partner for EmmyEnergy.com, a NY solar energy operation offering solar heating tubes solar electric panels & clean energy systems throughout the Northeast.
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Posted on 2010 under Alternative Energy |
19
Jul
Environmental issues concern both landlords and tenants alike, and using a solar energy system to heat a building’s water can go a long way towards addressing a potential tenant’s concerns. Whether you own an industrial building, commercial buildings or residential buildings, your potential tenants will probably be impressed by any building that harnesses green energy. Switching to green energy sources wherever you can will speak volumes about your ethics to potential renters.
The fact that it’s good for the environment probably isn’t going to appeal to your business acumen but there are other reasons to install solar panels. You will save a significant percentage on your gas and electric bills by becoming less dependent on these sources of heat for your building’s hot water consumption. Any savings can be used to add to your profits, become more competitive by passing savings along to your tenants, or both.
Of course, using solar power to heat water is not a new idea. Experiments into the potential uses of solar power took place as early as the late 1800s. However, although steady strides have been made to improve the available technology, until recently solar energy was less than effective in cold and cloudy regions. And these are the places where energy bills are at their highest. With the development of vacuum sealed solar heating tubes, however, a growing number of people are able to convert to solar energy.
Solar heating tubes’ cylindrical shape allows them to be positioned to ensure that a part of their surface continuously faces towards the sun, allowing them to absorb the sun’s rays for much longer than their predecessors, the flat solar panels. As they are able to capture the sun’s power more efficiently, they are are much more effective at heating water when the day is overcast or cold. Being vacuum sealed increases their efficiency even more as vacuums provide the ideal situation in which to insulate the heat source. Therefore less heating power is lost. The inside of the tube will get hot, while the outside of the tube, insulated by the vacuum, will remain cool to the touch. This results in a lot more of the solar energy being retained and put to use heating the water in your building.
Your building’s boiler system or hot water heater uses up a large portion of the power your building uses. You can significantly lower your energy requirements by installing solar heating tubes and using green energy to your advantage. You only need to buy and install your solar heating tubes once, but the savings can keep on coming.
This is the ideal time to start using a green energy source such as solar water heating tubes. Many governments are now offering significant incentives to incourage building owners to install a solar energy system which makes use of sustainable, renewable energy sources. In most countries you will be eligible for a tax rebate to cover the expenses of installing energy saving devices such as solar panels. Ultimately, all buildings will have to switch to using green energy. It would be best to get on board now, while the government will help defray some of the costs.
Craig Axelrod is a partner for EmmyEnergy.com, a LI solar energy system company installing solar heating tube systems solar pv systems & green systems in the North East.
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Posted on 2010 under Solar Panels |
10
Jul
What can solar power be used for? Solar power is currently captured and used in various fields, starting with the modern farmer and ending with the most sophisticated communications’ systems. But it is mainly used in producing electric energy with the help of solar panels.
What are solar power costs? Solar power is free. But the systems that capture it do cost. Finding money for solar power is not always easy, but some are creating and turn into real home money makers with things like profit from domain materials.
What’s the life expectancy of a solar system? The first type of solar panels, the ones that produce heating energy, can be used without any problems for more than 20 years. Solar panels used to produce electric power can also more than 25 years.
Can I recover my money in time? The amortization of the initial investment in a solar system is hard to calculate in general because it depends on many variables. People can appreciate that they’ve already earn the investment money back anywhere between 3 to 10 years. What happens if the sky isn’t clear or during the winter? New solar panels used to produce electricity function regardless of the sun visibility. Even if the skies are clear or when it’s night outside, it doesn’t mean that the sun does not emit any radiations just because we don’t see it’s rays. But, their performances are highly influenced by exterior conditions. So, if you want this type of system to be financially logical, the house where it’s installed must be located in a favorable area where solar radiation is strong, the medium yearly temperature is high and the number or sunny days is clearly bigger than the number of cloudy days.
Do solar systems assume independence from electric power providers? If you live in the ideal regions of Earth, you can, in ideal conditions. In daily use, a backup system is necessary, like having a power generator or not giving up to the power supply subscription. You need this because the correct function of a solar or hybrid system depends on so many external factors, and installing one that can satisfy under any circumstances the necessities of a home would be far too expensive.
Helpful Tidbit: For some interesting researching activities, explore http://qualitypianobargains.com and see facts about (a) baby grand pianos.
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Posted on 2010 under Alternative Energy |
2
Jul
Alternative energy source is not something that one can only dream about anymore; in fact it is totally viable to have your house powered by solar electrical power! That being said, you might want to totally build a new home instead if you are truly looking to convert your whole house into a solar electrical powered one.
Why you need to get a new home?
There are many benefits as to getting a new home as far as generating your home with alternative energies are concerned. One of the major reason you want that is because you have to understand that old home appliances consumes more energy than those newer ones found in the market.
As we progress, manufacturers have found ways to considerably lower down the energy consumption in newer home appliances, which make them more solar electrical power friendly, because simply solar power does not generate enough energies if your whole house are running on older form of home appliances, switching to newer technologies ensure that you can be more effective in terms of power saving.
Thus if you are looking to change the source of your electricity, then you want to make sure that your home appliances and windows are not consuming too much energy that it might not be enough to power your home with alternative source.
The next reason is the insulation factor. As mentioned, today’s new technologies have made insulation of your home into a more efficient one. Your old house might be very costly to maintain in terms of power supply, as most old houses are not meant and designed to be heated effectively, costing you more power to do so.
Having a brand new home also provides you with the chance to effectively design your house to incorporate those solar panels. You can easily have the area where you get the most sunlight as the area to install those solar panels. This is a physical thing which your old home might not be able to accommodate.
Solar panel aside, getting a new home also allows you to install hydro electricity and wind turbines which can also help generate electricity, this is beneficial especially when days you do not have enough sun to power your solar panels.
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Posted on 2010 under Alternative Energy |
26
Jun
The initial expense of a solar energy installation is one of its primary deterrents. For the average American today, the traditional fossil fuel home energy system is less expensive to purchase than a solar home energy system. A solar energy installation, however, has a bigger picture to consider:
1. Capturing the sun with solar panels and using that energy will enhance the value of your home.
2. In about half of its lifetime, a solar home energy system will have paid for itself (lifetime of 25-30 years on average).
3. Since solar energy systems have no moving parts to replace or to break, your clean, non-polluting solar energy system will be either maintenance free or low maintenance.
4. You may be able to sell your excess energy to your local electric company should you generate more power than you can use.
5. There are government sponsored rebates and incentives that you may qualify for.
If you’ve been keeping up with home building trends, you’ve undoubtedly noticed more and more home owners are interested in “going green,” resulting in a remarkable trend toward using as many renewable resources, including solar energy, for construction, as possible. Not only will this trend result in a rising value for “green” homes, it will also push costs for solar energy and other environmentally-friendly building supplies down.
If you’ve decided you really want solar energy when building or remodeling your home, but can’t convince yourself you can afford it…at least the initial installation cost…consider installing the system yourself. Solar panels installed by a contractor is much more expensive…bids are coming in that are 10 times or greater more than what you would pay if you did your own installation. There’s no rocket science involved in solar energy construction or installation. Basically, you have a specially constructed solar panel (a box, PV or photovoltaic cells, wire, soldering iron, connections, a cover made of tempered or plexiglass and silicone or other sealant), that captures the sunlight’s energy to activate the electrons on the PV cells. When those electrons move, and then are directed through your panel, they create an electrical chain. That goes through a charge controller in the form of a DC charge. Then, the charge gets either run through an inverter to transform it into 110 volt AC current, or it gets captured in a deep cycle storage battery. There are many DIY models on the Internet with tips, tricks, and instructions. Some are free and some charge a small amount. Look at Earth4Energy to find a clear instruction for a very reasonable amount.
Using passive solar energy, however, is an easy way to cut your energy costs. Look at the best ways to use solar energy, directing sunlight to your home’s windows, floors and walls, so you can distribute the heat throughout the winter, and reject it during the summer. No panels, electrical or mechanical devices are involved in passive solar energy. However, there are five elements of passive solar design that you need to succeed. Those five include your collector (area, generally glass, where sunlight comes into your building), absorber (dark, hard surface where sunlight hits and is absorbed as heat), thermal mass (this is the material below or behind the absorber), distribution (how solar heat is circulated), and control (roof overhangs, differential thermostats, awnings and blinds.)
There’s money to be saved using solar energy, whether you use passive or active, or combine the two. While your initial cost may be higher, (although you can reduce that expense significantly with your own installation) consider the cost of your energy usage over time. With constantly rising fossil fuel expenses, putting in solar energy is going to ultimately save you money on your utility bills. And, you’ll be saving the planet from the environmental damage that continues to escalate.
States CEO and President Rhone Resch, Solar Energy Industries Association, on Earth Day 2010: “Today we need to take action to accelerate the deployment of solar. If you are a homeowner or business owner, consider putting solar on your property or buying clean energy through your utility. And if you are a policymaker, consider incentives, like extending the federal Treasury Grant Program, that are working to stimulate more investment in solar.”
Large or small, whatever thing each of us might do that encourages and supports solar energy development, will benefit generations to come.
Want to find out more about solar power costs, then visit Timothy Peters’s site at: www.HomeSolarPowerExplained.com
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