Posted on 2010 under Alternative Energy |
13
Jul
Solar water heating systems for homes are used to produce hot water for showers, washers, sinks, and dishwashers. Technical advances in the last two decades have made solar collectors much more efficient and less expensive, than the systems installed in the 70s. Considering the increased cost of fuel and adding the available federal tax credits, makes a solar hot water system very feasible for many. Remember though that your system must provide at least 50% of your hot water needs in order to qualify for the tax credits.
Two kinds of solar hot water heating systems are used for homes: open loop systems or closed loop systems. Open loop systems are installed in climates where temperatures don’t drop below freezing and where the water is soft. In an open loop system, the incoming cold water is circulated through the solar collectors, and then stored in the solar hot water storage tank from where it goes to the water heater. In the closed loop system, a heat exchanger isolates the domestic water from the solar collector loop. The fluid running through the loop is usually a freeze-proof glycol solution. Because of the added heat exchanger and a bit more piping, the cost of a closed loop system is higher than that of a comparable open loop system.
Number and size of solar collectors will be selected based on the type of collectors, the area you live in and on your hot water demand. Solar collectors for water heating most commonly installed are flat plate or evacuated tube collectors. Evacuated tube collectors are more efficient than the flat plate collectors and are recommended for colder or cloudy climates and regions with hard water. You will pay a premium however, for the higher efficiency evacuated tube collectors.
You will need to keep your domestic water heater, or add one in your new home, even with the solar water heating system. It is a must to have this back-up full-sized water heater to ascertain that you have enoughsufficient hot water, even in the event of numerous days of overcast or snowy weather. A solar hot water storage tank is also installed, in addition to the standard water heater mentioned above. Consider the solar water heating system as a system that PRE-heats the incoming cold water on most days. It will be heated to the required temperature in the regular water heater. With a correctly designed system, enough hot water will be made in the solar collectors on sunny days to not require the regular water heater to be used. When you have several days of overcast weather however, that is when the regular water heater kicks in.
Where are you planning to install the solar collectors? I guesson the roof somewhere. The “somewhere” is the critical part. You have to be sure that the location you decide on receives sufficient direct sunlight, all year. Numerous tools are available online to help you determine this. Some of these tools are free. Keep in mind though that some of these tools might not make allowances for trees. You can also contact a local solar heating system installer. Many will do a free analysis for you and they will include trees and tall buildings next door.
Now on to the roof itself. Will it need strengthening? How exactly will the collector support system be attached to the roof? What about the pipe penetrations? What will be required to make sure that the roof is still totally waterproof after the solar system has been installed. Talk to a trusted contractor.
More things to investigate. Do you have space in the basement or closet, next to the water heater, for the new solar storage tank, pump and possibly expansion tank (closed system only)? As an estimate, you will need as a minimum twice as much space as you have now for your water heater. More is better, so you will have easy access for maintenance.
Almost done. One more thing. The piping. Where and how can you run them between the solar storage tank and the solar collectors on the roof? You have to look for either two locations that can each accommodate a 1″ pipe with 1″ insulation, or install them next to each other in the same chase. Hint: closets or walls behind toilets, if the first floor toilet is below the second floor bathroom. Avoid having to build pipe enclosures in the living room or dining room. Expensive and not very nice looking, unless you can be creative and build a bookshelf around the pipes.
Done. At least with a lot of the important initial research. Use the knowledge you will have gained after answering all the questions raised. You are now in a good position to either know what else you need to know to be able to design and install a solar hot water system for your home yourself, or hire a contractor for the work.
Avoid the same mistakes other folks have made in the past when they were planning, designing and installing a solar hot water system. Educate yourself and learn how to plan and prepare for a successful system.
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Technorati Tags: Alternative Energy, carbon footprint, climate change, global warming, residential solar heating, solar energy, solar water heating, solar water heating systems, solar water heating systems for homes, sustainable energy
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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Technorati Tags: electric energy, ELECTRICITY, energy, energy market, environment, green energy, solar, solar energy, solar panel technology, Solar Panels, solar power, solar systems, sources of energy, Technology
Posted on 2010 under Solar Panels |
8
Jul
We are all searching for different power options these days since the price of electricity continues to escalate. When anybody talks about electrical power bills the expression “pricey” invariably pops up!
However the exploration for alternative energy options doesn’t necessarily come cheaply and quite frequently the price of producing them fails to make a case for their exploration all the way through to a usable alternative.
Included in this is the hassle of cross over from normal electric power sources to the alternative energy options. Boosting public interest sufficiently to get over their original reservations towards new options adds even more to the expense of development.
Nevertheless, people are gradually accepting the other possibilities mainly due to the growing costs of residential power usage. Brand new energy solutions take time to get right and arrive at a place in which the primary setup costs scale down adequately to deliver a permanent benefit. Meanwhile, there are many of actions you can carry out to decrease your own electrical power consumption.
Whenever you use your heating or cooling system look into how hot or cold you realistically want to be. More often than not people run cooling systems so low that they need to put on some light garments over their light attire. It does not add up! By altering the temperature to ensure that your house is cool and not frozen you can actually scale back electrical power consumption substantially.
The same applies to using your heater system. Is the whole of the house so hot that everyone is wandering around in summer clothes? In place of warming up every part of your home you could quite possibly consider heating up solely those spaces which are truly being occupied. You may well be shocked by just how much your electric power charges will lower.
One additional word of advice is going with fans to boost your already existing heating and cooling. They are significantly more affordable to operate and when they are located appropriately can substantially minimize the demand for both heating and cooling. Remember that hot air rises toward the ceiling and colder air drops to the flooring. Ceiling fans running at very minimal speed will drive the warm air lower while floor fans also operated at fairly low speed will drive cooler air around and up.
Cooking area home appliances accounted for a bit in excess of 26% of home electric power usage. While switching off your family refrigerator is not actually practical there are plenty of ways you can decrease your expenses here as well.
Everybody incessantly opening and closing the refrigerator for absolutely no reason apart from only to look at what might be in there, may cause it to function extra to regain the wasted cooled air. Try to make everybody in the house be attentive to this and get everybody to solely open up the refrigerator should they actually have to have something.
Thoroughly clean and try out your refrigerator door seals often. Quickly rubbing them with the help of a thoroughly clean damp wash cloth is sufficient and you may check them simply by using a slip of writing paper. Cut out a strip of paper and place it between the door seal and the refrigerator body. Move it gently to check out that it is being held in it’s place by the seal. If it isn’t, assess other areas of the seal and in the event that there are too many get the seal fixed.
Water heating costs Nth American homeowners about 104 billion kWh of electrical power every year. If everybody altered their own thinking so they thought of deep hot baths to be a treat instead of a day to day happening imagine the financial savings that could be produced. The same is true of taking showers; taking showers is intended for washing a body, they’re not a type of leisure pastime!
As you can see there are numerous things that you can accomplish to relieve your electricity expenditure. One arena of alternative electric power which has advanced quite a lot recently is solar technology. Solar energy is very efficient and extremely clean but nonetheless still suffers to some degree from the problem of substantial beginning establishment fees. Having said that nowadays there are some amazing alternatives to go around even those concerns.
You can certainly find out more here about green DIY energy and solar energy facts
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Technorati Tags: solar energy, solar energy facts, solar energy home, solar energy house, solar energy information, Solar Panels, solar power
Posted on 2010 under Alternative Energy |
30
Jun
You don’t have to be rich and famous to use solar power, because solar systems are more affordable these days. It’s good to be environmentally friendly. In fact, the Earth needs it because of the many challenges it is currently facing, such as global climate change. To generate electricity, fossil fuels are needed, but with the long-term burning of fossil fuels, global warming is becoming worse. Because of this fact, people are choosing solar-powered homes today.
There are advantages in using solar power for homes. How much are you paying for electricity bills every month? Many homeowners have aching pocketbooks because of the costly electricity expenses. One way to reduce your bills is by opting for solar power.
You don’t need any wiring if you use solar power systems. For instance, for your garden lights and water outlets, you can use solar power. Many of the gadgets have light sensors and you no longer have to worry about turning them off. Solar lights are readily available and you just need to take them out and place them where you want to get some good light.
Solar power is, of course, environmentally friendly. It is an excellent source of renewable and clean energy. Using it, you won’t contribute to pollution, unlike fossil fuels. By using solar power systems like the solar cooker, solar thermal systems, and solar generators, you can do things without emissions. You can help to save the environment.
During the setup of using solar power, you will need to spend money. Just think of it as an investment, in which you will benefit in the long run. For under $300, you can create solar power in your home. Solar power is then free, since you will use the sun’s energy to create electricity. You can make use of solar lights, solar panels, etc.
Don’t cut off your conventional electricity supply after you’ve started using solar power. It’s not always sunny, and so you may need traditional electricity during rainy days. The best thing about solar power is that it decreases your monthly electric bill. If you can convert your home into a full solar powered house, you will benefit greatly and won’t even worry if fuel prices increase.
Power outages usually occur when there are problems, but as long as you have solar power, you can enjoy using electrical appliances continuously. For those who are interested in solar power, you can start with simple projects like the water features and lights in your garden. These features are easy to develop and you won’t need any wiring.
As with everything in life, there are advantages as well as disadvantages. It’s true that solar power has many advantages, but you also need to look at the disadvantages. You must weigh these things first before you opt for a solar powered home.
Today, it’s easy to purchase solar powered devices, such as flashlights, pool purifiers, ventilators, mosquito inhibitors, heaters, fountain pumps, radios, lighting, and many others. Be prepared to spend a little money upfront for solar powered devices, but don’t worry. After a few months, you will start enjoying savings off of your monthly electric bill. Think of it as a one-time investment, which will yield huge dividends in the future.
Visit Greg Purnell’s site to learn more about the advantages of home solar power. Go there today to get a Free Report on home solar power kits and see how easily you can get started.
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Technorati Tags: advantages of solar power, alternate energy, Alternative Energy, family, green, green energy, home, solar energy, Solar Panels, solar power
Posted on 2010 under Solar Panels |
24
Jun
April 2010 has renewed the American populations interest in alternative fuel sources such as solar energy. No longer are the reasons for getting off fossil fuels in far away war zones or some unintelligible world market, now its staring us all in the face. This time, there is nothing we can do to ignore it, we must take action to renew and carry the interest in alternative energy into the future.
The fusion reactor that lies at the center of our solar system provides massive amounts of energy. In one minute, the sun gives off enough energy to supply a one years worth of the worlds energy needs. During a full day, it supplies us with enough energy to power the world for 27 years. Imagine the possibilities if we could develop the technology to capture and transform that raw power in to electricity.
Of course, at present, there are still some roadblocks to capturing that energy and actually converting it to electricity. These bumps in the road are presented in both technological limitations and bureaucratic red tape.
Photovoltaic (PV) cells are one way to capture the suns energy. Since their introduction in the late nineteenth century, advancements have improved efficiency from 4% to around 15% today. The utilization of nanotechnology has greatly improved to overall capacity of pv cells. Investing more capital could help to provide the incentive needed to make vast improvements in the field or alternative energy.
Many company buildings are embracing alternative energy as a source of heat. Sunlit floors and walls employ the use of passive solar energy with materials that warm up and store heat during the day, releasing it at night when it is most needed. Sun spaces and trombe walls are also built as part of buildings to convert solar energy.
Many city buildings are also looking to ulterior sources of heat that run on solar energy. Passive solar energy designs replace sunlit walls and floors with material that can absorb heat during the day and convert the energy to heat buildings at night when needed most. The emergence of sun spaces and trombe walls has also been noted.
Solar energy is an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels that is widely available to us. As its popularity grows, so do job opportunities and the possibility of technological advancement. If properly executed, it could provide the U. S. With some relief from the current economic situation.
Using solar energy is a clean alternative to fossil fuels and offers a free and widely available source of energy. As both technology and interest grows, there will be more advances in this area of alternative energy, and more job opportunities associated with the green energy sector. It may provide significant relief from the current economic situation if properly executed.
The power of the sun is free and widely available, we only need to discover efficient ways to store and convert it into electricity. California has been the first state to invest more in alternative energies, but many states follow close behind. In Illinois, a bill was proposed that would set annual targets for power companies. By 2015, at least 6% of electricity produced would be required to have been garnered from solar energy sources.
The responsibility of diverging from fossil fuels lies in the hands of voters and consumers. The public must make the choose to be more environmentally aware and to invest in alternative energy sources. The only way to avoid another ecological disaster like the Deep water Horizon debacle is to reevaluate our priorities and embrace alternative technology.
Solar energy is most definitely the way of the future. Get the inside skinny on how to convert to solar use instantly on http://www.generate-solar-energy.com
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Technorati Tags: solar energy, solar energy home, solar panel, Solar Panels
