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Posts Tagged ‘alternative energy’

With energy bills skyrocketing, both businesses and homeowners are seeing solar power as a workable alternative. You can easily add this type of renewable energy to your system by purchasing a DIY solar power kit. That said, it’s important that you be familiar with five important aspects before making such a purchase.

Dimension of the Solar Panels

The exact measurements of the solar panels should be indicated on the DIY solar power kit, which will help you determine if your roof space is sufficient 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. You will be able to more easily determine if your roof is stable enough structurally to handle the added load if you know the weight and dimension of the panels.

Total Power Generation

Calculate how much power you consume in your home before installing a DIY solar power kit. You should also decide how many appliances you will connect to your solar power system. Choose an appropriate DIY solar power kit once you’ve come up with this figure. 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. Because of this, it’s a good idea to consider the length of the product’s warranty before you buy it. Most experts recommend getting a 20- to 25-year warranty on new solar panels.

Installation and Maintenance

Select a DIY solar power kit that has easy installation. 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. Solar panels that require an annual scrubbing to keep them working at their maximum potential are your best bet.

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 Purchasing DIY Solar Power Kits.

Many of us are thinking about solar power these days. With all the different environmental issues doing the rounds in the press we are all being urged to do our part and to make sure that we are reducing our impact on the planet. Whenever we get or build solar panels for the home we are able to take advantage of a many different benefits.

For one thing, you will then be able to power in every square inch of your home if you can get enough panels and they create enough energy. This will save you a ton of money on bills as well as letting you to feel absolutely wonderful about the part you are playing in the future of our world.

In some cases, you will also be able to sell the energy that you generate back to your local government. So not only will you be able to save a lot of money, you may also have the opportunity to make a little bit on the side as well.

In order to build a solar panel or two you will need to get hold of some good plans. A lot of people are turning to the option of building their own these days because having them done professionally can cost a lot of money. For example, a set up that you get done that aims to provide 3,000 watts will set you back as much as ten thousand dollars. Even for someone who is interested and committed to helping with the environment, this can be far too pricey.

At the very beginning you will need to figure out what parts you’ll need, you’ll need to also decide where you are going to these parts, and you’re going to have to know how much money you will need to spend. Basically this means that you will need to get on paper plans that will show you the whole process. Having these plans is to your big advantage.

They will list all of the necessary equipment that you will be needing. You will need the tools to do the job, and the parts that will let you build the actual solar panels. By knowing exactly what you are going to need and exactly what each part will play is an important factor in determining your success.

Secondly, they will also list all of the possible places where you will be able to get the materials as well as all of the different resources that you will need to be able to complete the job.

Remember, any good plan sets out to reveal every step in a lot of detail ahead of actual assembly, this allows you to do the entire project without much of a problem. The most important part of the whole plan is in putting it all together at the end. After you manage to take care of this part, you will be able to gain lots of benefits from all of the major advantages that comes with getting your own solar panels.

These are just some of the ideas that you need to think about when considering on building your own panels.

Brad will show you how to conserve large amounts of cash on power. Download his report on Solar Panels For The Home for free. s. His website at Solar Panels For Houses shows how some people have even been able to make their meter spin backwards and charge the utility company.

With energy bills skyrocketing, both businesses and homeowners are seeing solar power as a workable alternative. One of the fastest ways to add this type of renewable energy to your system is by purchasing 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. The weight of the solar panels should also be indicated — especially if you have roof tiles, since this can determine whether your roof can support the solar panels. Knowing both the weight and the dimension is necessary to determine if your roof can withstand the extra load.

Total Power Generation

Before installing any DIY solar power kit, you must first calculate how much power is consumed in your home. You should also decide how many appliances you will connect to your solar power system. Once you have this figure calculated, purchase an appropriate DIY solar power kit. There are a variety of kit sizes available on the market; additionally, certain kits are designed for interconnectivity if one is not sufficient.

Durability

Solar power panels are constantly exposed to harsh outdoor elements like rain, hail, sun and snow. Because of this, the solar cells must be covered with tempered glass and the frame must be made of a resilient material like aluminum.

Long-Term Warranty

It can take years before you see a return on investment, or ROI, from the installation of a DIY solar power kit. It is important to consider the length of a product’s warranty before buying one. 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. There are kits available on the market that contain all the components needed to start your own solar power system. 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 energy to live cleaner and more eco-friendly lives.

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

Christmas is the one season that almost everybody enjoys. It is a time when we can forget about the darkness and cold that is outdoors and instead share happy moments with our loved ones. Even the act of putting up Christmas decorations can bring us all a degree of joy. Most people are now aware that the cost of electricity is more expensive than it has ever been. But it is now possible to use solar Christmas lights so that your energy bills will not rise. This option is becoming more and more popular every year with families around the country.

These solar lights appear the same as ordinary Christmas lights. In fact the only difference is that you do not have to connect them to the power supply of your home. They come with solar cells and a battery which are used to power the bulbs and LEDs.

You may think that in winter the sun does not shine enough to provide power for solar lighting, but today’s solar cells can function even on a cloudy day. As the energy is stored in one or two batteries the lights will shine brightly throughout the night.

Apart from the obvious financial savings that are had by using this renewable source of energy, another important factor is that you know that you are not contributing to environmental problems.

As with the old fashioned Christmas lights, the solar Christmas lights can be bought in many different sizes, designs, styles, and colors. There are some that can be continuously on and others that will switch on and off to give a flickering appearance. Usually the controller board has settings so that you can choose when they will turn themselves on and for how long.

Most brands can be safely used both indoors and outdoors. They are capable of working in any weather and conditions. They look perfect when they are attached to trees, porches, guttering, and garden accessories. If you choose to use them inside your house you must remember to leave the solar cell outdoors! You can even use them for other occasions such as birthday parties.

Generally, solar Christmas lights come in two different forms – rope lights and string lights. Rope lights have a string of LEDs which are contained within a clear plastic tube. These are perfect for hanging around doors and windows. String lights do not have a tube and look magnificent on trees or hanging from a roof. They are a perfect addition to your Christmas decorations.

More more information on solar Christmas lights, check out Steve’s Solar Lights site at solarlightssite.com.

One of the areas that seems the least understood when using green products is the “carbon footprint”. To illustrate this point about green products, a simple story about the use of CFL (Compact Florescent Lamp) bulbs may help. When in a restaurant the other day, I noticed that the spoon was missing from the place setting. I looked around and it appeared it was the same all over the restaurant.

When my server came over and asked what I wanted to eat, I asked about the spoons. I was informed that the chain’s “corporate” office had informed all the restaurants that the busboy, when putting down place setting, was not allowed to put a spoon on the setting. Now I must say this does look pretty odd, mostly since I grew up with a spoon included with the setting. I checked with someone who still teaches etiquette classes, and yep, it is still required.

I asked if she knew why this change had occurred and why no green products like CFL bulbs. I was told that in order to conserve energy that spoons were only given to customers that would use them. It appears they believe that it costs a lot to clean an unused spoon. So the possibility of cleaning an unused spoon was removed. And yet how odd, no investment in green products that could save money such as CFL bulbs.

Given how the dishes in a restaurant are washed, I find this amazing. In almost every restaurant in this country an automatic dishwasher is used. It is designed to load from the left side and the dishes move through it in a large basket to the right. Simple, fast and efficient and it is not even on the green products list. Most people that do the dishes do the silverware in a single basket run. Hence, no money would be saved and no energy savings but why no green products?

While pondering on this I looked up and noticed that the entire restaurant was covered in lights. Each light was an incandescent bulb and no green products like CFL bulbs anywhere. I stopped when I reached fifty bulbs that I could see from my table; I know there were more in back kitchen area, in the bar and adjoining rooms.

Looking around it was easy to see that most of the incandescent bulbs were in the 75 watt range. I asked and was told this restaurant was open 138 hours each week.

Now it does not take a mathematician to do a little basic math. Let’s compare a chain using incandescent bulb vs. the same chain using CFL bulbs. If we take the 50 incandescent bulbs and multiply it by the bulb’s wattage, it would equal the watts consumed per hour or 50*75= 3,750. Now we know the store is open 138 hours a week, so multiplying this by the watts per hour, we would get 517,500 watts consumed per week. Finally multiply this by the weeks in a year, and we get 517,500*52 = 26,910,000 or 27 megawatts without green products.

From the Internet I was able to learn that they have 88 stores in their chain. So if we assume this is an average store we can multiply the 27 megawatts times the 88 stores and we see that this chain is using around 2368 megawatts per year just on lighting.

What if we used one of the new green products, the CFL bulb, instead of the incandescent bulb how much could we save? Let’s take a look. We know that a comparable CFL would be in the 18 watt range based on the Energy Star tables. If we replace the 75 watts in the above equation with 18 watts CFL we would get; 50*18*138*52*88 = 568 megawatts consumed per year. This would save the chain about 2368-568 = 1,800 megawatt hours per year. I would say this would be a pretty good investment in green products, don’t you?

Tried of spending money on cheap green lighting checkout Michael’s website at Green power