You may have expected a huge savings in your electricity bill, and yet after your system is in place you find that the numbers are still not low enough. The truth is you have to treat renewable energy as a clean energy investment. The returns will not be seen immediately.

Energy Efficiency

Many people make the error of thinking a clean energy system will give you energy potency straight away. The actuality is that you should be thinking about paths to make your house more energy efficient before you install a clean energy system.

The first thing you have to do is toss out all of your incandescent light bulb. Instead you should be using compact fluorescent lamps. These bulbs reduce energy use and last longer. Start taking a look at other stuff you may need to replace in your house such as home appliances.

Other home gadgets like printers, TVs, cell telephone chargers, and radios can consume energy even if turned off. So long as these appliances are wired into a power source they are leeching electricity and adding to your electricity bill.

To avoid this and make some savings on your electricity bill you should buy power strips to plug your appliances into. Power strips have a switch that you can switch on and off to ensure that your appliances are not using any electricity when not in use.

Older fridges, washing machines, and dryers are less energy efficient. You’ll get more out of your clean energy system when you have appliances that are energy efficient. This is applicable to aircon and heating systems.

Considering The Right Solution

Once you have begun to take these little steps toward energy potency you can then think about what clean energy system is best for you. Solar energy is rising in popularity but it isn’t the most practical answer for everybody. Air turbines are another possible answer for anyone that want to have a clean energy system prepared.

A study of the once a year weather patterns will help you to make a better call as to what clean energy system will work best for you. Consulting with a clean energy expert will also help you to make the best decision for your house.

What you just learned about Earth4Energy Review is just the beginning. To get the full story and all the details, check us out at Solar Power For Homes. Grab a totally unique version of this article from the Uber Article Directory

Originally posted 2009-11-03 21:47:32.

When doing the research for a article on new green products, I was unaware of many of the different ways to convert the energy of the sun into electrical power. I have written about solar cell or photovoltaic cell systems, so let’s look at another type of solar energy system.

This system is not new; it was originally conceived in 1816 as an industrial rival to the steam engine. It has been largely underutilized for the past century. With the need for renewable energy sources caused by the overuse of the fossil fuels interest has resurged in solar designs, and it is now being designed into many new solar collector systems.

The Stirling engine is a heat engine that is vastly different from the internal combustion engine. It is highly efficient, operates quietly and is great at converting otherwise wasted heat into kinetic energy. Its only drawback is loss of power from internal fraction. The gasses (most often air) used inside the engine remain inside and are never expelled. With no exhaust valves like a gasoline or diesel engine and with no explosions from combustion, the engines run very quietly.

The heat source needed to start and maintain the Stirling cycle depends on the temperature difference between the hot and cold chambers. The greater the differential between chambers, the faster the engine will operate. In some cases the difference that occurs when the cold chamber is cooled by wetting it is enough differential to start the engine.

The basic operation of this thermal engine is really quite simple. The engine has two chambers, one hot and one cold. When an external heat source is applied the hot air expands moving a piston and flows to the cold chamber. A flywheel is attached to maintain movement.

The Stirling engine is ideal for use in a solar power generating system. With one of the hottest heat sources available (sunlight), the hot chamber will continue to operate without external fuels as long as there is daylight. This makes it ideal for use as a peaker type power plant when the demands for electricity are at there highest.

With the space age list of available materials, the pistons in the hot chamber are much better designed to handle the high temperatures that would have fried previous generations. The new systems with the right mirror design and decent tracking systems are averaging up to 25 kilowatts of electricity

I will compare the different solar technologies in a later article. For now, I need to lay a foundational understanding of each of the green products used to produce power so a comparison can be made.

Michael

Originally posted 2009-07-02 01:43:47.

We live in a time when alternative is going mainstream. Solar power has many applications and is widely considered as an important source of alternative energy, along with other such variants as wind power and hydel power. Wind power, a popular alternative energy, dates back to the time of the early settlers who used crude windmills for crushing grains that measured up to 20 feet. However, it was not until 1979 when Danish engineers developed petite electricity generators fitted with light PVC blades capable of producing electricity that wind power became practically feasible. Those were the very first “Wind Turbines”. It marked a significant step in the evolution of alternative energy and paved the way for the world to have its first device for generating electricity by harnessing the power of the wind.

Other nations were quick to follow in the footsteps of the Danish engineers, and soon after their first appearance, wind turbines came up in great numbers all across the US and the UK. Alternative energy such as wind power and solar power made it easy to save on electricity bills and also lessen the dependence on the local utility company or on the grid. However, wind energy also has its fair share of disadvantages. The most critical drawback was due to the unpredictable nature of the wind itself. Inclement weather and low wind speeds often result in severe disruption of power generation by the turbines. The turbines, themselves, contributed to noise pollution in and around the area where they were located and were often dubbed as ‘roaring monsters’. However, use of better bearings and redesigning of the inner mechanism has reduced the noise to a great extent although some ‘wheezing’ still accompanies the turbines spinning at high speed. This is one of the reasons why wind turbines are rarely seen in residential areas.

While wind power was slowly getting accepted across a growing number of regions across the world, a new form of alternative energy surfaced to take the world by surprise. Calvin Fuller, Gerald Pearson and Daryl Chaplin of Bell Laboratories accidentally discovered the mother of modern solar cell in the form of silicon semiconductors while researching on the behavioral pattern of non-metals. The solar cell was soon developed and everybody was amazed to discover how effective they were, when clustered together in the form of a solar panel, to generate electricity that could easily light up a small home. Solar power caught the people’s imagination and very soon companies and manufacturers everywhere started making and installing solar panels. The US government also expressed its endorsement of this new technology by staring to offer incentives, grants and rebates for every installation undertaken within the country. The users saw the benefits in the form of slashed electricity bills and hassle-free supply of current that needed no raw material or maintenance. The only drawback that solar power suffered from was its inability to perform after dark.

The answer to the problem, however, is simple. To ensure uninterrupted power supply for 24 hours, as also to drastically reduce electricity consumption costs (red electricity bills) one might go for the following setup.

Installing both solar panels and wind turbines for the home offers a foolproof plan to keep you covered for 24 hours. While the solar system generates power during the day, the wind turbines ensure seamless power generation at night.

Add a battery bank to the system as a stand-by unit. Batteries can easily store some amount of the generated power that can be used during times when both the systems are unavailable.

Get the system connected to the grid so that all surplus power can be sent back to the grid, helping you make a neat little profit from selling power to the utility.

It doesn’t take much to make money from the system. With both units running simultaneously, the consumer will not only need any current from the grid but will also flood it with his or her own generated current.

With every passing day, more and more people everywhere are enthusiastically adopting alternative power. The demand for solar and wind power for residential use has already picked up considerably, and will continue to climb up the popularity curve in the following years. Even though there are still a few technical glitches, they are not of a very serious nature and will be resolved in the near future through continuing research and development.

So would you like to set up such a system? Take help from a manual that will help you install it step by step by showing you where to set it up, how to do it, how to wire the system, where to get the parts and the batteries from and will inform you about the safety instructions too. People across the world now know the advantages of installing a solar or a wind power system at home. By doing this you are now only contributing to clean up the environment, but the benefits are financial as well as you can reduce your power bills.

Originally posted 2009-07-02 04:56:14.

An average solar panel system can generate 2448 kW per year, and provides a safe, clean alternative to fossil fuels. With the solar power industry expected to achieve a value of $3 billion by 2014, and government feed in tariffs subsidizing investment and resale of power, using panels to run white goods has become an increasingly practical option.

When working out how to use this energy, it is necessary to follow some basic steps:

1 – Having the Right Panels

Photovoltaic devices consist of an array of solar cells installed onto a roof. While each individual cell will not generate much power, by joining them together into a module or an array, it is possible to generate between 10 to 300 kW. The amount of energy produced is relative to the amount of sunlight that the cells receive. Once received, this energy can be stored and used during down periods.

2 – Mounting System

You will need a mounting system to convert solar energy into electricity for white goods. The best way of transferring energy is to convert it into a direct current voltage, which can be connected up to white goods. Certain amounts of energy can be stored and transferred for use within systems using grid and solar power. The resulting system, or ‘load,’ enables some flexibility over usage.

3 – Contributing Power

A solar system cannot support constant running of white goods like fridges, washing machines and ovens at present. The exceptions are experimental fridges and freezers, which are designed to conserve energy. The best solution at the moment for general use involves combining grid and photovoltaic energy into a grid tiered system. Energy generated by solar power can be stored and used to reduce a dependence on the grid. At the same time, any excess energy can be sold back at a profit.

The ultimate result is that you can reduce a dependence on electricity bills, with white goods typically accounting for about 18% of annual home costs. The amount by which solar power can be used with white goods will depend on items’ wattage, and their energy efficiency.

4 – Other Features

If using photovoltaic energy on a regular basis, you will need to invest in an inverter to convert direct current into alternating current for different uses within the home. Also recommended are breaker panels, and an electric meter to monitor different levels of electricity.

5 – Safety

While solar power is safe and clean, you will need to ensure that a mounting system for converting energy into usable electricity is equipped with devices like a charge controller, a disconnect and a battery bank. These devices can help prevent overloading a system, as well as making sure that energy isn’t lost.

This guest post was written by Amy Finton.

Nigeria is the 6th largest supplier of oil to the United States. The U.S. people consume 500,000 barrels of oil a day from Nigeria.

Oil companies in the U.S. promised that the flow of money into Nigeria was going to make life a lot better for the people.

This was an outright lie to the Nigerian people so that oil companies could profit. What most Americans are kept in the dark about is how their consumption of oil is killing the people of Nigeria.

Worse, big oil executives have known what is happening to Nigeria because of the oil trade for years now, but still they continue to use their Washington lobbyists to delay solar power development.

The video you are about to see shows how the oil trade in Nigeria has enriched politicians both in the U.S. and Nigeria, as well as the big oil companies, while bringing suffering to ordinary people.

The Nigerian government is demolishing average Nigerian homes and churches to make room for luxury housing for rich oil executives and their American workers.

A pastor is powerless as his church is demolished because of the oil trade. He says, “The oil boom has become the oil doom.”

A woman who has just had her home demolished, in the name of oil, clutches her young children and begs, “I need help. I need help.”

Bible thumping Republicans who think that business is good and government is bad need to pull their heads out of the sand and watch this video and educate themselves about the evil oil trade with Nigeria in the name of business.

The goal of business is to increase profits. If people need to lose their homes, then so be it. What is important is to increase profits. In some aspects, the big Health Insurance companies in the U.S. are a good lesson of what happens with the unchecked pursuit of profit. How many people in America, like people in Nigeria, have been killed in the pursuit of profit? How many Americans have died because their coverage was denied? How many people who work in fast food or the restaurant business work without health insurance of any kind? How many hard working adults who play by all the rules are doomed to poverty because they are being charged $800, even a $1,000 or more a month for health insurance for a relatively healthy family of three?

We now see what America has become after 8 years of Republican control in which business was allowed to reign free with little, if any, governmental oversight.

Originally posted 2009-08-27 10:35:49.

Also known as microgeneration, renewable sources of energy include such things as solar panels, heat pumps, biomass boilers and wind turbines. In general terms, each of these and the other renewable options will allow the homeowner to generate some of their own energy and even sell the remainder back to the grid. As a potential buyer – what is not to like?

Heat pumps

There are two types of heat pump available for the domestic home. The ground source heat pump which gathers heat from a series of tubes buried in the garden and the air source heat pump which sucks in air from outside and extracts heat from it before sending it indoors. Both of these can be a great addition to most homes.

If your home has a gas boiler, a heat pump is unlikely to add much value (gas is still a cheaper way to heat your home), but for those people who heat their home using electricity or oil, a heat pump is going to help you save significant amounts. For any potential buyer this is going to be a plus and would save them having to install the system themselves.

Solar Panels

There has been some concern recently that homes with solar panels may be harder to sell, especially if they are tied into a contract with an energy supplier. While this may put off some buyers, the actual savings they could make should outweigh any concerns they may have.

Solar panels which have been paid for and installed by the owner entitle the new owner to a feed-in-tariff which could be as much as 43p/KwH. For those who have a free system, the tariff is taken by the installer, but the savings on electricity are for the home owner. This can be hundreds of pounds a year at no additional cost.

Wind Turbines

These sources of energy are more unusual than other renewables, but they can be an attractive proposition for buyers. When carefully positioned they can be unobtrusive and they are also very quiet.

Getting planning permission for wind turbines can be tricky (especially in urban areas) so if you already have one of these installed, your buyer knows that they will not have to do the leg-work with the council to get the permission.

Finally the savings and the feed-in-tariff associated with a wind turbine are bound to improve the saleability of your home and may add a few thousand to the asking price.

The Green Deal

It is true that installing some renewable energy sources isn’t cheap, but it is worth weighing up the viability of installing before you put your home up for sale. The government is introducing the Green Deal towards the end of this year which will allow homeowners to borrow the money needed to install this type of technology. This loan will pass from the current owner to the new owner if a house is sold.

It is unlikely that this will put off buyers, because the government has said that the savings made will outweigh the costs of the loan. So your new buyer will have cheaper bills and an energy efficient home.

So, even if you don’t think you can afford to make these types of improvements to your home, there really is no reason not to look into the possibilities. Not only will you set your home apart and add value, you will also be improving the environment.

About the author:

Justin Elliot is the CEO of Find Energy Savings, a company dedicated to help find you the best deals on eco-friendly energy resources.

The sun is free for everybody to use. Irrespective of religion and nationality, the sun shines upon all of us in all its glory. Since the very dawn of history, the sun has been showering its light and warmth upon us. Thanks to modern science and technology, man now has the knowledge and know-how of harnessing a part of the tremendous energy contained in the sun and pitting it to various uses.

The most common way of using the energy of the sun is with the help of photovoltaic cells. Even though the initial set up costs can be a little high by most standards, the long -term financial benefits of using solar power are truly unparalleled.

The sun provides us with a unique advantage of generating enough power for ourselves and sell off any surplus to the local utility company or the grid at a profit through what is known as the “Net-metering Scheme”. It requires no raw materials and has no running cost. All one needs to do is connect the system to the local power grid and send back the excess power generated by him to the local company. An example will make things clearer. Say, your monthly electricity consumption is X number of units or A amount of dollars. Now, if you install a solar panel at your home that can produce 6X number of units per month that is equivalent to $5A and you draw 2X number of units from the utility for night time consumption, you are still left with 6X minus 3X or 3X number of units equivalent to $5A minus $A or $4A in your hand. Selling off surplus power seems like the only sensible and smart choice because you cannot store this power for use on rainy days. If left unused, it will go to waste. So why let that happen? The best move is to sell it back and make a neat little profit from it.

One of the most important considerations when you are thinking of setting up your very own solar power system is the return on investment. Be warned that the initial investment can be fairly high by most standards, even though most states will extend financial assistance to you for the cause. This is because solar energy is eco-friendly and a clean renewable form of energy does not pollute the environment. However, you can always find out the break-even point by subtracting the value of the annual sale of electricity from the initial investment made by you. Take a look below for a typical example.

Initial investment $30,000 Annual sale value of solar electricity $ 5,000 Time to reach break-even point 6years From the 7th year onward Zero cost!

The ecological benefits of using solar energy are too strong to deny. In fact, one of the biggest advantages of using solar energy comes from its clean, renewable, non-fossil fuel oriented and sustainable nature. Solar energy production does not cause air pollution because, unlike other conventional modes of energy production, there is no discharge of sulfur dioxide (SO), carbon dioxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NO) or mercury. And for the same reason, solar energy does not contribute to the contemporary problem of global warming or greenhouse effect. What’s more, with solar energy you never need to worry about smog or acid rain in the area where it is utilized. What could be ‘greener’ than this?

Another big advantage of using solar energy comes from the fact that it is virtually free and requires very little maintenance.

What makes solar power so convenient to use is the fact they are completely self-sustained and are an independent means of energy production. This distinctiveness of operation helps installation of units anywhere under the sun, irrespective of whether other facilities are available or not. Nowadays, owing to the latest developments, it doesn’t take much to set up a fully functional solar power unit near your own house and start generating your own electricity. It is a great feeling to have your very own power plant in the backyard, supplying power to your entire household. Moreover, when it comes to portability, few things come as close as solar power. Powerful Solar energy units mounted on trailers, complete with control panel, converters, battery banks and switches are now in use in such remote areas like the South African Game Reserves where scientists are busy checking the genes of large animals like the rhinoceros or the giraffe. Independent solar energy operated units help light up their camp sites while powering their laptops for research work and other equipment and tools.

Last but definitely not the least, it has already reduced the dependence on Middle Eastern countries whose oil supplies had so far been responsible for fossil fuel generated electric power. In fact, considering the pace at which mankind is adopting solar power in homes and workplaces, the day is not too far away when diesel powered generators would be a matter of the past.

And now, let’s look at the other side of using solar energy. A disturbing factor is the present high cost of installation of a solar panel. Though efforts are underway to improve their affordability (there are many government schemes that extend financial help to those willing to install a solar power unit), the picture is still far from encouraging. We can only hope that these issues will be resolved quickly.

You must be all set to switch to solar power by now. But don’t get started all alone. What you need is a training guide – a manual, that will let you learn how to install a system. You will also need to know a few other things such as what is the best place to set up the system, where to buy the parts, how to get free batteries, safety precautions and also wiring the system. Get informed and you are ready to install solar system in your home. This the best way to ensure a quick, successful installation.

Originally posted 2009-07-02 05:19:37.

There are a lot of good arguments for using wind power to meet our needs for electricity. Since producing this energy from fossil fuels is so harmful to our environment, it only makes sense to start exploring the possibility of using other means to provide the electrical power we need.

We all know by now how important it is to preserve our environment as well as to protect our limited natural resources. This awareness has led to a greater interest in using wind power to generate the energy we need. Installing a wind generator lets you use less energy from your local utility which is produced using means which are not environmentally friendly.

Of course, while you should have no problem generating a lot of power, you will not want to cut off your connection to the electric company. The electric company can serve as a back up source should your wind generators not provide enough power for you during some non-windy times.

If during the extremely windy times you find that you are generating more energy then you can make use of in your home, you are able to sell it to the electric companies for them to make use of. Now, this is not going to make you enough money to stop working but it is enough to make it worth your time. Plus, you are helping to encourage clean renewable energy instead of using the other sources.

If you’re concerned with protecting the environment, using wind power is a great step to take. There is an upfront cost, but over time, your wind generators will pay for themselves and then some in terms of low (or no) electricity bills.

There are programs which reimburse homeowners for part of the cost of installing wind generators offered in various states and cities. Even if these programs are not available where you live, installing a wind generator is still a wise investment which will pay for itself many times over.

Many people also assume that the installation of such a set up is something that they cannot do on their own. And since general contractors can cost so much money people find that they shy away from the whole thing all together. This does not have to be the end of it all.

The thing is though, with a little bit of guidance and some typical tools, you could very well have yourself up and running with wind power in no time at all. There are a lot of websites out there that will take your through the entire process. By following a step-by-step instruction list, you will be able to properly install everything and be ready to go in no time at all.

Originally posted 2009-04-23 16:16:55.

However, according to The Nikkei newspaper, it will be years before the vehicle hits the market. At the moment Toyota is developing an electric car that gets only some of its power from solar panels attached to the vehicle, and can also be recharged at home. Later they plan to release a model operating solely on car solar power.

The car solar power model is part of Toyota’s efforts to expand during a global economic crisis. It appears their first semi-solar powered car idea was spurred on by Greg Johanson, owner of Solar Electric Vehicles, who added a solar roof to his hybrid Toyota Prius just over a year ago.

Here is a video on the solar powered Prius:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJX-sGn5RDo

This December Toyota shocked Japan after announcing its first operating loss in seven decades. This was caused by the global slump, especially in the American market, and the strengthening Yen.

Despite this, with Toyota being one of the leaders in green technology, its executives stressed that they have no intention on cutting back on environmental research and development.

The leading Japanese automaker has already started powering some of its Tsutsumi plant in central Japan on solar electricity. The roof solar panels add up in size to about 3 football fields and generate enough energy to power 500 households, according to Toyota. This reduces their carbon footprint by 740 tons per year, which is equivalent to burning 1,500 barrels of crude oil.

With its partner in developing and producing hybrid batteries, Panasonic, taking over Japanese rival Sanyo – a leader in solar energy – early next year, Toyota is bound to gain expertise in solar energy.  This will speed up development on its car solar power project, and who knows – perhaps we may see the first commercial solar powered car sooner than expected.

Originally posted 2009-01-07 13:49:15.

Although nuclear power is efficient and responsible for about 25% of the world’s electricity production, it is flawed in many respects:

Nuclear power cannot solve global warming:

Once seen as the solution to global climate change, nuclear power is far from it. Everywhere along the nuclear chain – from the mining of uranium to its transportation to the construction of the power plant – greenhouse gases are emitted.

Furthermore, their construction takes too long to solve global warming. In fact, investing in nuclear power deprives other efforts – such as energy efficiency, conservation and renewable energy – of further funding and development.

Nuclear plants release radiation:

The levels of radiation released in the air, water and soil are considered “safe”.  However, this standard is based on how it impacts healthy, white males and does not take consideration for children that are sensitive to cancer-causing radiation.

They create harmful radioactive waste:

From mining to milling, processing to enrichment, fuel fabrication to fuel irradiation in reactors, large amounts of harmful, long-lasting radioactive waste is produced. In addition to 20-30 tons of high-level radioactive waste per reactor per year, this includes so-called “low” level radioactive waste.

The current solution for the “disposal” or “storage” of this waste is unacceptable. There is no scientifically safe place to dump this waste, and new reactors would exacerbate the problem. Additional “low” level radioactive waste would have to be dumped in landfills or incinerated, polluting the water and air.

Nuclear plants are too costly:

At $6 to $12 billion each, nuclear reactors are not a cheap solution. Nuclear power has already been subsidized hundreds of billions of dollars. Why should we, the taxpayers, subsidize the electric utility companies’ investments any longer?

Development of nuclear technology brings war and terrorism:

This has been seen at the September 2007 bombing of Syria’s suspected nuclear site by Israel, and the controversy over Iran’s nuclear program. Reactors will always set the stage for atomic weapons production. So, as long as power plants exist, there will always be tension over the possibility of a nuclear attack. Furthermore, reactors are soft targets for terrorists to get hold of nuclear materials, so the more reactors built, the greater the risk.

Any accident will be catastrophic:

All nuclear plants are vulnerable to accidents or attacks. Nevertheless, if an accident did occur, the current evacuation plans are completely unrealistic. In addition, the Price-Anderson Act ensures the utility’s liability of an accident is limited to only $10.8 billion. This is absurb, considering a serious reactor accident could cause as much as $600 billion of damage. Once again, the balance would likely have to be paid by us, the taxpayers.

There are better alternatives:

What bothers us most is we already have better, cleaner, safer and cheaper alternatives available and ready to implement. Perhaps with the recent election of our new US government, nuclear energy will be put to rest and renewable energy will be harnessed on a larger scale.

But while we wait, it is possible to start harnessing renewable energy at home.  What’s more is, it does not cost very much and is rather simple to implement.  Various solar and wind power guides have already become available, which you can see in our reviews section.

Originally posted 2008-11-12 19:58:42.