When it comes to green energy, solar power has been at the center of the discussion for the past few decades. Once solar technology is adopted on a more widespread scale, we can start to gain significantly more traction in the movement towards a more environmentally friend infrastructure.

Whether you’re looking at how solar can help you save on energy rates in California, or you want to compare electricity rates in Texas, solar is an option worth looking into.

Is solar energy for you? Here are four reasons you may choose to equip your home with solar technology:

1) You care about the environment

Solar energy helps reduce the strain on the environment by using an already existing energy source for power instead of using man-made means to harness that energy or relying on non-renewable resources. Using solar power helps you reduce your home’s footprint on the environment.

2) You like the feeling of being on the cutting edge

If it’s important to you to always have the most innovative technology and the best-in-industry services, then solar panels may be something you want to look into. While not the most significant advantage of solar power, having cutting edge technology tells those around you that you’re committed to a greener future.

3) You want to save money on energy costs

After the initial investment, solar panels help you save on monthly energy costs by drastically reducing or eliminating your energy bill altogether. Why pay the local electrical cooperative that’s damaging than environment when you can take energy into your own hands? Reduced energy costs are the reason the vast majority of solar energy users have made the switch.

4) You want to future proof your home

What will the standard method for energy delivery be in 20 years? With a solar-powered home, you can rest assured that your home will hold its value and will stay on the leading edge of green technology for years going forward.

Do you fit one of these descriptions? What’s stopping your from solar-powering your home?

Solar power is about getting the most out of the natural resources available while doing the least amount of damage to the environment. Inhabitants of this planet are just now learning the concept of renewability. It is a fact that some forms of fuel will disappear eventually. Looking for alternatives will stretch the vicarious supply of fuels such as oil. Photovoltaic cells make use of the sun’s energy to create electricity that runs computers, lights and televisions. Today, a solar energy lifestyle just makes sense.

Financial Rewards of Going Solar

The most obvious benefit of turning to solar energy is monetary. Consumers who opt for a solar power system have less overhead. Solar reduces the amount homeowners pay to utility companies each month. Installing panels will not completely replace utility power, but it will reduce the reliability. If solar power provides 30 percent of the electricity for a home, a 100-dollar monthly expense becomes 70 dollars.

Solar power is free to use after the initial cost of the equipment. The energy produced by the system will cost nothing. In addition, there may be tax credits and other financial benefits offered as incentives to developing a solar energy lifestyle.

Environmental Factors

Most homeowners will be looking at the financial end of solar energy, but it is difficult to ignore the benefits to the environment. Fossil fuel is a byproduct of anaerobic decomposition. In other words, when organic matter decomposes, it produces coal, petroleum and natural gas. The process has been going on since the first biological organism left the primordial soup. The evolution of technology is quickly diminishing a supply that took millenniums to form.

Burning fossil fuels releases emissions into the atmosphere. This is what is often referred to as the greenhouse effect, and the culprit behind global warming. The U.S. Department of Energy Information Administration states the 80 percent of emissions polluting the environment come from burning fuel.

Solar energy is a renewable source. It doesn’t require anything but a sunny day and a solar power system. That is beauty of photovoltaic panels. They contain cells that collect light energy and convert it to electricity. This is the photovoltaic effect. Solar energy is a clean resource. It does not produce emissions that lead to global warming. There is no greenhouse effect.

Solar power systems are high commodities. Residential installations all but pay for themselves between the increase in equity and the monthly savings. In addition, homeowners all over the country with solar power can feel good about working to create a sustainable environment for the generations to come.

Read more about Marin, California solar. Need an author? Contact Stephen Craig

This image is used by permission from sxc.hu

Whether we like it or not, the world is changing. Gone are the days where natural resources like coal are plentiful. We are burning through the world’s store of energy resources at an alarming rate. We are grinding out every ounce of coal, sucking up every drop of natural gas and oil, and our poor planet is really starting to feel it.

We all saw Al Gore make his mark in the environmental documentary “An Inconvenient Truth”. We saw Leonardo Di Caprio produce his own film ‘The 11th Hour’ expressing some shocking facts that many of us were far from aware of. We all know the grim future that waits once these resources have dried up and to put it in an underestimating manner, it is a scary promise. Global warming is a real threat to life as we know it. The world is changing, and we need to change with it.

Going Green with Solar Panels

There are a number of cheap and cheerful ways to harness energy and still be able to proudly tell people you are ‘green’. Cows across the world have lifted their heads up in puzzlement for many decades now as a new army of high tech wind turbines have dotted the green countryside. These colossal oddities provide electricity for neighborhoods and towns alike. Giant hydroelectric power stations have generated huge amounts of electricity by capturing the energy of fast gushing water from damns and rivers. But one source of green energy has, and still is, an easy way for single homes to power themselves: solar panels.

Not a New Idea

Since the dawn of civilization mankind has realized the awesome potential of the sun. From primitive fire making, to school boys with magnifying glasses and terrified ants, to modern day solar farms which stretch as far as the eye can see, the sun is our most steady and reliable source of green energy. Nowadays solar panels adorn everything from houses, businesses, cars even airplanes.

Fitting your home with solar panels is the ‘green’ thing to do. Many people are skeptical about it though. They worry about it being a hassle. They worry about the costs of fitting solar panels. Most of us are just happy to pay our monthly electricity bill and not concern ourselves with where the electricity comes from. But it is this mindset which is putting our only home at risk.

Most houses don’t entirely convert to solar power but rather harness the sun’s energy to heat water for hot baths, showers and swimming pools, and keep mainstream electricity for other items. It’s not a question of ‘all or nothing’ but rather a question of ‘every little bit helps’. If you heat your water with solar panels everyday for a year, just imagine the huge difference it would make in preventing global warming. And if every home in your neighborhood did the same, then there is no end to how green our future could be.

Summary

It’’s a choice we all have to make. The planet needs our help, and installing solar panels in your house is one way in which you can fight the battle to save our earth.

This article was written by Andy Wright on behalf of AVIC Energy Sydney. AVIC Energy is a leading worldwide supplier of solar power systems including solar panels Sydney and they rank 250th in the Global Top 500 largest corporations in 2012. Misty is a keen blogger on technology and green issues and is always looking for ways to help maintain the planet and reduce his carbon footprint.

With the rate at which our environment is deteriorating, the science fiction movies which depict the human race breathing through gas masks in the next century are not so far from the truth. Actually, initiatives set up in the last decade to save the environment may have bought our future generations another 20 years or so. What we are faced with is a bleak future for humanity if trends do not change.

For this reason and many others, green initiative such as the use of solar energy not only have to be integrated into our lifestyles but it has to be done fast. The great minds coming up with motivators such as carbon markets and RECs have to be applauded for finding ways to make money out of this environmental saving trend and bringing in the corporate from a new dimension.

One of the green energy initiatives that have received much accolade is the use of solar energy. Its counterparts like the geothermal have great milestones but the best thing about solar energy is that you and I can install it easily in our own homes. The cost and logistics of installing say a wind powered plant or a geothermal plant for the community let alone the home are staggering, when you plan to do them on a domestic scale. Leave those two methods to the government and researchers.

Solar energy in my opinion albeit biased, is the best form of clean energy. It is economical, safe and easy. Its wondrous effects of reversing negative changes on the environment come in a myriad of ways. Here are the five pollutions solar energy eliminates:

1. Air pollution

When speaking of clean energy the first thing that comes to mind is carbon emissions. Although clean energy encompasses many other factors, this is the primary reason for the term. Solar energy does not release any form of green house gases in its production or utilization.

This means that say if solar energy were the only energy we used, all other variables constant, there would be no acid rain, no danger of global warming, no accident causing smog, no issues with climate changes, and in the end we would live for more years due to the clean air we inhale. Although this is far from being a reality, solar energy contributes to at least 20% of such an environment.

2. Noise pollution

Energy production in the large scale comes with a lot of noise pollution. Imagine the large motors, the oil digging drills and other machines that play a role in giving us energy today. Unlike all these, from the beginning to the end, the production of electricity via solar panels is completely soundless. No noise is produced and it is safe. You can have a nursing home or a day care centre sharing a wall with an electrical plant using solar panels with no problems at all.

3. Soil pollution

Yes, solar energy does prevent soil pollution. The main sources of our energy are oil and nuclear reactors. Both require massive amounts of digging towards the earth’s core leaving the surrounding land not only filled with waste but also looking grotesque. Adding salt to injury the waste is toxic making the land unusable for a couple of years and even decades.

Let us not even go into the details of the kind of damage hydroelectric dams do to our ecosystems!

4. Energy pollution

Already you are battling with the meaning of the stated term. Energy pollution? Maybe literally, it does not exist and what I am referring to is the renewable nature of solar energy. Other forms of energy we use today, not only cause pollution to our environment but they deplete our natural resources. It seems there is no end to the list of bad attributes.

Now imagine the sun dying or not existing. The statement itself seems like a paradox as the sun has been there since day one of the universe and it does not diminish millions of years down the line.

5. Money pollution

Again the battle over the use of the word pollution; Focus not on the definition of terms but the point at hand. The bottom line, using solar energy will increase the amount of money in your pocket. Despite the initial cost of investment, you get to save much in the end!

London born Jamie Kirk is an avid bogger and environmentalist. His informative blogs are published on www.talksolarpanels.co.uk

As the days go by and the future gets brighter, so does the use of residential solar panels. Not only that, many businesses are turning to solar energy for a source of power, along with vehicles and golf carts. So if you are someone that is looking to go green and get their home off of the grid, then you are on the right path.

The initial investment may be a little pricey, but if you get a solar energy system for your entire home, they can last up to 30 years, and the best part about it is there is very little maintenance that needs to be done on them.

Just imagine not having to pay a monthly electric bill anymore. Or even better yet, some homes are so jacked up with solar power, that they actually have the power companies pay them! Not really sure how this works, but I have hear instances of this happening.

Should you be interesting in going off of the grid – there are many local companies out there that will be more than happy to give you some quotes on what would fit best for your home, based on your budget and best interests. Some of the major manufacturers of solar products in the United States are BP Solar, Sanyo Energy, Sunpower Corporation, Mitsubishi along with many, many others.

Should you question a manufacturers or companies trust and reliability, there are always sites such as BBB.org which gives grades to all major companies that are out there.

Making Your Own Solar Panels

Should you be the type of person that is good with electricity, carpentry, and basically good with power tools, then you may want to save even more money and build your own solar panels. Beware though, this is not an easy task, and should you choose to take this route, you must get plans from a reliable source and follow those plans exactly.

For instance, if you position your solar panels just a couple degrees off the needed angle to get the most sunlight, can really lose you out on a lot of solar energy that you could be acquiring.

All it really takes is some dedication, some start up money, the ability to follow instructions, and time, and you could have your home harnessing the power of the sun pretty quickly. You will have to first  purchase photovoltaic cells before beginning the construction of the solar panel, or if you really want to go all out, you can make those yourself also.

Then you will need a solar power converter, that will transform the suns energy which is DC, to AC, which is commonly used in homes.

Making your own solar panels can be a big and fun project, especially if you are looking to power most of your home with the energy from the sun, and especially if you have a big home! But just think about all of the money you are going to save in the long run, not only that, there are many good tax rebates you can apply for by making your home green and energy efficient.

So you want to make your own solar panels, save money on your electricity bill and also do your part in helping the Earth. There are literally hundreds of diy solar panel and wind turbine guides that are out there. I have heard the hype about many of these diy solar panel guides, and picked the best one out of the bunch that worked the best for me, and that one was the Earth4Energy manual, which was featured in major magazines such as Popular Mechanics and Popular Science, so you know that they are legit.

Not only do they give you guides, and solar panel construction plans, they actually give you a video series that SHOWS you exactly what you need to do to be able to make your own solar panels. The videos are by the far the most beneficial part of the whole deal to me as I am not one to take written instructions without pictures too well and become successful with it.

I managed to build a couple of solar panels for my vacation home for just a couple hundred dollars in parts, I just had to order some solar panels through eBay and I was ready to begin constructing and installing the solar panels on the roof, and I plan on building many more.

Another reason why I liked the Earth4Energy manual is that they give you lots of bonuses, such as wiring diagrams, tax rebate sheets, solar calculators so that you can determine how many solar panels and battery banks you will need to completely go off the grid.

The customer support for them is outstanding too, although you have to contact them through email, they are always very prompt in answering your questions.

They also have a guide that will teach you how to build your own wind turbines, and just recently added a 15 minute video that will show you step by step on how to properly construct a wind turbine.

They keep the price extremely low for the amount of information that is given to you, for only $49.97 I think that is a great deal for over 2 hours of solar panel video instruction, bonus guides, wiring grids, a solar panel calculator, wind turbine plans and instructional video, along with a bunch of other great information that is going to help you cut energy costs by 50% or more.

The Solar oven or solar cooker uses direct sunlight to cook food. This device does not need fuel and can be easily made. These are often used outdoors especially when there is a high risk of fire. Most of these devices were made to help in preserving forests. By using this, trees can be saved. Cooking food with sunlight and solar ovens, the latest in energy saving techniques.

Preparing food on the solar oven is much like making food on any stove. It would be a good idea to cut up the food into smaller pieces. This will make cooking easier and faster compared to cooking things whole. It would be also advisable to cook different foods in separate containers.

So How Do Solar Ovens Work?

There are many kinds of solar cookers available today. However, the principles involved in each are the same. It will need a mirror to catch the sunlight. The mirror focuses the sunlight in a small area to make cooking faster. It basically converts the sunlight into heat energy.

It would also be a good idea to place the cooker on top of wood or a sheet of plastic to prevent staining. This usually is not a problem since cooking is done outdoors. If you are unsure though, lining the area with plastic or wood will do the job.

The inside of the oven should also be coated black. This will help in keeping the heat inside the cooker. It also helps absorb the sun’s light and keeps it in. The better the surface absorbs heat, the faster the cooking.

Once the heat is inside the oven, it is important to maintain the heat and keep it inside. Using a blackened surface helps but will not be enough to keep the heat in. In most cases, a glass panel is used to keep the temperature constant. If that is not available, then plastic bags will also do the job.

When cooking, the longer to cook meals are added first. So meats and pasta are usually cooked first. Vegetables and other types of food can be added later. There is no real set time for the food to cook. One can melt butter in less than thirty minutes, cook meat in about five hours. This will also depend on the heat source, wind, temperature and location. Food cooks faster two hours before and after noon time.

Solar ovens are a huge help to people looking for other ways to prepare food. It can be made from available material and is easy to make. It can be made available to more number of people if needed. It can be used almost anywhere as long as there is sunlight. Since it has not been cooked in charcoal, the food has no smoky odor. Using this technique will eliminate gases given off when using wood. These gases are harmful to the body. So using solar ovens decreases the exposure to these gases.

However, cooking with solar ovens takes longer than usual. Food preparation usually takes a few hours longer. The absence of sunlight will also be a problem. No light means no cooking can be done. So this cannot be used in rainy and cloudy days, and definitely cannot be used at night. Even strong winds can be a factor in cooking.

Cooking large quantities of food can also be a challenge. When using solar ovens, food is usually cut into smaller pieces for ease of cooking. But what if you have a lot of food to cook? In this case, you would need more ovens or more time used in cooking. Both options are not really efficient and can be time consuming.

Everyone is becoming very environmentally conscious these days. This is a very good thing. We need to do more to help our planet stay healthy and pollution free, or in other words help the planet stay green. One thing that you can do to not only help the environment but also save you some money is to use solar energy instead of power from the electric company. This means that your power source is completely carbon neutral; it also means that you don’t have to pay an electric bill every month.

However, if you buy new solar panels directly from the manufacturer, you will find that they might cost upward of ten thousand dollars. When you factor in the cost of installation, you could be looking a price tag of thirty thousand dollars or more. That is why you should take the time to learn how to make your own solar panels.

The first thing that you need to do is get some solar cells. These are very expensive if you get them new. However, there are a lot of factory seconds and rejects that have small chips on the edges. Because their surface area is compromised, they won’t produce as many volts. However, these chips are generally very small; you’ll still be able to get them to work for you.

Also, you will literally be paying pennies on the dollar for them on an online auction site like Ebay. When you start to look around for kits on how to make your own solar panels, make sure to buy ones that are tabbed. They will save you a lot of time later.

When your solar cells arrive, you should build a box for them. A simple, shallow plywood frame will do. Drill some small ventilation holes in the plywood and add a layer or pegboard for added ventilation. Before you start any installation, coat both the frame and the pegboard with weatherproof paint. This will prevent the wood from warping over the years. Now it is time to install the solar cells themselves.

This will involve soldering and a little wiring. If you have never soldered before, find some scrap metal and practice adhering two pieces together. Once you have that down, you need to take the tabs that are attached to the solar cells and solder them together to form your panel.

Each panel that you make should have all of the same sized solar cells. That is because the amount of power that you will produce is no more that the amount that the smallest cell will produce multiplied by the number of cells.

When they are soldered, you need to run wiring along each cell, starting from the middle and moving outward. Then all the wiring should run to one plug that you can use to power batteries or the appliances in your home.

This is only an overview of how to make your own solar panels. If you want more specific information, especially about the wiring, you should consult an local expert or take the time to read a basic electrician’s manual.

If you are interested in greening up your lifestyle, it helps to do a little research first. Not only will it make you more informed when you make future purchases, but the technology that is going into green projects is both state of the art and fascinating. For instance, if you would like to save money on your monthly electrical bills as well as do your part to reduce the carbon output of the planet, you might want to consider a carbon neutral power source such as solar panels. Depending on your climate, you might be able to use solar panels to power all your electrical needs. However, you should first learn about how solar cells and then go out and explore your different buying options. Learn how solar cells work below…

A solar cell uses basic chemistry to produce electricity from the sun’s rays. It isn’t so much capturing the energy of the sun and turning it into usable electricity; the process is a little more complicated than that. It starts with a silicon molecule.

You’ve probably heard silicon mentioned when referring to computer chips. It’s the same substance. Silicon is a stable molecule that can form a long last bond with other silicon molecules. That is because it has room for eight electrons in its outer ring but only keeps four around all the time. Therefore, when two silicon molecules are joined, they are both neutrally charged and very happy.

To make a solar cell work, you need to have a positively and a negatively charged silicon molecule. Generally, there is an entire panel of negatively charged molecules put on top of a panel of positively charged molecules. The negative cells are made by combining silicon with phosphorus, an element that has five electrons.

The extra electron creates a negative charge. The positive cells are made by combining silicon with boron, an element with three electrons. The missing electron makes for a positive charge.

Now comes the sun. The sun produces photons, which for our purposes, are like little molecular hammers. When photons in a certain spectrum hit the negative solar cells, the extra electron is shot through to the positive panel.

When too many electrons have built up in the positive panel they are pulled through some attached wiring to produce electricity for your house. The more photons that hit the panels the more electricity you are going to produce at any given moment. The photos also ‘recharge’ the negative panel by returning the electrons it lost so that the process can go on indefinitely.

Solar cells can continue to create power as long as the sun is shining. However, they do not produce a lot of power compared to the surface area that they take up. Advances are being made every day, especially in the area of nanotechnology. Building solar panels out of tiny silicon towers would drastically increase the surface area without taking up more roof space. Now that you know how solar cells work, you should decide if it time to use some and take your home off the grid, save money, and know that you are doing your part to help our planet by keeping your home a green one.

Today, everyone is talking about what we can do to make our lives greener, especially when it comes to making a home green. It is important that we stop relying on non-reusable fossil fuels to produce the electricity that we need to power all the gadgets that have become necessary to our modern lifestyle. As long as we can find a suitable electricity alternative, we won’t have to give up our conveniences. A great option for a renewable source of electrical power is wind power. All over the world the wind keeps on blowing. Man has actually been harnessing wind power for centuries. Today, we need take old technology and change it to fit modern needs. That is we need to ask: how do wind turbines work?

If you hear the word windmill, you probably immediately think of an old Dutch structure surrounded by a field of tulips. These ancient windmills were used to perform a specific task, such as grinding flour or turning a lathe. With these models, the wind turned the blades, which were attached to a crankshaft.

The crankshaft then turned the pole that did the grinding or whatever task was needed. Today, the crankshaft is attached to an electrical generator. The power of the wind moves the parts of the generator and produces electricity. This electricity is then stored in batteries or sent off along power lines to a municipal grid.

Non-technical people are often told to think of the workings of a wind turbine like the workings of an electric fan. In an electric fan, there is a small motor at the base of the fan that powers the mechanism that turns the blades. It is exactly the opposite for a wind turbine. In this case the wind is causing the motive power to turn the blades and the motor becomes a receptacle for the power of the wind. The motor is then called a generator.

If you want to get a little bit more technical about the inner workings of a wind turbine, you can start out by picturing three blades that are attached on a single rotor. At the opposite end of the rotor you will find a gear box, a toothed circle that looks like the gears inside your watch.

The teeth of the gear box are interlocked with the teeth inside the generator so that little power is lost between the spinning of the blades and the spinning of the generator’s motor.

Today’s wind turbines are more sophisticated pieces of equipment. They will have a yaw drive and a yaw motor that are either controlled remotely or automatically in order to change the direction of the blades so that they are directly downwind of the coming gusts.

A wine vane can also accomplish that task moving the wind turbine. Instead of managing tilt, it manages the actual direction of the turbine. This can also be accomplished remotely on large, industrial turbines. Now that you have a basic overview of how wind turbines work, you can use your knowledge to petition your lawmakers for a change.