Is a Solar Energy Home for You?
Have you ever considered the benefits of a solar energy home?
Will your grandchildren will have the energy they need to maintain our current standard of living?
Do you just want to reduce your dependence on non-renewable resources like foreign oil?
Benefits of Solar Energy
Solar energy homes provide their owners benefits others don’t enjoy. A lower energy bill is the main benefit. In order to save the most money, you should keep price in mind on every decision you make if you are using solar energy in your home in order to save money. Compare the price to the expected savings to determine if something is a good investment. If you are doing it to save the environment, you may not care about price as much, but most people want to save money.
A few of the solar energy items discussed are listed belowHere are a few of the things you will learn about:
- energy conservation
- solar water heating
- green energy plans
- solar panels
- solar tubes
- solar lighting
One relatively inexpensive way to bring solar energy into your home is to use solar tubes to light rooms without windows. Basically, what you do is install a reflective tube with a clear cover on your roof to let light in. You can also go with a skylight, but they are much more expensive and don’t work if you have a standard ceiling that is several feet below your roof.
Solar water heaters are very popular when building a solar energy home. They are more expensive than a traditional water heater, but can substantially reduce the cost of heating your water. You can usually upgrade your existing water heater, but it is cheaper if it is installed when your solar energy home is being built.
Solar lights are another easy and inexpensive way to use solar energy. These are typically used outside as accent lights. They harness the suns energy during the day to power the light after the sun goes down. They are very handy and you don’t have to worry about running wires underground to your lights.
Solar panels that generate electricity are the thing that most people associate with solar energy. Usually, you see these panels on the roof of a house. They harness the suns energy and create electricity that is stored in batteries for later use. It is possible to sell electricity to the power company if your home is extremely efficient. I wouldn’t recommend planning to sell electricity though, just focus on trying to get enough electricity to power your house and save a bunch of money on electricity.
There are tons more items, gadgets, and appliances that harness the suns power and help break the dependence on fossil fuels and non-renewable resources. These are a few of the most popular. Put everything together and you can have your own solar energy home!
Affordable Alternative Energy
If living off the power grid is what you are looking to do, there are alternate power solutions and you will be surprised to learn that they are not only cost-effective but also extremely feasible. There is an informational product called Earth4Energy can help you get started without spending a ton of money. Once you get started with renewable energy, you may not want to stop!
If you decide to start harnessing solar energy, learn about how to have residential solar power work for you. You will find more information about Earth4Energy and how to get started.
Conserving Energy
You never want to waste energy, but if you are living in a solar energy home, it is even more important because you most likely won’t have a surplus of electricity. If you happen to be living “off grid” then it is vital that you don’t waste the electricity you have because you can’t tap into the electric company if you need more.
There are a lot of resources out there that will help you save electricity which then saves you money. I have put in a quick video that can get you started saving electricity and saving money.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ADp0vlcyq4
Buy your Renewable Energy
If you want to help the environment by using solar energy, but just can’t do the things people associate with a solar power home, don’t despair. There is a way that you can buy green energy from your power company. This way you can help save the environment and have a clear conscience even if you can’t put up solar panels or other solar energy devices in your home.
Green energy plans are offered my many electric companies. Basically what happens is that you indicate that you want to support the use of green energy and select a plan that gets some amount of energy from solar, wind, or water sources. You will typically pay a little more for this, but if it helps the environment many people are willing to pay more. I personally use Ambit Energy for my electricity service. They have a green energy plan that is very competitive. Check with your electric company and see if you can get green energy.
If you live in Texas, New York, Illinois, and soon Ohio, you can check out Ambit for all your energy needs. You can also check out the Ambit Energy business opportunity so you can make some money while helping to save the planet.