Archive for the ‘Energy Efficient’ Category

Do You Have Your Own Solar Heating Systems?

Monday, February 8th, 2010

Hot water for home use is a luxury that most of can take for granted. When it comes down to it, conventional hot water heaters are one of your homes most unnecessary strains on fossil fuels and your pocket book. Solar heating systems have made it possible for any individual to eliminate the high financial and environmental expenses tied to traditional hot water heat. You may ask yourself exactly how sun rays can efficiently heat your water, year round.

Most solar collectors work by using the sun’s rays to heat up either water, or an antifreeze/propylene glycol mixture and circulate these fluids under your solar panels glass surface. Solar collectors are extremely sensitive, and even under low light conditions, the sun’s rays are still collected and stored. After the water is heated and circulated, the hot water is pumped into a water container where it heats up your domestic water in a process called “conduction”

Most solar heating systems (under reasonably sunny conditions) can fulfill in excess of 70% of an average households hot water needs. If you want to make a greater impact on your homes heating costs, and curb even greener house gas emissions, you can always add more solar panels, or upgrade the quality of your existing solar cells. People with solar heating systems can take charge of their carbon footprint, and their financial future at the same time! You could hire professionals to install prefabricated solar cells, or you could buy your own DIY kit. The better kits include all the materials, tools and information needed to fully understand just how simple and rewarding making your future “green” can be. You can purchase everything you need for just over $100.00 and have the additional satisfaction of knowing that you built your own cells. Anyone can say they will do it. Now you can say you already have!

You can purchase everything you need for just over $100.00 and have the additional satisfaction of knowing that you built your own cells. Anyone can say they will do it. Now you can say you already have!

Really, anybody can make solar heating systems; it quite easy to make, all guided in step-by-step guideline and video instruction.

Tags:
Posted in Energy Efficient | No Comments »

Wind Generator Plans – How to Decide If it is Right For You

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

If you are considering converting your house or business over to Wind Power, either to supply 100% of your energy needs, or just to supplement your existing power supply in order to reduce your total energy costs, one of the first things you should do is invest in a set of Wind Generator Plans, which will detail all the points that you will need to take into account before deciding if it is a feasible proposition for your particular situation.

With the continual increase in the cost of the fuels required to generate electricity, together with the ever growing need for us all to cut down on our usage of fossil fuels to help reduce the effects of global warming, now is the perfect time for you to start considering other methods for powering your home.

One of the main points to think about is the area in which you live. Obviously a windmill will require wind, therefore the wind speeds in your area need to be looked at. Ideally you will be looking for an average wind speed of 12 mph. Details of where to go to research this item would be included in your wind generator plans. Should you establish that you do not live in a suitable area for wind power, you could consider homemade solar cells as an alternative.

You will need to establish exactly how much power your home is using now. It may be worth taking this opportunity of looking at your appliances and see if there are alternatives available that take less power, such as low power light bulbs and energy efficient fridges and freezers. This will reduce your overall power needs which will, in turn, cut down on the costs of building your own generating plant.

Power generated from wind turbines will need some form of storage facility, especially if you are intending to be self sufficient in your energy needs. This is not so much of a problem if you are only intending using your home built system to supplement your main power supply, as you can always revert back to this should there not be sufficient wind available. The method of storing the unused energy is by the use of an array of batteries, which can be designed to store as little or as much power as you need, dependent on your individual requirements. How to calculate the power that you will need and the amount of storage you will require will be included within your wind generator plans.

For further information on what is required and if it’s the right choice for you, why not get yourself some wind generator plans now. To find out how easy it is to get started on this project check out http://wind-generator-plans.net/.

Tags:
Posted in Energy Efficient | No Comments »

Homemade Solar Electric Panels – What’s the Cost?

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

If you wonder what’s the actual cost of a homemade solar panel, keep reading! The cost of commercial solar panels have an average return of the investment of ten years. So in about five to ten years you should be able to recover your initial investment due to lower electricity bills.

This figure will vary greatly depending on:

  • The quantity of power you consume
  • The location of the solar electric panels on your roof
  • The amount of sun exposure you have

Also different states around the country offer different incentive programs and rebates for the purchase and installation of solar panels. You may call your local building department to inquiry about their programs. It may well save you thousands of dollars.

The amount of solar panels you may need is actually not depending on the size of the building (as it may seem at first) but on the electricity you consume. Therefore the first step would be to get your last electricity bills (up to a year to have a better calculation), add the total kilowatt hours from the utility bills (kWh) and divide it by 1930.

This formula will give you a quite approximate size in kilowatts of the photovoltaic panels you will actually need. Commercial systems cost from %5,000 to $9,000 per kilowatt installed (before any rebate)

For example: if your utility bill tells you are using 12,500 kWh per year and your cost is $1,800/year:

12,500 / 1,930 = 6.47 kW. That means you will need a system able to generate 6.47kW

And that system would cost you: 6.47 kW * $7,000/kW = $45,290 (taking an average installation value of $7,000)

With a 30% rebate your bill would be reduced by $13,588 and you would have to come with $31,703 (out of pocket). If you then factor tax credits you would have to end up paying around $16,000

And since your yearly cost is $1,800 you will have paid for your installation in ($16,000 / $1,800 = 8.8 years)

You should take also into account the physical space needed to install the system:

To generate 1kW you may need a bit less than 100 square feet of solar panels, So for 6.47kW you may need around 600 square feet of roof space. But if you can’t afford a commercial solar electric panel installation you may look to other valuable alternatives like DIY photovoltaic panels.

There are plenty of books and eBooks around that can help you in this task. Just take the time to analyze your best option and go for it!

If you would like to learn more about solar electric panels or photovoltaic solar panels just visit my site.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Energy Efficient | No Comments »

Instructions to Build a Wind Generator – Building Wind Generators Instruction

Friday, November 13th, 2009

Find good instructions to build a wind generator is an absolute must in order to get the results you want. Building wind generators is a smart option since the price of new ones can run into the thousands of dollars.

It certainly is not difficult but the project needs to be done in the right order using the proper materials if you are going to succeed.

Where do you start?

· First with detailed instructions to build a wind generator
· Some shop space where you can work
· Common tools- cordless drill, wrenches, jigsaw, etc.

We usually start with the blades but first you need to order the DC motor used as a power generation unit. The plans show you where to get one, and even have it shipped directly to your home.

It only costs about $150 to build the entire wind generator (including the cost of the instruction plans) and the DC motor will run you about $30.

It seems amazing that manufactured models cost thousands of dollars when the parts can be obtained so cheaply.

Onto the blades next, while you are waiting for your DC motor follow the instructions to build a wind generator and make your blades.

The best balanced home wind power machines have 3 blades, and you can make them out of PVC for smaller machines. If you want to make a 1000w wind generator as we recommend to provide power for your home you will need blade lengths of at least 4 feet, forming total blade diameters of 8 feet.

These larger machines need to have the blades made from straight, clear knot free wood. We use cedar usually, but any hardwood or spruce works well too. Use the best quality lumber you can find.

Don’t worry that making your blades is too complicated either. Simple wooden blades can be made easily in a day with your detailed instructions to build a wind generator.

The plans also show sources of free deep cycle batteries and even free wind towers (used TV towers) that you can use to keep your costs down.

It’s exciting when your DC motor arrives and you can put it all together. The body and tail can be fashioned according to your own tastes and available material. This is where you can add your own flare, with colors and designs you prefer.

Bright yellows, reds and blues are what we have used along with easily obtained free stainless steel for the body.

The first time your own wind machine starts spinning and producing free electricity for your home it’s a great thrill. No more electricity bills. Isn’t it time you got started?

Instructions To Build A Wind Generator is the best place to start for your own wind machine project and instructions to build a wind generator of your own.

Our family has been living off the grid since last year, and loving every minute of it. Finding instructions to build a wind generator helped us the most by providing fast efficient charging of our renewable energy system at a great reasonable price.

Tags:
Posted in Energy Efficient | No Comments »

How to Build a Wind Mill

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

If you are considering wind power for your home the fastest way to get started is learn how to build a wind mill. It is not that difficult and only takes a few days to complete.

First off, most people today refer to a wind mill as a wind turbine, so we are going to use both terms – how to build wind turbines means the same thing.

What do you need to get started?

· A garage or shop large enough to work

· Simple tools such as a jigsaw, wrenches etc.

· Detailed plans on how to build a wind mill

Before we get too far along we would like to tell you that in our years of off grid living that we have learned a lot. The main thing we would like to share with you is diversification. Set up your home with both wind and solar power along with a bio diesel generator if you can.

One system will always be producing power.

Learning how to build wind turbines is a great place to start though.

There are many benefits, first of all the money savings. A new 1000w wind mill will cost over $3000 but you can build your own for under $150 including the cost of the plans.

We think that’s great for the new person just starting out with renewable energy for their home.

First you will want to order a DC motor from the source listed in the plans. It takes a few days to arrive but it is delivered right to your door.

While you are waiting for it to arrive you can work on the other component parts of your wind turbine.

Learning how to build a wind mill is really all about sizing the blades to the DC motor. Blades of larger diameter produce more power and need a larger motor.

In order to produce 1000 watts, which we think is necessary to be of real value to your home you need blade diameters of at least 8 feet (blades that are 4 feet long).

They are easily made in a day from straight grained clear wood- spruce or hardwood usually.

If you want to build a smaller machine you can use PVC pipe for your blades. The choices are outlined nicely in the detailed plans.

The other component parts are easily found and assembled including free towers (old TV towers) and free off grid deep cycle batteries.

Just think, all of that free electricity flowing into your house. Isn’t it time you got started.

How To Build A Wind Mill is a great resource for getting started with your own project and learning how to build wind turbines of your own to produce power for your home.

Living off the grid with renewable energy is how we have lived for almost 10 years. Learning how to build a wind mill really helped us to produce enough power for our home.

Tags:
Posted in Energy Efficient | No Comments »

Solar Powered Fans Can Save You Money

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

Many people don’t realize that 57% of the electricity in this country is generated from coal. This fossil fuel is burned so it creates steam, which is then blown at a high pressure into a turbine, causing it to spin, creating electricity.

The problem is that coal is a filthy pollutant. It creates smog and acid rain. When it’s burned, it releases huge quantities of carbon dioxide, increasing the threat of global warming. But people have relied on coal over the years because it’s relatively cheap. But even that is changing. “A surge in coal prices over the past year,” says USA Today, is responsible for “sharply rising electricity rates.” Oh boy, not only does it pollute, but it’s getting more expensive. There’s got to be a better way.

There is. It’s called solar energy. According to The New York Times, leading futurist Ray Kurzweil believes that solar power will begin to overtake fossil fuels in about five years. In 20 years, all our energy will come from clean sources. But you don’t have to wait that long. There are plenty of solar products available right now that work great and can save you money.

One of the best places to start is with solar powered fans. Solar power and fans really go together. Why? Because the solar fan’s motor is powered by the sun, so it runs at top strength exactly when cool air is needed the most.

Another great thing about solar powered fans is that they’re relatively easy to install. Think about it. You don’t have to worry about where you’re going to plug it in. There are no cords. For example, I know someone who installed a solar powered fan in the dog house. He simply cut a hole in the roof and put in the fan. Now the dog is nice and comfortable.

You can install solar powered fans in your storage sheds, garages, barns, boats, campers, and vans. By flowing air through these areas, solar powered fans not only help them stay cool, but they prevent moisture from building up, which leads to mold. That’s why solar powered attic fans are so popular and effective. Attics become like a furnace during the summer, and this heats your whole house. Now the air conditioning units have to work harder, and this drives up your electricity bills. When you install a solar powered attic fan, it cools your home and prevents mold from building up. And solar powered attic fans work great because they’re on your roof, facing the sun!

I’ll say it once more because people have a hard time grasping this: solar powered fans run for free. You don’t have to worry about turning it on or off, it doesn’t matter. It cost nothing to run!

Plus, solar powered fans are great for the environment. If this isn’t a win-win situation I don’t know what is.

Jim Henderson writes about alternative energy sources. To find out more about solar powered fans and where you can buy them, please visit Solar Powered Fans.

Tags:
Posted in Energy Efficient | No Comments »