We all learned about the renewable and non-renewable sources of energy in school. However, we never paid much attention to the rapid consumption of the non-renewable sources of energy until recently. The world is faced with severe energy crisis now and none of us remain unaffected anymore. Should we leave everything to the governments, or can we do something to save power? The answer is simple: we can.
Let us look at how you can save power at home.
Computer: More often than not, we do not switch off our monitors even after we have shut down our computers. Keep the monitor and the computer switched off when you are not using them. Start practicing this even when at work. You will help save some more power for the world.
Light bulbs: You must have seen compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs being advertised all the time. You must have even used them at times. As a power-saving measure, start using the CFL light bulbs as much as you can. If you are thinking they are more expensive than the regular bulbs, the benefits of the CFL bulbs will prove much more cost-effective in the long turn by the amount of power they will save.
Air Conditioner: Set the temperature at the minimum or maximum best you are comfortable with, depending on the season. Try not to set it at too high or too low temperatures. Setting the air conditioner at reasonable temperatures helps save a lot of energy.
Washing Machines: Do you use your washing machine as often as you want? Do you use your washing machine even when there are not enough clothes to wash? Minimize the number of washes by washing full load of clothes every time.
Television: Take off the power plug of your television set when not using it. This may not sound a big deal but this tiny step will help save power.
Geysers: Keep the geyser thermostat at the minimum heat. You do not need to heat the water at a very high temperature or for too long.
Refrigerator: Bring hot food to room temperatures before putting it into the refrigerator. You can also save power by taking cold or frozen food out of the refrigerator much before the mealtime, thereby saving power in heating it.
Car: For an air-conditioner equipped car, pull up the windows of your car before switching on the air-conditioner.
For years and years, people have long since assumed that there is power to be gained by the sun. Long ago, the sun was worshiped by some cultures, and the heating and light properties discovered and analyzed. Finally, in the last couple of decades, humans were able to convert some of the sun’s rays into energy – solar electricity. Solar electricity has gone under some extremely radical advancements. Some say that it could be the solution for a number of problems in the United States and elsewhere.
What’s so great about solar electricity? Solar electricity uses panels that convert the sun’s rays into energy. This is nothing new, speaking strictly from an ecological standpoint. Trees and green plants have long been converting the sun’s energy into fuel for themselves. With cell panels, we can finally match their production and exceed it.
Why should we use solar electricity? The great thing about using solar electricity is that it creates no waste. Unlike coal or gas power plants, solar electricity is clean, no smoke or carbon emissions. Solar electricity is also renewable. This simply means that we’ll never run out of solar electricity, because we’ll never run out of the sun. Or, if we did, we’d have much bigger problems than trying to power a house or town.
Solar electricity power plants or “farms” are popping up all over. There’s a solar electricity farm in Spain that is capable of powering the whole city of Seville! Similar developments are taking place across the US, especially in the Southwest. These large complexes look like towers surrounded by mirrors. The mirrors reflect sun beams up to the top of the tower, which heats a turbine, creating solar electricity.
But you can install panels and benefit from solar electricity now! A couple of solar panels on your roof can be installed and linked up to your house AND your power grid. You can even install a battery to store up energy on sunny days to use when clouds appear. On the days where you generate more solar electricity than you use, many power companies will buy back your electricity. That’s right, a utility invoice, not bill. Not only can solar electricity help save you money, it might even mean a check or two from the electric company.
Solar electricity is here to stay and as it develops it will only become more efficient, affordable and powerful. Solar electricity could be the very solution to the world’s energy problems.
When you decide to convert your main power source over to solar power you will need to make some adjustments to the appliances that carry the power source. When you use solar power to heat your water you may find that you will need to purchase a solar powered water heater in order to do that. You may be able to make adjustments to your existing one but what ever steps you take to turn it into solar power it will be worth it.
There are several different ways to heat your water using solar power. You can even make your own solar power source. The water runs through pipes before it enters your home. Heating water using solar power will occur before the water gets into your home as it passes by the solar source that attracted the light. You may also have a tank to store the water in that can heat the water up. In order to heat your water successfully you will need to have both a solar collector and a storage tank.
A flat plate collector is the most common collector. It is designed to be a thin, flat rectangular box that has a see through cover and it can carry fluid to be heated. This fluid could be the water or it may be a solution, such as antifreeze that will prevent the water from freezing. Next the water moves through the tubes to an absorber plate. This plate is painted black to attract and absorb the heat from the sun. When the collector gets hot, it will heat the fluid that passes through the tubes. As the water passes through the tubes it goes into the storage tank. The storage tank holds the heated water. It is usually well insulated so the water will stay warm longer. Then the water flows into the home on demand.
Solar water heating systems are divided into two groups: Active and passive. When the heating systems are active, that means that they rely on the pumps or other mechanical device that can move the water between the flat plate collector and the storage tank. Active is the most common because it is quicker and more efficient. The passive system relies on gravity to feed the water from the flat plate collector to the storage tank. This may be slow at times and may not be sufficient enough to keep up with the demand. Both ways are logical and may be more of a choice of preference for you. Another thought that you need to consider is that if your flat plate collector and your storage tank is not angled right it may be hard for the gravity to feed the liquid through.
Heating water using solar power is very affordable and can be installed with minimal effort. Choosing to heat your water using solar power is a wise choice and a first step in making a choice to help preserve our environment. We know how easy it is to use solar power to do a lot of things, including heating our water.
With energy sources depleting at a rate faster than they are being built, it is only wise that we use the abundant energy available for free – the solar energy. Apart from the easy availability, solar energy helps control environmental pollution. Most of us shy away from installing solar power solutions at home thinking them to be expensive and cumbersome. You will, however, be surprised to know how easy it is to employ these power solutions. Moreover, these will help cut down your power bills. Finally, you will be delighted to know that you are doing your bit to save power for the future generations.
This article will explore the various solar power options available for home use.
Solar cooker: A solar cooker is a cooking utensil that uses absolutely no fuel for cooking. You can cook food for up to five people in the small box. If you are thinking that using a solar cooker will reduce your chances of spreading up a varied platter on the dining table, you will be surprised to know that you can not only boil food items in the cooker but also roast and bake! The only limitation with the solar cooker is the time it takes to cook. However, given the free source of energy it uses, this is a great option for cutting down those sky-rocketing bills and saving some power.
Solar home lighting: A solar home lighting system converts solar energy into electrical energy for your home. This is done via cells that are charged with solar energy. So, in the night, if you wonder how the lights are on in the house, it is because of the solar energy stored in the solar cells. You can install the solar home lighting system in your house and not worry about the electricity bills anymore.
Solar power systems have been around for a long time. When the technology first became available solar cells where heralded to be the end of the oil crisis and the energy crisis. We suddenly had plentiful free energy, all of it coming from the sun. Within ten years solar power systems were predicted to heat and power our homes and businesses. Some people even thought we would be driving solar-powered cars soon, with long, sleek shapes covered with solar panels.
Unfortunately, the reality didn’t quite match up with the dream. Solar panels were expensive to manufacture, and unless you had a lot of panels exposed to a lot of sunlight, solar power systems didn’t produce very much power. However, now that we’re seeing more refinement in solar power technology, we may be witnessing a rebirth in solar power systems, at least in certain environments.
Though solar panels still absorb solar energy when it’s cloudy outside, they absorb much more energy and therefore produce more power if they’re exposed to direct sunlight. Solar power systems are therefore much more effective in Tucson, AZ, then they are in Seattle, WA. Also, solar power systems produce more power during longer days, so short Alaskan winter days aren’t very good for solar systems. The ideal environment is in the desert, with long days and little cloud cover.
To be effective, solar power systems don’t need to power an entire business community or even provide all of the power for a private residence. Solar power systems are much more efficient at heating water than they are at producing power. Since standard hot water heaters can consume over a third of a house’s energy, replacing a gas-powered hot water heater with a solar powered heater can reduce a home’s energy bill considerably, as well as making the owners eligible for a tax cut in select states.
Solar power systems are also very useful for providing power in locations which are hard to reach with standard power lines. They’re extensively used for cell phone towers and other reflective antenna arrays located on mountaintops and other hard to reach places. Since these installations don’t require a great deal of power or maintenance to run, solar panels can provide plenty of power without needing to be maintained or refueled. Though we’re probably still quite a ways from a completely solar-powered society, we’ll likely see many more solar powered devices as solar technology becomes more refined and more efficient.
