Building Green Professionals: January 2011

Friday, January 28, 2011

Tips for Lowering an Electric Bill by Installing Solar Panels

Lowering your electricity bill may be as simple as installing solar panels on your roof. If you feel like your bills are cutting into your earnings far too much, you might want to consider changing the way that you supply your home with electricity. Many people are now finding that lowering an electric bill by installing solar panels is a great way to reduce their monthly costs and protect the environment at the same time.

By using this type of energy, you can greatly decrease your dependence upon the company that you use for your energy needs. In some cases, people have been able to produce all of the energy that they need in order to power up their homes, meaning that they no longer need anyone else to provide them with energy.

It is also possible to make money by adding such a system to your home. If you produce more energy than you need, you can sell the excess to the city or to an energy supplier. This is a great way to earn a little money while you save money on your bills.

In order to ensure that you are adding the right system to your home, you should contact a professional about your needs. A professional company can help you choose the right system and help you figure out the best location for installing the system, so you can get the most bang for your buck.

You may feel that the installation costs are too high. However, some countries and cities provide tax breaks and subsidies to people who install alternative energies in their homes. You might even make your money back over time, since you will be spending less on power.

Solar panels, however, are not for everyone. They are mostly suitable for people who live in sunny areas where there is not too much cloud coverage and where the winters are not long or harsh.

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The Pros and Cons of Solar Panels- Choosing the Best Solar Energy Panel

The pros and cons of solar panels must be evaluated before installing sun powered solutions in home or building. This form of energy is cheap compared to electric solutions provided at predetermined rates. However, certain points are taken into consideration while adopting this form of energy solution.

These equipments reduce reliance on external and uneconomical resources of energy, especially electricity or gas. Sun is empowering them. A lot of money is saved allowing you to explore other areas of investment.

Sun is renewable source of energy. It is clean and does not emit harmful gases or smoke into the atmosphere. As per budget, the systems can be designed and integrated in homes accordingly. Several governments have offered tax rebates to promote renewable sources of energy. Fuel-efficiency is achieved after few years of implementation.

The silicon system (PV panel) is quite expensive to install and might take years in recovery of the actual cost involved as pay-back period is long. The technology needs to be upgraded after it's purchased. This would involve additional investments. If replacement is the solution then that also involves money.

Since sun is the major source of energy, it becomes useless where less sunshine is available or skies are often cloudy. The silicon system with photovoltaic options is not eco-friendly. It might have bad effects on the environment.

Energy efficiency is not achieved to the desired level immediately where these systems find application. The alternative to be used is heaters using the suns energy that can enhance the hot water requirements of the house.

The pros and cons of the solar panels need attention and choice for the same should be made accordingly. Sun's exposure on the house or building must be observed before making the purchase. Though arrays can be applied in various formats to achieve the desired solution but care must be exercised even after installation.

The History of Solar Panels

Primitive man was aware that the warmth of the sun could be harnessed and used for power. Some of the earliest methods of solar energy used were for home heating, water desalination and cooking. Mankind has made great advances in this technology, the history of solar panels is interesting to look back on to see where it all started.

Becquerel, a French physicist, discovered the photovoltaic effect in 1839. This is the process through which cells covert sunlight into electricity. The modern version can be traced to William Grylls Adams in 1876 when he discovered selenium generated electric current when it was exposed to light. In 1883 Charles Fritts built the first cell using selenium which is a semiconductor and a thin layer of gold.

Albert Einstein received the Nobel Prize in physics for his work on the photoelectric effect in 1921. Russell Ohl invented the first silicon cell. Gerald Pearson, Darryl Chapin and Calvin Fuller, American researchers, designed a cell that had the capacity of a six percent conversion of energy efficiency with direct sunlight. They arranged silicon strips, placed them in the sunlight and captured free electrons. These were turned into electrical current and they created the first panels.

Bell Laboratories in New York announced their prototype of the solar battery and funded research. The first trial was with a telephone carrier system in 1955. Technology continued to develop under the guidance of the military, cells became a power source for satellites in space.

In the 1970's Dr. Elliot Berman created a cell out of a less expensive material bringing it to a cost that was affordable to use on off shore rigs and lighthouses. The Coast Guard and railways began using it. It was then used for pumping water, powering radios, televisions, and lights. The history of solar panels shows the ingenuity of humanity to bring us to where we are today, we can install them on our homes to power our heating and power our electrical needs. The technology will continue to advance as mankind continues to seek ways to be environmentally conscientious.

The Environmental Impact of Hydropower Electricity

Hydropower is known as the energy source that allows it possible to create electricity without the need of fossil fuels. It is not associated with any emissions caused by electricity in oil, coal, or any gas power plants. Environmental impact of hydropower is closely related to effects on nature caused by damming or a lowering of water level, changes in water flow and the construction of roadways and power lines. The environmental impact of hydropower electricity depends on many things.

Large areas that are affected by damming will cause a decrease in the public having access to many areas, which affects outdoor recreational activities. Damming also has a great affect on the climate, due to the increased amounts of carbon released by trees and many plants. This carbon is released when the reservoirs have too much water, causing the trees and plants to rot due to the lack of oxygen.

Hydropower often can cause a major change on the water in a watercourse. When a river power plant does not have water reservoirs, there can be changes in the level of water flow. Changes in the water level can cause erosion to the regulation zones.

Power lines are known as foreign objects to nature and can destruct natural landscapes. Power lines can affect the number of birds, which is caused by either collision or by a short circuit related to contact. When power transmissions are used as underground cables, it can affect hydrology and vegetation in the environment.

The natural environment that fish live in is what they use as a habitat. This habitat is constructed based on water level and the speed of water, which also provided the fish with a food source. Draining would lead to much devastation to the habitat. Fish will be affected differently depending on the size and type of species. Many river systems are still known to be good fishing rivers.

The Benefits of Installing Solar Energy

It seems that many people are quite obsessed with using alternative energies in order to power their homes and businesses. However, some people are still unaware of why using alternative sources is important. If you are interested in finding out about the benefits of installing solar energy, this article may have the information that you need.

Today, many people are concerned about their impact upon the planet. In particular, they are worried about their carbon emissions and the pollution that is generated by them. Another issue that many people are worried about is the rising cost of electricity for their homes and businesses.

When people install solar panels in their homes or businesses, they no longer need to rely fully on the electric company for their electricity needs. Instead, this type of power may be able to provide them with all of the electricity that they need. This can lead to lowered electric bills or no bills at all.

Solar is considered to be a clean energy source, since it converts the sun's rays into electricity. This means that is also much cleaner in terms of its impact upon the environment than traditional methods for creating electricity. For people who live in pretty sunny areas and are also concerned about the environment, this is a good option to consider.

Many people worry that the cost of installing this type of system will be too high. Although the initial setup costs will be quite high, the system will pay for itself due to the savings on your bills. It can also be connected to the main grid, so you can get paid for the excess electricity that you generate.

There are many benefits to installing alternative energies in your home or business. If you are interested in decreasing your impact upon the environment and reducing your bills, you may want to talk to a green company about your options.

Save Money with Do-It-Yourself Solar Panel Kits

One of the best things a person interested in solar energy can do is investigate how to Save Money with Do-It-Yourself Solar Panel Kits. These kits are a fantastic way to get clean and free energy into your home. They are easy to install and will save you and your family a great deal of money.

The first thing to understand is that there are no complicated electrical parts. This means that anyone who has a basic understanding of construction methods and access to normal tools will be able to enjoy this process. It does not take an enormous amount of technical knowledge. In fact most of the information is in these amazing products.

The process is very straightforward. People will be able to install and deal comprehend the technology in a fast, easy, and reliable way. The cost is very negligible when compared to the large savings one gets with renewable energy. In fact, there is simply nothing better on the market.

You will be saving yourself a great deal of financial burden when you install the system yourself. While there are some people who hire this out to contractors, the best bet for someone looking to get the best bargain. Solar energy is an outstanding resource and with these kits you are going to be able to bring the initial cost down to a bare minimum.

These systems are correct thing for any person looking to provide cheap and sustainable energy for their home. They will save you money, and by installing them yourself you are going to be getting a tremendous amount of benefit in gained knowledge and also saving precious money should you want to add more to the system later on.

In addition to being very good for the environment, these products let you have complete control over everything. In this way, you will never be surprised at something when it occurs. Being knowledgeable and familiar with a system is a tremendous benefit. These kits are an amazing resource and one that will pay for itself in no time.

Perform a Yearly Energy Audit and Save Money

Many people would like to spend less on their bills, but do not really know what they can do in order to lower them. Luckily, there are many things that you can do, like assessing the energy usage of your home regularly. If you are wondering how you can perform a yearly energy audit and save money, this article may be able to help.

There are two ways to assess your home and its efficiency. You can either do the analysis yourself or you can hire a professional to do it for you. Hiring a professional should not cost that much, but doing it yourself will cost you nothing and it will not take that much time either.

If you decide to assess your own home, you can start by going around your home and finding places where you feel a draft. Whenever there is a draft, you will need to ensure that the windows or doors in that area have been properly sealed. If they have not, you can fix them up with some caulk, and this will reduce your dependence upon central heating.

You will also need to gather the electric bills from the past year. You can then go on the Internet and find out how much a home owner in the same area typically spends on their bills. The homes you compare yourself to should have a similar number of occupants and be roughly the same size as your house.

You will also need to check the insulation in your roof or attic to see if it is adequate. It will also be helpful for you to check out how old your appliances are, since old appliances eat up more electricity than newer ones.

If you hire a professional to audit your home's energy usage, be sure to hire someone who is properly certified. Your utility provider may be able to help.