Act Green Blog » Solar Energy

Residential Solar Power-Green Energy Idea

qwcdirect — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 04:05:53 +0000

Using solar panels is a great way to generate clean and renewable electricity.
A home solar power kit can be purchased and installed by most people. No specialized technical knowledge is required and they are fairly inexpensive. In fact you can spend less than six hundred dollars on certain kits which will power many items in your house such as a laptop, one light bulb, and a 19? television for more than twenty hours, and many other small appliances.
Home solar power kits are also very useful in the event of a power outage. If the power fails your kit will have stored enough electricity in its batteries to give you light, heat, and hot water, and many other modern conveniences until the lights go back on. The amount of electricity available to you will depend greatly on the storage capacity of your batteries. If everyone in the country were willing to run just one appliance using a home generator the savings would be enormous.

Benefits of a DO-it-Yourself Solar Water Heater

qwcdirect — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 06:15:12 +0000

Do-it-yourself solar water heater remains an excellent venture to try out. The easiest among DIY solar water heaters are batch water heaters. The batch water heater utilizes a water tank that is positioned where it’ll heat the power utilizing the sun’s energy. This is then connected to your house’s plumbing system.

Paint the water tank black. Because black absorbs lights, this aids the tank to absorb as much heat as possible. Several DIY solar water heaters integrate portable mirrors located smartly around the water tank. The sun’s rays then hit these mirrors and are reflected onto the system, increasing the surface area that will be heated.

However, if you reside in cold climates the batch water heater may not be a great choice for you. Use a closed loop system instead. The fantastic thing about this kind of system is that they will reduce your electricity cost and decrease your carbon footprint so they are great for the environment.

Convert to solar power in easy steps

actgreenblog — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:19:16 +0000

The desire to switch over to the solar power is increasing day by day as we are becoming the slaves of power companies by paying heavy bills. Our lifestyle is tied to the power supply and with the depleting resources the focus has shifted towards solar power which is never ending. With the recent state of solar technology it I snow much easier to convert the solar power. If you want to make the conversion simpler you can hire a professional to manage the task but this involves large investment and is expensive so the best way to do so is to build the solar panels by yourself.

Building the solar panels yourself can greatly reduce the cost and it becomes very easy for anyone to convert the solar power. You can save your pocket and go green just by reducing usage, determining the energy usage, building panels and getting an electrician to fix it for your house.

Free secrets to cheap home solar power

actgreenblog — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:41:11 +0000

The size of your solar equipments depends on the energy consumption of a family. There are some people, who think that solar equipments are expensive, but if some things are taken care of, you can get better out of the solar power energy utilization.

Using energy efficient bulbs and lights in home can help in reduction of electricity usage and you can turn over to get the cheaper billing for use of electricity, than before.

Lowering the temperature of thermostat can help for the reduction of electric consumption.

Usage of switch water heaters also helps in many cases. The best way is to cover your hot water tank in an insulated place and decrease the thermostat level, to the least one possible. This reduces the usage of extra electricity.

Turn off the lights and fans, not required at a particular time. Make it a habit to switch off the electrical equipments, before leaving any room.

Little changes in your life style can lead to less usage of electricity and hence, less cost will be incurred for the solar power equipments.

Homemade solar power

actgreenblog — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:32:04 +0000

There are many house owners across US and even other global countries, which are seeking for the affordable, sustainable and environmental friendly techniques of energy sources. Home made solar power is gaining popularity amongst various people. It is easy and cheaper to build your own solar panels. You can save extra expenses, which have to be paid for regular factory made panels and also, you know about the equipments and their placements in your homes.

The pollution from the environment can be decreased and the depletion of ozone layer can be stopped by application of natural sources of energy. Solar energy is ever available on Earth and it is the natural and most appropriate way to slash down your electricity bills at home or workplaces. It is always advisable to adopt for the energy methods, which are safe and easily manageable. Homemade solar power has all the positive points and it is easy to make the applications to work in a more comprehensive way.

Harnessing solar power for homes

actgreenblog — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:19:01 +0000

The usage of solar energy is a recent technology, which is now gaining popularity amongst people. The main concept is to absorb the solar energy and use it into other forms of energy. Solar powered homes are becoming very popular now. The objects used for absorption of solar power are called solar panels. Some people tile the whole roofs of their houses and it is called solar roof.

The main part is to find a perfect guide and step by step techniques to connect the homes with solar energy equipments. It is not an easy process to install solar equipments in a correct manner. The main benefit of solar energy is that it is a natural form of energy and can be converted to other forms, according to the usage of a person. The technology is not so expensive and there is no harm for the environmental problems for the usage of solar energy equipments.

Is a solar panel right for your home?

actgreenblog — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:11:58 +0000

When we think about solar panels, the first thing that comes to our mind is to get it installed on our rooftop. Although it is the best option, you can also consider other places that receive maximum exposure to the sun for most part of the day. Even shade from a small object like a roof vent significantly decreases the final output. Also, try to keep the panel as close to the meter as possible, this will lower the amount of lost power from cabling. Although the solar panels are not really dangerous, they create high voltage and thus, should be installed at a place which is not a high traffic area.

If there is not a suitable place for the solar panel on your roof, then you can also go for ground mounting. You may also use a detached garage or a shed if it is quite close to your house. You should also make sure that there is enough room in your house for the huge solar panels, including their wiring, mounting and enough area surrounding it.

Solar power computers

actgreenblog — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:34:11 +0000

Desktop computers consume a lot of energy and even more if the hardware installed is heavier. The usage of power also goes up if you keep your computer on all the time. A couple of years ago, a computer that runs on solar power was launched by a major computer manufacturer which was proved to be very successful in its purpose. It was a light weight model which consumed only 45 watts of energy and could also run on the solar panels.

As far as the appearance of the computer is concerned, it looked nice with 4 GB of RAM and 750 GB of space. But it is also a fact that you do not need to dispose off your desktop computer and buy the one that runs on solar power. You can do this by purchasing 2-3 solar panels and put them to use to power up your house. The cost of a single solar panel is far less than the cost of a new computer.

Act Green: Solar energy production doubled in 2008

actgreenblog — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:23:34 +0000

A new report from Solarbuzz shows that 2008 was a record setting year for the production of clean, renewable energy production worldwide. Though solar energy production more than doubled, the US came in third in overall solar production.

America should be the world’s leader in renewable energy, but it will take meaningful investments in new technologies. That’s one reason why LCV supports President Obama’s budget, which includes $150 billion in clean energy investments.