If you are like most, you have become accustomed to living a comfortable lifestyle with little thought behind just how much energy your habits are actually consuming. If you are living “on the grid”, then you are paying a high premium for the comforts that you have come to love and expect.

The good news is that there are many things that you can do to reduce your consumption of energy, and eliminate waste altogether, without changing your lifestyle or lowering your standard of living. Since most of our energy consumption is at home, that is where we will begin our audit to see if you are applying all the energy saving and reduction measures that are available.

What’s Cooking?

Our first stop is in your kitchen. Are all of your appliances Energy Efficient? Each appliance you use demands electrical power, and the difference between standard appliances and energy efficient appliances can equal up to $400 a year in utility charges. Would you rather be saving that money or giving it away to the utility company?

Replacing old appliances with newer energy efficient models will help bring down your energy consumption, which in turn will lower your utility bill, and at the same time contribute to helping to protect the environment.

Power Thieves

Did you know that “Phantom Power” adds about 15% to your total utility bill? Phantom power is wasted energy that most of us are not even aware of.

Home electronic devices, those comforting and enjoyable toys we all have, stereos, DVD players, TV’s, home computers, are sucking energy 24 hours a day, while we sleep, are away at work, gone on vacation.

An easy solution to stop the waste of energy through Phantom Power is to use Power strips for all of your electronic devices. When you are not using them, simply turn off the power strip, and turn off the drain of electrical consumption.

Our electronic toys do not need to be in a “stand by” mode, once you turn the power strip on the electricity is there, no need to wait for the device to “warm up”, it will come on just as fast as if the power had always been on. So why let the energy flow when it is not being used?

Placing the power strips strategically so they are easy to access is about the most difficulty you will face. Once you have figured that out, and begin to use them, you will see a reduction in your utility bill, and can feel good that you are contributing to the environment by living a greener lifestyle.

Light of My Life

Standard light bulbs are cheaper to buy than energy efficient light bulbs, but that is deceiving. Energy efficient light bulbs, compact florescent light (CLF) or light-emitting diodes (LED) provide the same light but use 75% less energy to use, and can last 10 to 35 times longer than the standard light bulb. So where is the savings?

Switching all of your lighting sources to energy efficient light bulbs will save you money in the long run, and will also contribute to reducing the amount of pollutant output that your lifestyle generates. Sounds like a win/win situation to me!

As Darkness Falls

If you are like most people, you like a little light outside at night. Light offers a sense of protection, and obviously makes it easier to see our way when we are out and about in the evening.

Solar lights can provide the needed light and not cost you a dime in energy costs. How many times have you left your outside lights on all night, and come home from work the next day to find they are still on? A total waste of energy that is adding to your utility bill unnecessarily! Shop around and find outdoor solar lights that fit your needs. They can be a very attractive addition to your yard, and will help contribute to living a greener life style!

Incorporating these simple changes will not change your lifestyle, just decrease your energy consumption.

Good News! As an incentive to encourage you to upgrade to more environmental friendly products, special offers and rebates are often offered. You can check out what is available in your area at Energy Star by entering your zip code.

Every bit counts! Learn more about new green technologies and how to live green at Definition of Green

Solar panels are a great way to reduce electricity costs and to protect the environment. They come in a lot of flavors from very high tech and expensive to very cheap. They can be silicon based and even organic. This is why a lot of people are intimidated by solar energy panels. They do not believe that they can build their own panels from scratch.

By now you should be enthusiastic about building your own solar energy panels and wondering how you can build them yourself. You may not be very confident but you should know that most of the sites that selling these panels are run by people that building them themselves. You do not have to be an expert in order to build some basic solar energy panels.

If you decide to outfit your house with solar energy panels you will build, you should start look for a course on the subject. These courses usually cover everything you need to know about building solar panels. You should be able to go through the entire course in a day or two. They will also teach you how you should plug the solar energy panel system in your grid.

You probably already have the skills required to build a solar panel. The parts you need are very common, cheap and can be found at your local hardware store. You can even build enough panels to go completely off the grid and no longer depend on the power companies. Try it now!

And, a step-by-step video guide that will show you how to Make a Solar Panel at home can be found on my site. Click here to find out how YOU can save thousands by making your own solar panels and save even more off your power bills.

Sustainable energy is a highly sought after goal. The knowledge of how to generate cheap electricity is obtainable and at a low cost. Magnetic energy is easy to produce and relatively inexpensive to create.

Yes there are other sources of energy available today. Wind turbines, solar power, geothermal are but a few examples. To maintain these power supplies requires the proper conditions to do so. You can not produce power from a wind turbine if there is no wind. The same goes for solar power, lack of sunlight, etc.. Magnetic generation can be achieved in almost any surrounding. It basically powers itself and produces almost no heat.

A magnetic generator’s operation is basically simple. Just as opposite poles of two magnets attract, like poles repel. When very strong magnets are alternated in a cylindrical pattern and a rotor with alternating magnetic poles is placed in the center, a rotation will occur. When rotation is at it’s peak an electrical currant is produced. Once peak rotation is achieved it will be maintained on it’s own. No further assistance is required thus producing free energy. The stronger the magnets used, the higher the revolutions per minute (rpms). The higher the rpms, the more energy it will produce. This is a very basic example of the theory.

I hope I have explained the basics enough for you to research further on the subject. Green energy is needed more now than ever and ways to produce it are surfacing more and more. We need to do our part to protect the planet and it’s resources for our children and grandchildren so they may have the quality of life they deserve.

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Resources are widely available on the subject of “Magnetic Power Generation”. Do the research, learn details on the theory & visit my Blog. Click Here

With energy prices skyrocketing, and energy demands with nowhere to go but up, more and more people are concerned with how to decrease their energy consumption. Electricity has become an essential part of life, from keeping food fresh to powering lifesaving medical equipment. The world today runs on electricity.

However, all this electricity comes at a cost, and that cost is something homeowners are becoming increasingly reluctant to pay. In that spirit, creative homeowners are looking for alternatives to doling out their hard earned cash to a faceless power company. Alternative Energy may offer the solution.

Alternative energy is nothing new. Windmills have been around for thousands of years. Windmills were originally used to grind wheat and other grains. In fact, that is why they are called wind mills. Although this was a technology developed well before the advent of electricity, transforming it for use as a source of electrical power was a logical development. Perhaps it was even inevitable.

The technology of alternative energy sources has come a long way since the first windmills and water wheels of old. As technology developed, so did efficiency. New designs have brought alternative energy into the 21st century, and even made them affordable for the average home owner.

Waterwheels are another ancient technology. They were also used to power millstones in times past. Today we call our version of this technology “hydropower” or “hydro-electric power.” Hydropower harnesses the energy of water currents to turn turbines which generate electricity.

Solar Energy harnesses the power of the Sun. The Sun feeds all of life with it’s energy, so it’s logical that we have developed technologies that can directly tap into the Sun as an electricity producer. Although solar panels may be a new development, things as simple as hanging your clothes on a clothesline to dry is a basic use of solar energy.

There is also the greenhouse effect. Just simply putting plants inside a greenhouse traps the heat of the sun and makes it significantly warmer inside than it is outside, allowing plants to be grown in climates that would otherwise kill the crops. Solar energy is used for a variety of uses. Home heating is an obvious use. Some people use solar energy to heat their water, and others use solar cells to directly create electricity that powers appliances. In fact, solar energy can satisfy all the home energy needs of a homeowner.

Many still see these forms of alternative energy as impractical, but with the advancements being made in their technology, they are becoming increasingly viable and practical as home energy choices. Before simply discarding these green energy options as being impractical, be sure to consider some of the long term impacts of converting.

Alternative energy is not beholden to the supplies and demands of big corporations. There’s no OPEC controlling the price of the sun. It is more ecologically friendly. You don’t need to dig holes that are thousands of feet deep to harness the wind. These alternative energy sources don’t put out noxious gases because there are no substances being burned to produce energy.

Overall, while it may look like a big investment up front to make a few changes to your home and start using some of these alternative energy technologies, it will cost less in the long run. It will cost you less financially, and it will cost all of us less ecologically. In the end, we all would like to leave the world a better place than it was when we arrived, and we can do that by advancing the use of alternative energy.

Solar panels are devices that convert light into electricity. Solar panels are dropping in price, but they still aren’t dirt cheap, so if you’re switching to solar it’s a great time to also carefully evaluate your electricity use. Call your utility company and get an “energy audit” and follow the recommendations. Most homeowners can cut their use of electricity or gas by anywhere from 5% to 30%. By cutting your power usage to an absolute minimum you can purchase only the solar panel capacity that is required for your home. PV (photovoltaic) solar panels are made from solar cells which are a semiconductor material.

Electricity

The process for creating electricity from sun light is rather complex, but all you need to know is that photons collide with electrons in the semiconductor material and essentially free them up to flow when hooked up to a battery. This flow of electrons is what makes an electrical current.

The average household uses 30kwh of electricity per day. Electrical utility companies are required by law to accommodate “net metering”. This means that you can sell your excess power back to the power company. Thus, if you are out at work on a sunny day, or go on a two-week skiing vacation and aren’t using any electricity, the power being created by the solar panels is going back into the grid to the utility company. In other words every kilowatt-hour of electricity produced by a solar energy system ends up being used to the advantage of the homeowner, either as power to run appliances when the homeowner is there or as a dollar-for-dollar credit provided by the utility company for power that is not being used.

Cost

The most important component of the PV solar panel system will probably be the amount of subsidy you are eligible for. Since some utility companies need to meet goals for the amount of renewable energy they furnish, there are some very attractive rebates offered at times. These can be large rebates indeed, up to 50% of the cost of a system or even higher. This can make a system that would support the average 30 kwh per day home cost roughly $20,000 rather than $40,000! In addition, there is a $2,000 tax credit offered by the federal government. However, this is not always the case. In our local area of Colorado there are several utility companies that service the region. One offers a 50% rebate as described above. Another offers a 66% rebate, and a third offers no rebate at all. So you need to check with your utility company to see what rebates, if any, apply to your location. You should also contact a solar panel contractor who can give you lots of information about system costs, and of course they will probably know the rebates offered in your local area. Typical PV solar panels cost about $4 per watt before installation. Installation is a major expense, however, and in the example cited above with a 50% rebate, final system costs will amount to about $6.50- $7.00 per watt installed.

Batteries

Batteries are required in stand-alone systems to provide energy during night hours. These can be very expensive, but if you have an isolated cabin, an RV, or some other need for power and don’t have access to the public power grid, a solar system with batteries is certainly a solution.

Conclusion

When you consider the costs of a full blown PV solar system which will cut your electric bill down to zero or close to it, you get one other benefit. The value of your property increases with such a system, and your property taxes will not increase because of this added value. In addition to the satisfaction of cutting down your carbon footprint significantly, your system will eventually pay for itself, and your property will be worth more as well. Keep these factors in mind when you calculate your pay-back period.

There are boatloads of dollars just blowing by your house every day; enough money to pay for your home electric bill and even your office. How? Wind generators can change the power of the wind into power you can plug into by means of a DC motor. There are tons of these built all around the world because it’s such an effective way of harnessing energy. You can build your own wind generator to do this for your home for minimal costs, and never worry about electrical bills again.

There are many scientific things to consider when you build your own wind generator to power your home. First of all, you can figure out how much energy you’ll be making with a few simple calculations. First figure out how fast the wind is blowing at about tree height. The wind is faster up there than it is on the ground (where you can feel it) because it runs into fewer things that slow it down. When you know that number, you can cube it and you’ll have the amount of energy you could be producing yourself at any given time.

If this seems like a lot of power, then there’s no reason not to get started as soon as possible. With a couple people working on the project, it should only take a couple weeks, and most of the parts should be found either at a nearby hardware store, or in your own backyard. The tools are also commonplace. With just a good set of instructions for on how to build your own wind generator, you can get started right away. If you keep everything local and recycled, the overall cost may not exceed $100!

If there isn’t much development where you live, you’ll be making even more power because there’ll be plenty of room to not only construct large wind generators, but to make more than one. At the price, there’s no reason not to, and it ensures you’ll never run out of electricity mid-television show. It can also be a good back up in case the day isn’t very breezy or one windmill suddenly needs repairs. Although there’s nothing to worry about if it’s not always windy where you live because the batteries in windmills can also store energy.

Your family will be living easier once you get your own wind generator up and going. A few weeks and you could be free from the high costs of purchased power forever. Plus, once you realize how easy and cost effective it is to build your own wind generator, you’ll want to experiment with all sorts of other natural energy sources, like solar panels. There’s no limit to the free energy that mother nature throws your way, it’s just a matter of getting yourself set up to take advantage.

But I must warn you – a lot of folks jump right in without the right knowledge and guide. A rock solid wind generator takes time to create, and with the right manual with step-by-step demonstrations and illustration plans, you greatly increase your chances of a working wind generator, the first time around. Don’t skip this step, as it is the “make or break” of your wind generator project, and will ultimately determine if you and your family can really enjoy the cost savings.

Alternative energy solutions are becoming more and more popular these days as people look for ways to help beat the dual threats of global warming and peak oil. Harnessing the potential energy of the sun is now a billion dollar business, and it seems to be the way of the future. Today you will learn the advantages and disadvantages of solar power, including whether you would benefit from installing your own system in your home.

Disadvantages of solar power-

• It requires a lot of land area if it is used on a commercial scale. Thousands of square miles of prime land would need to be used to provide enough energy for all non-transport energy use in the USA alone.

• The expense of this form of alternative energy is still apparent. Solar panels, especially photovoltaic ones, although they have got substantially cheaper over recent years still do cost quite a large sum of money. Economies of scale still mean that it is cheaper for power companies to use gas, oil or nuclear technologies to generate electricity.

•There is an inherent risk in the fact that the efficiency and generation capacity of solar panels relies on how much the sun is shining. The weather is quite hard to predict accurately, and very few people want to play “Russian roulette” with their electricity supply.

Advantages of solar power-

• It is getting cheaper, very rapidly due to an increase in production and new technologies being developed.

• Panels are getting smaller, thinner and more attractive. There are even substances such as solar
paint- paint which contains miniature solar panels.

• You can circumvent some of the extreme expensive of having a system installed in your own house by a pro technician by building and installing one yourself. All you need are the right blueprints/instructions that will show you what components you need to purchase and where to get them from, how to assemble them and then how to install them in your own home in a safe, reliable and easy manner.

In fact, being able to install a system yourself is the biggest advantage of solar power. Despite its disadvantages, many people around the world (myself included) have found that we have been able to slash our carbon footprint and our electricity bill each month by harnessing the power of the sun. What’s even more exciting is the fact that if you cut down on your electricity usage at the same time, you can actually produce more power than you need. That’s right- you can then sell that excess back to your utility company and make them send you checks! Who would’ve guessed that your own home could become a fully-functional power plant.

Usually when you think of solar hot water, solar panels and a collector tank installed on a roof spring to mind – a traditional solar hot water system.

A solar heat pump is a different way to use renewable energy to heat water – that doesn’t need solar panels! Solar heat pumps can save you a bundle of cash on your hot water bills, as they use approximately one third the energy of an electric water heater.

How does a solar heat pump work?

A solar heat pump is a little like a reverse refrigerator. It transfers the heat in the air outside of the unit to the water stored inside the heater through a heat exchange system. In the case of solar heat pumps, “heat” is a relative term as they will still work in very cold conditions – at least -10 degrees Celsius, so it will still be generating hot water for you during winter nights. How is that possible?

Here’s the basic process:

* External air is drawn into the solar heat pump system via a fan into an evaporator containing a special type of refrigerant, which is stored in piping. The refrigerant used is called R134a, which isn’t a CFC, so it doesn’t negatively affect the earth’s ozone layer.

* R134a has an evaporation or boiling point of -26°C; whereas water has a boiling point of 100°C. So temperatures that feel very cold to us are still more than enough to make the refrigerant “boil”. The air that’s been drawn into the system, which is far warmer than the refrigerant, turns the refrigerant from a liquid into a gas inside the solar heat pump’s piping.

* A compressor then pumps the now gaseous refrigerant through a small valve, which compresses it; and as a result of the process generates a great deal of heat.

* A heat exchanger transfers the heat from the heated refrigerant gas pipes to a tank where water is stored.

* The temperature of the refrigerant has now dropped dramatically as the heat has been drawn away, so it returns to a liquid state and the solar heat pump cycle begins again.

Benefits of a solar heat pump

* Massive savings in hot water related expenses over the long term

* A solar heat pump produces between 3 – 5 times the amount of renewable energy than electricity required to power the unit.

* It’s an environmentally friendly hot water option given the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions through less energy requirements.

* A solar heat pump is effective even in low temperatures. In extreme cold, an electric assist is activated to ensure the water stays at the desired temperature

* No roof space or solar panels needed

* Ease of installation as a solar heat pump uses the same connections as a electric hot water system.

How much does a solar heat pump cost?

The price varies depending upon your needs and location, but you can expect to pay up to a few thousand dollars. However, the cost can be greatly offset as renewable energy rebates provided by many governments may apply. These rebates can be substantial, so talk to a solar heat pump specialist for the best advice on the type of equipment you’ll need and any incentives programs that might be applicable.

With energy prices skyrocketing, and energy demands with nowhere to go but up, more and more people are concerned with how to decrease their energy consumption. Electricity has become an essential part of life, from keeping food fresh to powering lifesaving medical equipment. The world today runs on electricity.

However, all this electricity comes at a cost, and that cost is something homeowners are becoming increasingly reluctant to pay. In that spirit, creative homeowners are looking for alternatives to doling out their hard earned cash to a faceless power company. Alternative Energy may offer the solution.

Alternative energy is nothing new. Windmills have been around for thousands of years. Windmills were originally used to grind wheat and other grains. In fact, that is why they are called wind mills. Although this was a technology developed well before the advent of electricity, transforming it for use as a source of electrical power was a logical development. Perhaps it was even inevitable.

The technology of alternative energy sources has come a long way since the first windmills and water wheels of old. As technology developed, so did efficiency. New designs have brought alternative energy into the 21st century, and even made them affordable for the average home owner.

Waterwheels are another ancient technology. They were also used to power millstones in times past. Today we call our version of this technology “hydropower” or “hydro-electric power.” Hydropower harnesses the energy of water currents to turn turbines which generate electricity.

Solar Energy harnesses the power of the Sun. The Sun feeds all of life with it’s energy, so it’s logical that we have developed technologies that can directly tap into the Sun as an electricity producer. Although solar panels may be a new development, things as simple as hanging your clothes on a clothesline to dry is a basic use of solar energy.

There is also the greenhouse effect. Just simply putting plants inside a greenhouse traps the heat of the sun and makes it significantly warmer inside than it is outside, allowing plants to be grown in climates that would otherwise kill the crops. Solar energy is used for a variety of uses. Home heating is an obvious use. Some people use solar energy to heat their water, and others use solar cells to directly create electricity that powers appliances. In fact, solar energy can satisfy all the home energy needs of a homeowner.

Many still see these forms of alternative energy as impractical, but with the advancements being made in their technology, they are becoming increasingly viable and practical as home energy choices. Before simply discarding these green energy options as being impractical, be sure to consider some of the long term impacts of converting.

Alternative energy is not beholden to the supplies and demands of big corporations. There’s no OPEC controlling the price of the sun. It is more ecologically friendly. You don’t need to dig holes that are thousands of feet deep to harness the wind. These alternative energy sources don’t put out noxious gases because there are no substances being burned to produce energy.

Overall, while it may look like a big investment up front to make a few changes to your home and start using some of these alternative energy technologies, it will cost less in the long run. It will cost you less financially, and it will cost all of us less ecologically. In the end, we all would like to leave the world a better place than it was when we arrived, and we can do that by advancing the use of alternative energy.

The one thing every household must have to generate light is electricity, clearly – unless, of course, you’re the type of person who is more embracing of the simplistic, natural-lighting ways of living. But, assuming you’re thinking differently and acting modernly unlike the Amish and primordial people of old, there’s no doubt you use light bulbs, and have been for years.

What’s needed and proves quite necessary to channel the charge of electricity -and, in the process, cease walking into walls- once nighttime hits are those tiny things called light bulbs, and a good number of them, too. As devices solely designed to produce artificial light from electricity, light bulbs are humans’ current means to do, live and function once the sun dips under on the horizon. Without light bulbs and their electrical transmitting abilities, we would be in a much more darkened and simplistic living position. But, we’re not. We’ve let the light in and have been doing so ever since Thomas Alva Edison provided the first incandescent light bulb.

Progressing Forward, Far From Incandescent Ways of Old

Now, thanks to human inventiveness and scientific advancement there are many different types of light bulbs to choose from. Beyond the incandescent options originally made and provided, people can now choose from halogen, fluorescent, compact fluorescent (CFL), high-intensity discharge, low-pressure sodium and many other types of bulbs and/or lamps. Many people these days, though, typically opt for light bulb options they’re familiar with and have used in their childhood and current households. The most common type of light bulb used, and still holding strong today, are the original incandescents.

But, gaining much more popularity, as of late, are CFL light bulbs or Compact Fluorescent light bulbs. Why, you ask? The reasons are primarily linked to the current conservation and energy issues that are so significant in our day and age.

An Eco-Friendly and Energy-Saving Lighting Craze

That epiphanic cartoon style light bulb has been popping above peoples heads all over the place – an energy-saving notion has been spreading wildly. And whether these individuals are already eco-friendly or are looking to ease their way into a green way of living, they figure the first corrective step would be best initiated in how they use electrical energy.

And it is truly a wise decision, especially when looking to be actively green. The numbers are there to support such a choice too. As it stands, CFL light bulbs are acclaimed for their considerable energy saving abilities.

Using Less Electrical Power & Saving The Atmosphere

CFL light bulbs are about 4 times more efficient than incandescents. Also, in terms of life-spans, incandescents have nothing on CFL light bulbs as CFLs last up to 10 times longer. This means using 1/3 less electricity on average simply through using CFL light bulbs. And in terms of released CO2 emissions, by utilizing the CFL bulbs (and this is just in the case of one CFL bulb) nearly a half ton of CO2 is kept out of the atmosphere. So, figure that if you replace all the incandescent bulbs in your home with CFL light bulbs – and let’s just say you replace 10 incandescents in total – that means you’re actively stopping 5 tons of CO2 emissions from being released into the atmosphere, and subsequently, weakening it.

Leave the incandescent days of old behind and join the energy-saving craze. With CFL light bulbs you’ll be modernized, saving energy and lending a green helping hand.