Easy Ways to Get Started Using Solar Energy In Your Home
Sunday, March 15th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
I live in the desert Southwestern areas of the United States, and solar power is something I’ve been heavily interested in for years. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the desert areas of the United States, it often gets more than 300 days of sunshine each year. That’s a lot of energy that shouldn’t be let gone to waste.
Putting in a full solar powered home energy system can be expensive though, particularly if you have a large family. Once it finally occured to me that I can do things in small steps instead of all at once, I started making better progress with lowering my electric bills.
You see, my family of five people averaged $250-$350 in electric bills each month, with the higest bills coming in the hottest parts of summer and the coldest parts of winter. So the first step I decided to take was reducing consumption.
– I replaced every lightbulb I could with the energy efficient “pigtail” bulbs. I’ve been really surprised at how much this small step really helped.
– I sealed up various cracks and drafy spots around the house. We live in an old rental house that hasn’t been cared for over the years, so drafts in the summer and winter are horrible. Blocking the drafts made a huge difference in keeping the house at more comfortable temperatures throughout the year.
– I started using more of the sun’s natural solar energy. I open my curtains in the winter so the sun can help heat my home. I also place water jugs in the sun so they can store heat during the day. At night, these are excellent heat source supplements to our small space heater.
I’ve also been trying out various forms of natural convection heating, solar power heating, and I’ve been learning how to create my own solar panels too.
If you don’t mind installing things yourself, you’ll find that solar panels only cost about $700 to $1000 these days. I’ve also discovered it’s pretty easy to make your own solar panels too, and the total cost when doing it yourself is only about $200. And since you can install the solar system a little at a time, those low costs make it so much easier to get started.
Technorati Tags: No Tags
Related Tags: No Tags
Possible Related Posts
Measuring Solar Energy For UseWhere Can You Buy a Portable Solar Power Supply System?Homemade Solar Panel Plans – Tips For Success
