Household Fixes

As the earth’s energy resources such as gas, coal and oil become scarcer, it’s vital that new sources of energy are found, both for industrial and domestic use. It’s not surprising that many families are looking to “green energy” for their power requirements.

Huge wind turbines can be seen in many parts of the countryside, but a wind turbine suitable for an average family home can be built from scratch. It’s not that difficult (or expensive)

There is hardly a place on earth that does not have enough wind activity to keep a home-built turbine whirring away. The great thing about wind energy is that its free! Like solar power and of course water which powers various hydro-electric power stations, it is something that occurs naturally. Its available all the time, waiting to be harnessed, to be tapped into.

It is possible to build such a system for $200 or less. With a little know-how, and a reasonably good DIY ability, you could conceivably build such a system over the course of a weekend. And the materials you will need should be available in your local hardware store.

Its no wonder really, that so many people are turning to this source of energy. It is very satisfying to be able to produce your own home made wind power. You could even produce more than you need ” then sell it back to the electricity company. Thats a nice thought – watching the electricity meter going backward for a change!

There are many arguments in favour of building such a system – one thing that I like about wind power is that its so clean – there is no smoke, no waste material to worry about. And the wind is freely available to all.

The great saving that can be achieved through a home wind system is one of the main attractions. It’s estimate that it could reduce your energy bill by 80% – or eliminate it altogether| You are saving from the day it is connected up.

Once the system is up and running, it will require a minimum of maintenance. And the running costs will be low also.

Another good thing about producing home wind power, is that it is of course helping in the fight against global warming, and reducing one’s carbon footprint.

Wind power has been in use for many years in electricity generation, and is tried and tested. The technology is well developed and it is now available to supply power to an average home. I’m sure we will see more and more families turning to wind power, as the public realises its many advantages.

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Solar and wind energy are both energy sources that are renewable and FREE to access. By using either one of these sources you can help reduce the amount of emission produced by fossil fuels. This in turn helps our environment, which as we know is in a dire state right now. Water has been used to power cities for many years. If you take for instance the Hover Dam which hold back the Lake Mead and distributes power to surrounding areas. To generate power independently, you need a moving body of water.

Wind may be used as an alternative source of energy. If your house is located on at least an acre of flat land, you could efficiently generate power. The major limitations with wind are that there may be mechanical breakdowns on the turbine unit requiring repair. Additionally birds or insects my be killed by colliding with the turbine blades.

The first problem is that our dependence on energy continues to grow. As the size of the population increases we are using more of our depleted natural reserves of fuel every single day. People today live longer due to advances in medicine and health care and we are a society dependent upon our electronic gadgets as well.

Renewable energy sources are all around us. We see them and sense them every time we go outside or even look out a window. There is no shortage of ideas for outstanding renewable energy science fair projects. Explore these suggestions and take your pick!There are many sources of energy that are renewable and considered to be environmentally friendly and harness natural processes. These sources of energy provide an alternate cleaner source of energy, helping to negate the effects of certain forms of pollution. All of these power generation techniques can be described as renewable since they are not depleting any resource to create the energy. While there are many large-scale renewable energy projects and production, renewable technologies are also suited to small off-grid applications, sometimes in rural and remote areas, where energy is often crucial in human development.

Other renewable energy science fair projects with solar power can explore the structure and functions of the solar updraft tower, the solar energy equivalent of a power plant. Did you know that a prototype solar updraft tower – Ciudad Real – was built in Spain in 1982 and operated until 1989? Today, several plans are underway to construct even larger solar updraft towers. Your project could investigate these plans and comment on their feasibility.

The fun of exploring renewable energy can also be applied to wind power. Did you know that 19 percent of the electricity in Denmark is produced by windmills? Did you know that the amount of electricity generated by wind power increased by a factor of more than five between 2000 and 2007? This is truly an emerging energy source. Your project could focus on the innovations that made the recent growth in wind power possible. Do you foresee further comparable growth in the future.

Geothermal energy is a very powerful and efficient way to extract a renewable energy from the earth through natural processes. This can be performed on a small scale to provide heat for a residential unit (a geothermal heat pump), or on a very large scale for energy production through a geothermal power plant.

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is a fossil fuel substitute for gasoline, diesel, or propane fuel. Although its combustion does produce greenhouse gases, it is a more environmentally clean alternative to those fuels, and it is much safer than other fuels in the event of a spill (natural gas is lighter than air, and disperses quickly when released).

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Solar energy power is the “in” thing to do. As more and more of the Earth’s fossil fuels are being exhausted, people are stepping up and doing their part. Now, homeowner’s can install their own solar energy power using pre-packaged kits.

But how do you choose a solar power kit? Should you buy one or two? Will it run one appliance or your whole house?

Solar power do-it-yourself kits should come complete with detailed instructions, this is important if you are going to install it yourself. If you are having an installer put it in, make sure they are familiar with the type of solar power kit you are purchasing.

Your kit should also be expandable. If this is your first venture into solar energy and you decide you like it, you want to be able to expand on the installation, not start over with a new one. The ability to add to or upgrade is an important feature to look at.

How Much Power?

To determine the size kit you need, you need to know how much power you consume. You can run around tallying your appliances and gadgets and then research their power use and how often you use them; do some multiplications and hope you are accurate in your determination.

A much simpler and more accurate method would be to call your power company. They can give you your monthly power usage for the past 12 months and you can determine your daily average from there. You will also get a much more accurate measurement.

Armed with your average power usage needs you can purchase your solar energy kit. You might want to purchase a kit that covers only a portion of your needs and upgrade later. Doing this lets you see how solar energy performs in your home and keeps your power company as a backup.

You should also decide if you want a battery backup for your system. It will increase the cost of the system and battery backups are expensive to maintain. However, if you are going off the grid and can’t risk being without power in case of a blackout; you might want to consider installing one.

If, however, you are staying on the power company’s grid and using an inter-tied system, you don’t have to worry about that. And you also save more money by selling your excess power to them. This system requires little or no maintenance to upkeep.

Your final decision, but also an important one is the company you are purchasing from. You should do your homework to insure you are dealing with a legitimate company that stands behind its products. If you can’t find good reviews or customer comments, keep looking until you do. You can save yourself a lot of headaches.

That’s it. Now you’re ready to go install your solar kit and get on the renewable energy train. Choosing your solar energy kit takes some research but it pays off when you know you can trust the company you bought it from and that you chose a kit big enough to supply your power needs.

What are the Best Alternatives to Solar Power Kits?

When choosing solar power systems, a lot of people will go for simple but very expensive option of paying a professional company to supply and install the complete system. This option is really the lazy option as it’s mostly hassle free.

However, the main disadvantage of professional system is that they costs thousands of dollars and can take many years to start paying for themselves.

What about a Homemade Solar Power System?

If you had list of every component you need to build your own solar panels, along with easy follow instructions of how to put the system together, you could actually build a complete solar power system for less than $200.

You may not be aware, but there are now some great “how to” guides available on Internet that provide step-by-step instructions on how to build a solar power system. Some are much better than others and the best ones even include video instructions. These guides are aimed at anyone who is capable of using a drill and doing some basic wiring.

Out of all the guides on DIY solar power systems, the one I think is the best is called Earth4Energy. Rather than go into detail you can watch my 7 minute video explaining this system here: Review of Earth4Energy on YouTube.

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