Bay Area Solar Group

Start by switching to green power

The easiest way to switch to green energy is to call your current provider and see if they offer an alternative. An increasing number of companies do, harnessing renewable sources like wind and solar power to offer electric service in their markets. This costs more for the consumer, since you?ll pay a premium to offset the money involved in tapping the alternative source, but the price varies: in Sacramento, you?ll pay 5 cents per kilowatt hour or $30 a month for solar, and in Oregon you?ll shell out only .8 cents per kilowatt hour for wind, geothermal, or hydropower. Curious about the options in your state?

Plug in to solar power

There are two kinds of solar power you can use in your home: active and passive. Active solar power is captured through solar cells (also known as photovoltaics), and then stored to later provide heat or electricity-or to supplement a traditional heating or electrical system. But before you buy a solar system for your house, keep a few points in mind: many towns have restrictions on the size and type of collectors they?ll allow; the annual number of sunny days in your climate will affect how much power you can collect (the Southwest usually has the best luck with solar collection); and the system?s cost efficiency varies based on its size, your location, and the amount of power you plan to get from it.

Get passive solar to work for you

The second kind of solar power, passive solar, doesn?t involve the (expensive) photovoltaic cells and mechanical systems of active solar, but still takes advantage of the sun to heat your home in one of three ways: direct gain, which collects light through the windows; indirect gain, which stores thermal energy within the walls; and isolated gain, more commonly put to use in a solarium or sun room setup. By thinking about window placement, insulation, and even landscaping?trees can be the ultimate passive solar helpers, since they soak up solar in the hot summer, and let the sun through in the winter?it?s possible to help keep your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Opt for solar hot water

You can also use solar power to heat the water for your showers, dishwasher, and laundry (though why aren?t you using cold water for that?) by installing a solar hot water system. If you live in a place where freezing temps aren?t a concern, look for a direct circulation system-this cycles water through the solar heater and into the home; otherwise, go for an indirect circulation system, which runs a freeze-proof fluid through the system to prevent icing. Both those active systems are generally more efficient than passive solar heaters, which don?t have the same pumps and controls but can be more dependable. No matter which system you choose, you?ll want to consider a (smaller) more traditional hot water heater for backup on days when the sun won?t come out or for showering during peak times.

Tap into the earth?s natural geo-energy

The terms ?geothermal? and ?ground source heat pump? are nearly interchangeable in casual conversation-but they shouldn?t be, since they?re not the same. Geothermal energy comes right from the ground-think hot springs, geysers, and volcanic areas?while ground source heat pumps use the relatively steady temperature of the Earth (as compared to the air) to heat and cool buildings. These heat pumps use as little as half as much electricity as traditional systems, and generally last between 25 and 50 years; while they are more expensive to install than other systems, you can expect the system to pay for itself in energy savings in less than 10 years.

Replace oil with biofuel

You can also heat your home using biofuels?nontoxic, biodegradable, and renewable power sources, like those made from animal and vegetable fats and oils or wood. If you?re using oil heat, have a technician take a look at your furnace and get the okay to switch to a blend of 20%-99% biodiesel; in most cases, you won?t need any additional parts or service to make the switch. Using a woodstove to heat your home is an age-old solution, but the more modern version is the pellet stove: The pellets of compressed sawdust take up less storage space than a wood pile, and burn with so few emissions that they aren?t required to get EPA certification. (One tip: if you?re going this route, find a local source for inexpensive pellets first.)

Harness the power of the wind

Wind energy is one of the cleanest forms of alternative energy available, and using it can cut your electricity bill by as much as 90 percent. Once you make sure your area is zoned to allow wind turbines, you?ll want to make sure you have enough space?the Department of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy suggests at least one acre of rural land?and a climate that affords a steady breeze. Run an energy audit on your home to determine what size turbine you?ll need; most houses require between 5 and 15 kilowatts to produce an average of 780 kilowatt hours every each month. And wind turbine systems aren?t cheap, so run the numbers to figure out if you?ll save enough to make the 20-year investment worth it.

Capture small-scale hydropower

Before you can use hydropower for residential energy, you?ll need one very important jumping-off point: running water on your property. If you are lucky enough to have a creek, stream, or river in your backyard, then a micro hydropower system may be a good alternative energy solution. By diverting a portion of the water through a wheel or turbine, you allow a shaft to spin; the spinning allows immediate results, like pumping water, or more indirect usage, like powering a generator. These calculations from the Department of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy can help you figure out if your water source will provide enough energy to significantly offset your electric bill.

Make a smart start

If you?re in the process of buying a home, it?s easier to make alternative energy work for you, by buying a property that comes with running water or room for wind turbines, for example. If you?re designing from the ground up, choose a roof that?s specially fitted for solar panels; place your house on the lot so it takes advantage of the sun; build with passive solar materials; and use daylighting technology by installing windows and doors in places that allow you to get the most out of natural light sources,and to go green.

Think smaller

If you can?t make the jump to powering your entire house with alternative energy, start by focusing on one room at a time. Or look even more closely at your life, and get small solar cells to charge your laptop, cell phone, iPod, and other small gadgets?every little bit helps!

If you are someone worried by your rising energy bills, then wind power electricity might be the best solution for you. Research statistics show that you can save over 70 percent on your energy bills with wind power. Building your own windmill can help you save tons of money in the long run. It is not surprising then that an increasing number of people these days are going in for building their own windmills.

The benefits of using wind power electricity, apart from the money that you can save, are many. For instance, this clean alternative source of energy can help in reducing green house gas emissions to a very large extent. Another advantage is that wind power is a renewable source of energy. One need not worry about it running out during any point in time, as in the case with some other sources of energy.

Generating wind power electricity has become a lot easier nowadays. There are several do it yourself kits available in the market, that can help you build your own windmill. The typical working mechanism of a windmill involves the rotation of the blades by currents of wind, which in turn turns the shaft located in the generator motor. The turning of the shaft leads to generation of electricity. Building one to generate wind power electricity is not difficult, provided you know what are the parts that need to be used and the method involved in constructing one. Getting the correct parts and then assembling them in the right manner is the key to constructing your own windmill. Choosing a good location to install your windmill is another thing that is important. Once you take care of these aspects, you are well on your way to enjoying the benefits of generating wind power electricity.

Globally there is an increasing awareness among people about the damage that we have done to our environment. This factor coupled with rising fuel prices has revived the interest of people in wind turbines. Wind power for homes is something that homeowners around the world are looking at seriously. Not only can wind turbines help in generating clean power, they can also help you save substantial amounts of money on your energy bills in the long run too.

There are several online guides that can help you build your own wind turbine. You need not be technically qualified in order to install one in your home. In fact wind power for homes is now only a matter of following instructions from detailed manuals, most of which you can find online. Moreover, the entire process of putting together the equipment in place is also a fun opportunity for the entire family.

A good amount of planning and research is needed if you are thinking of building your own wind turbine. First of all you will need to get all the equipment and tools ready. You will for instance need a generator, a mounting, blades, a tower and batteries to store the power in. You can find most of the things that you need for the purpose at a local hardware store.

You will then need to decide on the location in your home that you want to place the wind turbine in. The rapid advances in technology mean that you need not live in a very windy area for your wind turbine to generate power. Even the slightest breeze is enough to turn the blades that you can find in the latest wind turbines.

With people being enlightened about the fact that their electricity bill is going too high, they are looking for alternate sources of energy that can help them in this regard. What can suit this situation better than homemade wind power? The main idea here is to use the energy of the wind which is a renewable resource that can never get depleted and convert it into electricity.

This simple ideology of homemade wind power is made even easier to be adopted with the availability of several instruction manuals that gives you detailed information about the setting up of such instruments.

You need to first understand the science that is behind the generation of homemade wind power. The power of the wind rotates the blades of your windmill and this mechanical energy is converted to electricity. In pure science terms, this is termed as conservation of energy.

There is a false notion that there is a necessity for large amounts of wind to make this plan successful. The fact is that even small amounts of wind that we can find around our farmhouses are more than sufficient to generate homemade wind power.

You will need components like a rotating platform, turbine blades and electrical systems for making a complete homemade wind power generator. These are not so difficult to find. If you look around your home, you can be sure of finding most of these components and even if you don’t these are available at the nearest hardware store and the entire construction and setting up will fall much cheaper than finding a pre fabricated one.

This requires plenty of planning and this is the most important field. First of all you need to decide on how much electricity you require for your home. This can be found out very easily as all you need to do is inspect your electricity bills. Then you need to fix on a good location for the windmill.

Most families spend a large amount of money on their electricity bills. This is one commodity whose usage we cannot limit. Electricity is the basic necessity that everyone needs in their homes. So the only other option is to find a cheaper substitute. It is a known fact that our electricity is produced from non renewable resources like fossil fuels whose constant usage will cause its complete depletion. The only way to solve this is to use renewable resources and one such resource is the wind power. Wind energy can be harnessed by using wind power turbines.

If you have searched in the market for details, you would have found that setting up these wind power turbines are indeed very costly as these companies charge you for a lot of things. There is no need to worry as there are wind power turbines that you can fix on your own.

There are certain things that you need to consider when you are preparing to make your own wind power turbines. The first thing is that you need to find a guide that will help you in the installation process. With a detailed step by step instruction, it is possible to make your own wind power turbines very easily.

There are few other things that you need to think over and they include the location that you choose. You need to choose a location that contains wind flow that can be harnessed easily. The speed of the wind does not need to be very high. With moderate flow of wind, you will be able to harness quite a lot of electricity.

You also need to keep in mind that they location you choose must not have too many tress as this will stop the flow of wind to your turbines. A continuous supply of wind will make sure that you have the best source of electricity.

Unless your fridge is so old or worn out that you’ve already chosen to replace it with an energy efficient fridge, you really should do a simple assessment of whether the fridge is running well. Issues such as how often and for how long the compressor motor runs, whether there’s frost in the freezer section, how good your door seals are, and the temperature range of the freezer and fridge sections, can all impact your refrigerator energy use.

Begin by simply trying to remember how frequently you hear the motor going. Does it seem to be going continuously, or is the refrigerator usually silent? Does the compressor seem to keep switching on and off (short periods of running time, then short rests)? During times of the day when the fridge door stays shut (for example overnight), the pattern of energy use for energy saving fridges is typically that of short periods with the motor working, interspersed with much longer periods of the compressor motor resting. If that’s how your fridge behaves, you’re off to a good start.

If the compressor motor is going nearly all the time, there may be issues with the gasket seal, or cobwebs on the coils, or the fridge may be in an enclosed area so that the heat the motor is working to extract from the interior has nowhere to escape to. You may just have an old refrigerator with an inefficient compressor motor, which translates into less heat extracted for a given amount of electricity input, or you might have substandard insulation in the fridge walls, so that more heat flows in through the fridge sides. Or you might have set the temperature too low in either the refrigerator or the freezer compartment.

Next look for ice build-up in the freezer compartment. Fast or heavy frost build-up in a manual-defrost freezer is usually an indication that warm, moist air is getting into the freezer section. You could have a poor seal on the freezer compartment, which allows cold air to escape through the seal, and warm, moist air to enter in its place. It takes more power to extract heat from moist air than from dry air, so you win on two fronts by eliminating air leaks. Even if you have a great seal, you should defrost a manual-defrost freezer regularly. You should never let more than a quarter inch of ice form on the compartment walls, as it makes the compressor motor work harder.

Check your refrigerator and freezer compartment gaskets to make sure you have a good seal. The standard test is the dollar-bill check. Open the refrigerator or freezer door so that you can slide a dollar bill halfway in, then close the door. If the bill stays tightly in place when you pull, the seal is fine in that part of the gasket. Do the same at several other points along the gasket. If at any point the bill slides out, or moves freely, try moving the bill along the seal in each direction until it sticks. That should give you an idea of how big each leak is.

You can sometimes solve gasket leaks by cleaning the gasket to remove any residue that might prevent a good seal. But if there are gaps and the gasket is clean, you really should replace the seal.

Your refrigerator may pass the dollar bill test even though the gasket is letting in air – if the gasket is cracked. Cracks can open up in the thin part of the gasket where it attaches to the door. Run your finger along the gasket feeling for rips, all the way around each door.

If you’re a DIY type, gaskets can be fairly cheap to replace. I bought a new gasket for my refrigerator five years ago and with no previous instruction had it on the door within a half hour. And an appliance repair person can install one even faster, especially if you tell them to bring a replacement gasket with them when you call them. So if your gasket is leaking or too rigid to provide a good seal, get it replaced.

What are the ideal temperatures for your fridge and freezer sections?

The last thing to look at in your do-it-yourself fridge assessment is the temperature in each compartment of your refrigerator. You can use either a standard glass thermometer or an electronic probe thermometer to do this. Place the thermometer (or the probe portion, for an electronic thermometer) in a jar half-filled with liquid (a pickle jar does nicely), and leave it in the compartment for a full 24 hours. (Make sure the jar is only half filled with liquid for the freezer compartment, so the freezing doesn’t break the jar. Don’t open the unit for at least an hour before you do your 24-hour measurement. Check the temperature on the thermometer. For the fridge compartment, you should strive for 39F or 40F (or 4C). For the freezer temperature, go for 5F (or -15C). If the refrigerator temperature or freezer temperature is lower than this, you are wasting energy cooling your food more than necessary.

Remember that for chest or upright freezers, where frozen food tends to be kept longer than in the freezer compartment of refrigerators, you want a somewhat lower freezer temperature of 0F or -17C.

If the compartment is not at the ideal setting, adjust the thermostat in the appropriate section up or down by just a small amount. Then wait another 24 hours and take a second reading. It’s best to tweak the thermostat a little at a time, until you reach the ideal refrigerator temperature. Once you reach that ideal setting, you can use a permanent marker to draw a line on the thermostat dial, so you have a reference point. It’s not a given that this will always give you the ideal temperature (thermostats can be finicky) but if you subsequently notice that the line is far from the front, you’ll know to measure the temperature once more.

It’s important to measure your refrigerator temperature (both compartments) on a monthly basis, or at least, if you have already checked it and have marked the position of the thermostat dial, to see that the dial hasn’t moved. It’s easy for these dials to get turned inadvertently, or on purpose by little hands, and if the temperature varies far from the proper settings of 40F for the fridge section or 5F for the freezer section, you either risk food spoilage or a higher electricity bill.

With rising energy costs and depleting fossil fuels becoming more apparent, as well as the increased impact of global warming, many people are starting to look for ways to reduce energy usage.

Step one is to hire an energy auditor. We need to turn to the experts, to people who are best at it when we need something done. They could tell you about what is making you poorer by heating and cooling your home as well as other areas.

If you are not sure where they are located then just run a google search. Perhaps you might consider looking up the yellow pages otherwise. These guys have got some high-tech tools which include infrared cameras, pressurizing fans, moisture meters and smoke blowers (or pencils).

He might even get a brand new house fan fitted to the outside doorway. It creates pressure, holding out a smoke pencil could help you understanding where you are becoming poorer. He might want to use a moisture meter to figure out extra moist places of your house. High RH or Relative Humidity can make a home’s inhabitants feel uncomfortable and add to high energy costs.

Second step is to find effective solutions. I have got a problem. You have found a guy to investigate it. Now is the time to fix it. Mostly he is going to suggest solutions. Sometimes you might be able to fix it yourself or at times you might need those experts to do it for you. It may be as simple as caulking gaps on the exterior of the homes siding with a good silicone sealant and adding insulative foam electric outlet sealers to go behind your home’s electrical outlet switch plates with plug in outlet covers to reduce drafts and air loss.

Other more extensive energy saving features may aid in lowering fuel costs as well. Among these are adding attic insulation, Low E glass windows, high SEER HVAC system (13 or better), tankless water heater and Energy Star appliances.

Couple example cases, this place had absolutely no insulation in the walls, though it did have a little insulation at the attic. On pier and beam with hardwood floors, there was no insulation underneath the home as well. On acting on the experts suggestion, believe it or not, the gas and electricity bills dropped down. It’s a perfect way to check your energy efficiency.

This expert is going to help you determine how to modify your house into an energy effective place which conserves energy. She conducted another audit on this one model 2 story with zoned HVAC. There was one heater and an aircon unit at all levels. At this audit, she learned more about the way air flow works. Apparently if you leave the bedroom doors open, then the HVAC is going to work better. So if you get an expert, he is going to help you modify older homes in energy effective, even though they weren’t meant to be that way.

Autumn is approaching and that means colder days ahead. However, Australia is blessed with an amazingly moderate climate where even our chilliest days are nothing compared to other regions in the world. This means that Australian residents can take advantage of all natural low emissions heating in their green home.

As well as insulation and energy efficiency, there are other innovative heating ideas to keep your home toasty warm for the winter.

Eco Home Tip #31 – Seal up draughts – Put snakes under door jambs, get weather stripping for your windows. Heavy curtains also help keep in the heat and keep out the cold. You’ll be amazed at how cosy a room can be without any heating at all.

Eco Home Tip #32 – Look beneath your feet – the soil beneath you home acts as a natural insulator, keeping the ground warm all year round. By employing a geothermal heat pump, your home can be take advantage of this natural heat during the colder months. In a geothermal system, liquid is circulated in pupes that run beneath your home. As the liquid gets warmer, it is pumped up to a heat condensor where the heat is released into your central heating system.

Eco Home Tip #33 – Keep it low – Switch your thermostat down a single degree. When we come in from the cold, we’re very likely to crank the termostat up much higher than necessary. Remember that every degree lower on your thermostat can potentially save up to 10 per cent on your heating. Throw on a jumper instead.

Eco Home Tip #34 – Cut your system down to size – as with air conditioning, don’t go overboard with your heating. You’ll be amazed at what a single space heater will do.

Eco Home Tip #35 – Look for the Energy Star – As with all appliances, energy star ratings give a good indication of the energy efficiency of the appliance. Energy star rates furnaces, boilers and heat pumps for central heating in your home.

For more green ideas for your eco home, visit the Green Pages at www.thegreenpages.com.au

Solar energy is power generated from the heat of the sun. The sun illuminates and provides heat and warmth on the surface of the earth. Technologies that capture and store solar heat for an extended period of time can be applied to benefit homes, offices, and factories. They can transform solar energy to run devices that provides warmth and lighting during nightime or during cloudy days.

You can make use of solar energy yourself by learning how. Solar energy as a resource is free. However, the cost of materials and equipment you need to tap that resource ranges from high to low, depending on what suits your needs. The good thing about it is that, unlike oil or gas heaters for which you pay every month, you spend less and less for energizing and heating your home with solar energy. Without ill effects on the environment, solar power can cool, heat and ventilate your home.

If you are thinking about having your own solar power for any particular use, it would be easier if you try to find a solar collector first. A solar collector is any material such as clear plastic or glass that can attract and capture the energy brought on by the heat of the sun in concentrated quantities. An example of a trapped or captured heat is when a car that has sat out in the warm sun all day has become exceedingly hot so that you need to open your windows in order to let the warm air escape from your seats and compartments and allowing the car to cool inside. A greenhouse is another example. It has the same effect as its glass or clear plastic walls and roof can attract the heat of the sun and trap it inside to keep the needed amount of heat for the plants to grow normally and efficiently.

Also, tapping solar energy for home use can offer you optimum benefits if you familiarize yourself about what an active and a passive home means. These are two types of solar homes which give homeowners choices on which part of the homes they want energized or what equipment they want run by solar power. Solar energy can be used to warm your home, heat your water, as well as generate electricity for lighting at night. Consequently, you will need to consider the cost which a particular type of solar home entails when you choose the type of solar home you want.

Passive homes do away with special facilities or materials for heating. They merely use their windows for maximized entry of sunlight. The sunlight gets stored by having the doors totally closed during the warmest hours of the day and keeping the heat trapped inside. In the evenings, thick curtains can be used on the windows to keep this heat concentrated inside the home. This allows the natural heat of the sun to warm your home without using any special or elaborate equipment and materials.

Active homes, on the other hand, use equipment such as blowers and pumps. Substitute heating sources also need to be used when the sunlight captured during daytime is not enough for the heat to circulate inside the house. Active homes use specially-designed boxes placed outside to attract sunlight and store the heat, thereby providing more supply of energy to heat the homes. These boxes heat water or air inside pipes and ductwork which in turn facilitate the circulation of heat inside the homes.

In the long term, solar energy is cost-effective. It can heat our homes without spending for artificially-generated heat. Solar energy does not harm the environment and can be found anytime and wherever the sun shines.