Solar Power Solutions At Home

With energy sources depleting at a rate faster than they are being built, it is only wise that we use the abundant energy available for free – the solar energy. Apart from the easy availability, solar energy helps control environmental pollution. Most of us shy away from installing solar power solutions at home thinking them to be expensive and cumbersome. You will, however, be surprised to know how easy it is to employ these power solutions. Moreover, these will help cut down your power bills. Finally, you will be delighted to know tat you are doing your bit to save power for the future generations.

This article will explore the various solar power options available for home use. Solar cooker: A solar cooker is a cooking utensil that uses absolutely no fuel for cooking. You can cook food for up to five people in the small box. If you are thinking that using a solar cooker will reduce your chances of spreading up a varied platter on the dining table, you will be surprised to know that you can not only boil food items in the cooker but also roast and bake! The only limitation with the solar cooker is the time it takes to cook. However, given the free source of energy it uses, this is a great option for cutting down those sky-rocketing bills and saving some power. Solar home lighting: A solar home lighting system converts solar energy into electrical energy for your home. This is done via cells that are charged with solar energy. So, in the night, if you wonder how the lights are on in the house, it is because of the solar energy stored in the solar cells. You can install the solar home lighting system in your house and not worry about the electricity bills anymore. Solar heating system: Installing a solar heating system in your home helps cutting down your electricity bill along with saving the world’s quickly-exhausting power. If you are worried that a solar heating system will turn your sweet home into a gadget house or that it will be an expensive investment, your concerns are misplaced. Companies providing solar power solutions for homes make it a point to install aesthetically-pleasing heating systems in your house. As per as expenditure is concerned, investing in a solar heating system is wise because you get a return on your investment within 3-4 years, giving you absolutely free service after that.Make power at home with solar and wind energy to eliminate your power bill. Get our complete guide at www.earth4energy.com

Be Sure To Check Your Heating and Cooling Systems

Heating and Cooling

Household Heating Systems
Although several different types of fuels are available to heat our homes, more than half of us use natural gas.

Heating and cooling your home uses more energy and drains more energy dollars than any other system in your home. Typically, 46% of your utility bill goes for heating and cooling. What's more, heating and cooling systems in the United States together emit 150 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, adding to global climate change. They also generate about 12% of the nation's sulfur dioxide and 4% of the nitrogen oxides, the chief ingredients in acid rain.

No matter what kind of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system you have in your house, you can save money and increase your comfort by properly maintaining and upgrading your equipment. But remember, an energy-efficient furnace alone will not have as great an impact on your energy bills as using the whole-house approach. By combining proper equipment maintenance and upgrades with appropriate insulation, air sealing, and thermostat settings, you can cut your energy use for heating and cooling, and reduce environmental emissions, from 20% to 50%.

Heating and Cooling Tips

• Set your thermostat as low as is comfortable in the winter and as high as is comfortable in the summer.

• Clean or replace filters on furnaces once a month or as needed.

• Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators as needed; make sure they're not blocked by furniture, carpeting, or drapes.

• Bleed trapped air from hot-water radiators once or twice a season; if in doubt about how to perform this task, call a professional.

• Place heat-resistant radiator reflectors between exterior walls and the radiators.

• Turn off kitchen, bath, and other exhaust fans within 20 minutes after you are done cooking or bathing; when replacing exhaust fans, consider installing high-efficiency, low-noise models.

• During the heating season, keep the draperies and shades on your south-facing windows open during the day to allow the sunlight to enter your home and closed at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows.

• During the cooling season, keep the window coverings closed during the day to prevent solar gain.

Long-Term Savings Tips

• Select energy-efficient products when you buy new heating and cooling equipment. Your contractor should be able to give you energy fact sheets for different types, models, and designs to help you compare energy usage. For furnaces, look for high Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) ratings. The national minimum is 78% AFUE, but there are ENERGY STAR models on the market that exceed 90% AFUE.

• For air conditioners, look for a high Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER). The current minimum is 13 SEER for central air conditioners. ENERGY STAR models are 14 SEER or more.

Lighting Energy Saving Tips

U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Energy Savers

Lighting

Compact Fluorescent Bulbs—A Bright Idea!
ENERGY STAR qualified lighting provides bright, warm light and uses about 75% less energy than standard lighting, produces 75% less heat, and lasts up to 10 times longer.

Making improvements to your lighting is one of the fastest ways to cut your energy bills. An average household dedicates 10% of its energy budget to lighting. Using new lighting technologies can reduce lighting energy use in your home by 50% to 75%. Advances in lighting controls offer further energy savings by reducing the amount of time lights are on but not being used.

Indoor Lighting

Use linear fluorescent tubes and energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) in fixtures throughout your home to provide high-quality and high-efficiency lighting. Fluorescent lamps are much more efficient than incandescent (standard) bulbs and last about 6 to 12 times longer.

Today's CFLs offer brightness and color rendition that is comparable to incandescent bulbs. Although linear fluorescent and CFLs cost a bit more than incandescent bulbs initially, over their lifetime they are cheaper because of how little electricity they use. CFL lighting fixtures are now available that are compatible with dimmers and operate like incandescent fixtures.

Indoor Lighting Tips

CFLs contain a very small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing. Many retailers are offering free recycling services for consumers at their stores.

ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs are available in sizes and shapes to fit in almost any fixture.

• Be sure to buy ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs.

  • They will save you about $30 or more in electricity costs over each bulb's lifetime.

  • Producing about 75% less heat, they are safer to operate and can cut home cooling costs.

  • Visit www.energystar.gov to find the right light bulbs for your fixtures. They are available in sizes and shapes to fit in almost any fixture.

  • They provide the greatest savings in fixtures that are on for a long time each day. The best fixtures to use qualified CFLs in are usually found in your family and living rooms, kitchen, dining room, bedrooms, and outdoors.

• Consider purchasing ENERGY STAR qualified fixtures. They are available in many styles including table, desk and floor lamps — and hard-wired options for front porches, dining rooms, bathroom vanity fixtures, and more.

• ENERGY STAR qualified fixtures distribute light more efficiently and evenly than standard fixtures and they deliver convenient features such as dimming on some indoor models.

• Controls such as timers and photo cells save electricity by turning lights off when not in use. Dimmers save electricity when used to lower light levels. Be sure to select products that are compatible with CFL bulbs; not all products work with CFLs.

• When remodeling, look for recessed downlights, or "cans", that are rated for contact with insulation (IC rated).

• Take advantage of daylight by using light-colored, loose-weave curtains on your windows to allow daylight to penetrate the room while preserving privacy. Also, decorate with lighter colors that reflect daylight.

• If you have torchiere fixtures with halogen lamps, consider replacing them with compact fluorescent torchieres. Compact fluorescent torchieres use 60% to 80% less energy and do not get as hot as halogen torchieres.

Outdoor Lighting

Many homeowners use outdoor lighting for decoration and security. When shopping for outdoor lights, you will find a variety of products, from low-voltage pathway lighting to motion-detector floodlights. Light emitting diodes, or LEDs, thrive in outdoor environments because of their durability and performance in cold weather. Look for ENERGY STAR LED products such as pathway lights, step lights, and porch lights for outdoor use.

Outdoor Lighting Tips

LED—A New Kind of Light

Light emitting diodes, or LEDs, offer better light quality than incandescent bulbs, last 25 times as long, and use even less energy than CFLs. Look for ENERGY STAR qualified LED products at home improvement centers and lighting showrooms.

• Because outdoor lights are usually left on a long time, using CFLs in these fixtures will save a lot of energy. Most bare spiral CFLs can be used in enclosed fixtures that protect them from the weather.

• CFLs are also available as flood lights. These models have been tested to withstand the rain and snow so they can be used in exposed fixtures. Most though, cannot be used with motion detectors.

• Look for ENERGY STAR qualified fixtures that are designed for outdoor use and come with features like automatic daylight shut-off and motion sensors.

Laser Printers Are Energy Hogs!

Laser printers are energy hogs and still use about 100 watts per hour even when on stand-by mode.

No-Cost and Low-Cost Tips to Save Energy This Winter

Here you'll find strategies to help you save energy during the cold winter months. Some of the tips below are free and can be used on a daily basis to increase your savings; others are simple and inexpensive actions you can take to ensure maximum savings through the winter.
If you haven't already, conduct an energy audit to find out where you can save the most, and consider making a larger investment for long-term energy savings.
Take Advantage of Heat from the Sun
Open curtains on your south-facing windows during the day to allow sunlight to naturally heat your home, and close them at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows.
Cover Drafty Windows
Use a heavy-duty, clear plastic sheet on a frame or tape clear plastic film to the inside of your window frames during the cold winter months. Make sure the plastic is sealed tightly to the frame to help reduce infiltration.
Install tight-fitting, insulating drapes or shades on windows that feel drafty after weatherizing.
Find out about other window treatments and coverings that can improve energy efficiency.
Adjust the Temperature
When you are home and awake, set your thermostat as low as is comfortable.
When you are asleep or out of the house, turn your thermostat back 10°–15° for eight hours and save around 10% a year on your heating and cooling bills. A programmable thermostat can make it easy to set back your temperature.
Find out how to operate your thermostat for maximum energy savings.
Also see ENERGY STAR's June 5, 2008, podcast for video instructions on operating your programmable thermostat.
Find and Seal Leaks
Seal the air leaks around utility cut-throughs for pipes ("plumbing penetrations"), gaps around chimneys and recessed lights in insulated ceilings, and unfinished spaces behind cupboards and closets.
Find out how to detect air leaks.
Learn more about air sealing new and existing homes.
Add caulk or weatherstripping to seal air leaks around leaky doors and windows.
Find how to select and apply the appropriate caulk.
Learn how to select and apply weatherstripping.
Maintain Your Heating Systems
Schedule service for your heating system.
Find out what maintenance is required to keep your heating system operating efficiently.
Furnaces: Replace your furnace filter once a month or as needed.
Find out more about maintaining your furnace or boiler.
Wood- and Pellet-Burning Heaters: Clean the flue vent regularly and clean the inside of the appliance with a wire brush periodically to ensure that your home is heated efficiently.
Find other maintenance recommendations for wood- and pellet-burning appliances.
Reduce Heat Loss from the Fireplace
Keep your fireplace damper closed unless a fire is going. Keeping the damper open is like keeping a window wide open during the winter; it allows warm air to go right up the chimney.
When you use the fireplace, reduce heat loss by opening dampers in the bottom of the firebox (if provided) or open the nearest window slightly—approximately 1 inch—and close doors leading into the room. Lower the thermostat setting to between 50° and 55°F.
If you never use your fireplace, plug and seal the chimney flue.
If you do use the fireplace, install tempered glass doors and a heat-air exchange system that blows warmed air back into the room.
Check the seal on the fireplace flue damper and make it as snug as possible.
Purchase grates made of C-shaped metal tubes to draw cool room air into the fireplace and circulate warm air back into the room.
Add caulking around the fireplace hearth.
Find out more techniques to improve your fireplace or wood-burning appliance's efficiency.
Learn tips for safe and efficient fireplace installation and wood burning.
Lower Your Water Heating Costs
Water heating can account for 14%-25% of the energy consumed in your home.
Turn down the temperature of your water heater to the warm setting (120°F). You'll not only save energy, you'll avoid scalding your hands.
Find other strategies for energy-efficient water heating.

Top Ten Fuel Saving Tips For Your Car

1
Avoid High Speeds
As your speed increases, your aerodynamic drag increases in an exponential fashion. Driving 62 mph (100 km/h) vs 75 mph (120 km/h) will reduce fuel consumption by about 15%.
2
Do Not Accelerate or Brake Hard
By anticipating the traffic and applying slow steady acceleration and braking, fuel economy may increase by as much as 20%.
3
Keep Tires Properly Inflated
Keep tire air pressure at the level recommended by your vehicle manufacturer. A single tire under inflated by 2 PSI, increases fuel consumption by 1%.
4
Use A/C Sparingly
When the air conditioner is on it puts extra load on the engine forcing more fuel to be used (by about 20%). The defrost position on most vehicles also uses the air conditioner.
5
Keep Windows Closed
Windows open, especially at highway speeds, increase drag and result in decreased fuel economy of up to 10%.
6
Service Vehicle Regularly
Proper maintenance avoids poor fuel economy related to dirty air filters, old spark plugs or low fluid levels.
7
Use Cruise Control
Maintaining a constant speed over long distances often saves gas.
8
Avoid Heavy Loads
Remove the sand bags from your trunk in the spring and pack lightly for long trips.
9
Avoid Long Idles
If you anticipate being stopped for more than 1 minute, shut off the car. Restarting the car uses less fuel than letting it idle for this time.
10
Purchase a Fuel Efficient Vehicle
When buying a new vehicle examine the vehicle's rated fuel efficiency. Usually choosing a small vehicle with a manual transmission will provide you with great fuel economy.

Check Your HOT Water Heater!

It's amazing how much money we can waste by having the temperature of our hot water heaters set too high. You should set it at no higher than 120 degrees farenheit. Not only will it cut your costs but it will protect your family from scalding water. It's a good idea to have it professionally drained and checked every year as well. But let's get that temperature down! Lowering the setting to about 120 degrees will still give you enough hot water for household needs, will cut the dangers of scalding from too-hot water, and will help cut down on your water heating costs, which account for between 15 and 25 percent of the monthly utility bill for the average family.