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Solar Power – Some Basic Info That You Ought To Be Aware Of

November 11th, 2009 No comments

Because of the vast amount of advertising hype, numerous people find things like solar energy and other sorts of renewable energy somewhat of a gimmick. Regrettably, this does tend to be the prevailing case for numerous persons. Though, nothing could be further from the truth. There are valid options out there and viable alternatives to help save the ecosystem.

Certainly, to a degree, it does depend on where you live. There is not a great deal of pointing getting a solar energy plant at your home if you do not get an adequate amount of sunlight. Nevertheless, places which do not get an adequate enough quantity of sunlight are few and far between, so you want to do your research before removing it out.

With regard to how much money you will save with a domestic solar energy plant, it is of course entirely dependent on how much electricity it would generate. As a rule, a couple of solar panels of a high quality build should be able to turn out enough electricity to perform basic tasks on an everyday basis in your house.

You could moreover procure ones which are already designed and built and only require to be installed into your home. This of course is a much more high-priced choice, nevertheless if you have the money to spend, and you don’t want to mess around constructing your own, then this can be a terrific opportunity for you.

A solar panel kit does cost quite a lot of money however. In the event that money is one of your main concerns, then you could want to think about it do it yourself kit. Building your own solar panels is nothing like as complicated as it may seem. You can discover lots of tutorials on the Internet including videos which will walk you through the process.

If you are apprehensive about the startup costs, then you may want to ponder the DIY options. If you are practical and enjoy doing things yourself, then you may procure kits which will permit you to do this. This offers you more customised option and moreover saves quite a lot of money.

If you want to do it yourself, you can unearth stacks of reviews on the Internet and all kinds of resources which can walk you through the process including videos and various other tutorials. This way you get the best of both worlds for not having spend an enormous quantity of money to get it off the ground.

Envirotech Summit has even more information on solar power for lower electric bills which might be helpful to you.

Reduce Monthly Electricity Costs on Lighting

October 3rd, 2009 No comments

This article is the first of a list of practical things you can do to save lots of money on your monthly electric consumption bills with DIY cut monthly electricity costs. You could get yourself some new green products or even take you and your family on a mini vacation.

Compact Fluorescent Lamp aka CFL or circular fluorescent bulb. Incandescent bulbs generate light differently to a CFL bulb.

Thomas Edison was the inventor of incandescent light bulbs and since his invention the general principle of them is still the same. After electricity is connected to both sides of the carbon filament it gets hot and the outcome is light. In CFL bulbs, as with older fluorescent tubes, a closed glass tube is coated with a fluorescent coating that glows when current is applied to the argon and mercury vapour inside.

Now you may have heard this before, however unless you are only turning that incandescent bulb on a couple of times per year, you’re wasting money, doesn’t matter how cheap that bulb is. If you want to save money look for the green products. Compared with an incandescent bulb the newer Energy Star CFL bulbs can save around 75% in costs. In a period of 6 months A CFL bulb will pay for itself and save you about $30 per bulb over the period of its lifetime!

The CFL bulb has come a long way these days giving us a much wider choice of light spectrum that is omitted. This can really enhance the mood of the room, home office or family room. The CFL color choices vary from a daylight blue to a warm yellow. If you like the mood that incandescent light bulbs produce then going for a warmer CFL light would suit you better. Be aware that the daylight or bluer light comes across as very harsh white light and can have negative effects on people that are sensitive to light.

If you look at the package that the bulb comes in it should have K for Kelvin rating, which gives you the “temperature” of the bulb. A Kelvin rating of 2700K-3000K means it’s a warm/yellow bulb. 3500K-4100K Kelvin rating will get you a cool white bulb. And if you wanted the Daylight Blue bulb look for a Kelvin rated bulb of 5000K-6500K.

If you are looking to replace 40 watt incandescent bulbs, use 9-13 watt CFL bulbs. For a 60 watt incandescent bulb use a 13-15 watt CFL. Replace a 75 watt incandescent with an 18-25 watt CFL. And to replace 100 watt incandescents use 23-30 watt CFLs.

Please remember to recycle all compact fluorescent bulbs. In some states disposing of mercury filled bulbs with solid waste rubbish is illegal. Thats because in one CFL there is about 5 milligrams of mercury.

If you want places to recycle your used CFL bulbs and other green products you can take them to places such as IKEA, (OSH) Orchard, ACE Hardware and Home Depot.

If you are wanting decorative lights, consider Energy Star qualified light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. These LEDs use up to 90% less energy than the same incandescent bulbs to produce exactly the same amount of light! I have heard that the power needed for only one 7 watt incandescent bulb could be used to power up to 140 LEDs!

So it’s a good idea to use CFLs inside and outside you could try the LEDs. These will reduce your carbon footprint and save you lots of money at the same time.

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