Renewable Energy

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Solar Panels- Are They Right For You?

Solar panels are devices that convert light into electricity. Solar panels are dropping in price, but they still are not cheap, so if you’re switching to solar it’s a great time to also carefully evaluate your electricity use. Call your utility company and get an “energy audit” and follow the recommendations. Most homeowners can cut their use of electricity or gas by anywhere from 5% to 30%. By cutting your power usage to an absolute minimum you can purchase only the expensive solar panel capacity that is required for your home. PV (photovoltaic) solar panels are made from solar cells which are a semiconductor material.

Electricity

The process for creating electricity from sun light is rather complex, but all you need to know is that photons collide with electrons in the semiconductor material and essentially free them up to flow when hooked up to a battery. This flow of electrons is what makes an electrical current.

The average household uses 30kwh of electricity per day. Electrical utility companies are required by law to accommodate “net metering”. This means that you can sell your excess power back to the power company. Thus, if you are out at work on a sunny day, or go on a two-week skiing vacation and aren’t using any electricity, the power being created by the solar panels is going back into the grid to the utility company. In other words every kilowatt-hour of electricity produced by a solar energy system ends up being used to the advantage of the homeowner, either as power to run appliances when the homeowner is there or as a dollar-for-dollar credit provided by the utility company for power that is not being used.

Cost

The most important component of the PV solar panel system will probably be the amount of subsidy you are eligible for. Since some utility companies need to meet goals for the amount of renewable energy they furnish, there are some very attractive rebates offered at times. These can be large rebates indeed, up to 50% of the cost of a system or even higher. This can make a system that would support the average 30 kwh per day home cost roughly $20,000 rather than $40,000! In addition, there is a $2,000 tax credit offered by the federal government. However, this is not always the case. In our local area of Colorado there are several utility companies that service the region. One offers a 50% rebate as described above. Another offers a 66% rebate, and a third offers no rebate at all. So you need to check with your utility company to see what rebates, if any, apply to your location. You should also contact a solar panel contractor who can give you lots of information about system costs, and of course they will probably know the rebates offered in your local area. Typical PV solar panels cost about $4 per watt before installation. Installation is a major expense, however, and in the example cited above with a 50% rebate, final system costs will amount to about $6.50- $7.00 per watt installed.

Batteries

Batteries are required in stand-alone systems to provide energy during night hours. These can be very expensive, but if you have an isolated cabin, an RV, or some other need for power and don’t have access to the public power grid, a solar system with batteries is certainly a solution.

Conclusion

When you consider the costs of a full blown PV solar system which will cut your electric bill down to zero or close to it, you get one other benefit. The value of your property increases with such a system, and your property taxes will not increase because of this added value. In addition to the satisfaction of cutting down your carbon footprint significantly, your system will eventually pay for itself, and your property will be worth more as well. Keep these factors in mind when you calculate your pay-back period.

By: Walter Ballenberger

About the Author:

Walter Ballenberger is an expert in the feild of Solar Panels- Are They Right For You?
For more information see: DIY Solar and Wind Power Generators
For more information visit Solar Energy

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Australia Solar Panel Government Rebates

After getting a multitude of questions, concerning the Australia solar panel government rebates, we discovered the following information on the subject.  The following information is a brief synopsis of the details of the plan. The precise details can be read on our resources page. As you continue, you will discover some alternatives, which may be beneficial to those of you who are curious.

Australia Solar Panel Government Rebates are administered, through the Solar Homes and Communities Plan, for the installation of solar energy systems on homes and community use structures. Schools are no longer eligible for rebates under this program.

The Solar Homes and Communities Plan ensures that rebates get to the households that would benefit most through the introduction of specific requirements, with households with an annual gross income of less than $100,000 being eligible for the plan.

Listed here are the initial eligibility requirements for the Australia Solar Panel Government Rebates:

    * These government subsidies are available for the purchase and installation of major equipment items. Equipment must be new not second-hand.

    * Rebates are for residential solar power systems that are attached to a main-grid or are in close proximity to a main-grid.

    * Systems which are eligible for a rebate under the Renewable Remote Power Generation Program is ineligible for the Solar Homes and Communities Plan; applicants should consider which rebate to apply for with an accredited designer and installer.

    * The individual who carries out the construction must be accredited for design and installation of solar power systems.

    * Applicant’s household taxable income must be lower than $100,000.

You can immediately see, the requirements are extremely stringent and the monies provided are really minimal. Fortunately, knowing a little about the Aussie do it yourself mentality, there are very good alternatives.

We recommend that you check out the reviews that we have added to our site.  The reviews highlight the 3 absolute best diy manuals to home made solar power available today. The manuals have all the information, you should have to be able, to adequately size your system, as well as for the different types of installations, that will depend upon your individual situation. At the very least, you will learn of a quality alternative to the costly ‘contractor built’ systems.

Plus, the cost of these instruction guides are minimal and each are guaranteed for those that are not willing to proceed on their own.

You can join all the people who are building a brighter tomorrow for the children and the entire planet!

Reviews: http://diyenergy.newagelinx.com/review.html

Info: http://diyenergy.newagelinx.com

By: Sam Redman

About the Author:

Sam Redman is an expert in the feild of Australia Solar Panel Government Rebates
For more information see: solar panel government rebate

For more information visit DIY Solar panels

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Renewable Energy – Here at Last, Thank God Almighty, Here at Last

Ever think about how many people there are in world today, and about how fast the world’s population is increasing? The per day increase is estimated to be about 204,000. That’s a lot of people.

Next question: ever think about the resources all those people are using and will continue to use in increasing amounts each day, month and year? Best not too really, especially if you want to sleep well. Here’s the basic fact or people v resources: people numbers are increasing, resources are dwindling, at least the ones we love to use, like oil and carbon fuels such as coal. Most experts also accept that these fossil fuels are heating the atmosphere, creating global warming. So, although these resources are getting scarcer, either actually or economically, they’re doing more and more damage on the way out! Doesn’t seem fair, really.

All of this raises a pretty obvious question: why on earth (pun intended) don’t we use fuels and resources that are renewable, such as the sun, water and wind. Now, you might say that we are, and to an extent I’d have to agree with you. After all, we’ve had hydro-electric energy for decades. But the downside of this is that we’re running out of rivers to put dams on, plus the fact that by damming rivers we often create huge environmental problems, such as flooding of towns, destruction of natural habitats and so on. (Not to mention that many countries don’t have rivers to dam anyway!).

Nuclear energy is good, efficient and kind on resources, but it does have its own set of issues which are fundamental, such as where to put spent fuel rods. Not in my backyard, thanks. There are also wind farms and solar heating sites, but they do not contribute hugely to energy supplies.

So, is it all doom and gloom? I don’t think so. It seems to me that the answer is to stop thinking big, and instead think small. Renewable energy sources, such as the sun and the wind, can be used in small scale as well as large scale operations. (In fact, there is large scale resistance to large scale wind farms, because of their perceived ugliness and adverse environmental impact.)

Small scale ie home or community sun and wind power schemes, however, do not impact on the environment in nearly the same way, and therefore are, or certainly ought to be, much more acceptable. There are renewable home energy systems available, and some countries subsidise homeowners to install them. However, it’s more than fair to say that there is no huge uptake of such systems, as any of us can see from simply driving around our neighbourhoods. I think this is partly inertia on most of our parts, and partly because the upfront cost is unaffordable to many of us.

Let’s address some of the ways in which such systems might gain more public acceptance:

• couldn’t governments divert funds on a much greater scale to home/community rather than national energy solutions? Of course they could. Yes, there will be resistance from existing energy companies, but aren’t they becoming dinosaurs anyway?

• More funding allied with public education campaigns (“Think Small!” “Save on Energy Costs!” etc) would likely have a very positive effect.

• More subsidies for those households who use renewable energy would be attractive, perhaps in the form of reduced local body taxes.

• Tax breaks and assistance for the companies supplying the systems would attract innovators and entrepreneurs into the market, resulting in smaller, more efficient renewable energy systems.

• Make the installation of renewable energy systems compulsory in new homes. Increased home costs? Yes, but look at the huge saving on energy operating costs.

It is a mantra to many that there are no problems in life, only solutions. I’m not sure that’s always true, but with respect to energy we all have to make the current problem an opportunity, because we have no choice. The energy sources we have taken for granted all our lives are running out and/or are environmentally unacceptable. Unless we address the issue in a meaningful way, lack of energy could be a real issue for succeeding generations. I applaud all the work going on to develop new energy sources (such as battery or hydrogen powered vehicles) but to a very large extent the ability to turn our energy problems into solutions already exists: sun, wind and, to a lesser extent, water.

Imagine a future where every household has its own renewable energy source. Sounds great to me!

You can visit my website www.shoxzy.com or my blog on this at http://shoxy314.wordpress.com/renewable-low-cost-energy-for-homes/




By: Gavin Cockcroft

About the Author:
Gavin Cockcroft is an expert in the feild of Renewable Energy – Here at Last, Thank God Almighty, Here at Last
For more information see: Solar Energy


For more information visit DIY Solar panels

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Wind Power Generators – A Realistic Alternative

With the world starting to shift toward green living many are looking into conserving energy. Many people think of solar panels first as this is the most common choice for residential customers. I don’t know about you, but in my area of the world the wind is always blowing. Nothing compliments solar panels than a wind power generator.

Keep in mind, with a wind power generator the wind is you fuel. I often see people who invest in creating alternative energy and are disappointed that they aren’t seeing great results. To achieve great results, choose a product that is going to benefit you the most. When you can, combine the use of solar panels and wind power to achieve maximum results.

While wind power is a great way to create electricity, you may not achieve the goal of living completely off the grid. Now this depends entirely on your environment as we all know wind is widely unpredictable and is ever changing.

You will achieve greater results if you are able to invest in a larger wind mill and have an area for it. There are many claims to living completely off of the grid, and while some may be true its going to be very hard to reach this goal with a small wind mill. Think of it this way, you are literally trying to catch wind. Obviously the larger the blades and the taller the windmill the more you will be able to catch!

I am a big believer in alternative energy, whether or not we are able to live off of the grid depends on how big of an investment we are able to make. I know many may not be able to purchase solar panels, or a large wind power generator for that matter but we can all start somewhere.

There are so many DIY projects available, you might not achieve all that you want with a small project but you can start somewhere. These projects are great to do with children. You will be able to teach them about wind power while opening up a conversation about what we are doing to our mother earth and what will happen if we don’t take steps to change.

I have completed a couple of DIY projects myself, honestly the first didn’t turn out exactly how I had planned. If you want to take steps toward saving energy there are so many affordable options available. Whether you hire a contractor to build your wind power generator or opt to do it yourself, you will reap the benefits.

Looking for a DIY project? Check out Wind Power Generators and take the steps and start conserving energy.

By: M Jefferson

About the Author:

M Jefferson is an expert in the field of Wind Power Generators – A Realistic Alternative
For more information see: Renewable energy
For more information visit DIY Solar and Wind Power Generators

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Solar Panel Cost – Buying Solar Panels From Retailers Vs Building Your Own

If you’ve been looking to find out how much a solar panel costs you really have to look no further. The main reason I am writing this article is to make the clear difference between the cost of a professional solar panel and DIY homemade solar panel that you can build all by yourself. If you decide to build the solar panel on your own you can save a few thousand dollars and still live off the grid.

Installing professional solar panels is quite costly

There are a lot of firms these days that offer professional services to assemble solar panels in your home. However we’ve done a little research and to be honest they don’t come cheap at all. If you decide to install a professional solar power system then you can expect to pull out of your pockets as much as three thousand dollars or even more. For those that can afford to spend thousands on solar panels and the installation process it’s not a bad decision however you don’t need to waste your money when there are tens of DIY guides available right now and you can build the solar panels on your own.

Building your own homemade solar power system and reduce the costs by thousands of dollars

Thousand of houses in the U.S. alone are living off the grid at the moment. Renewable energy can be generated now by homemade solar panels and you can build them on your own even if you are a DIY novice simply following an inexpensive DIY guide.

Some guides will teach you step- by-step how to assembly and properly install a solar power system in your home from scratch. Some DIY guides will even teach you how to get all the components for pennies, in fact the whole system should not cost you more than two hundred dollars.

You don’t need to spend thousands on solar panels and the installation costs to harness the endless benefits of solar energy when you can simply choose to buy a cheap DIY guide and start building your own homemade solar panels with ease. You will not only be saving hundreds each month but you’ll get the satisfaction of living off-grid and going green at the same time.

If you’re tired of high electricity bills discover how thousands of families worldwide benefit from homemade solar panels to power their homes.

For more information on how to build your own homemade windmill read our Earth4Energy Review

By: Alex

About the Author:

Alex is an expert in the field of Solar Panel Cost – Buying Solar Panels From Retailers Vs Building Your Own
For more information see: DIY Solar panels
For reviews of DIY solar panel guides visit Solar Energy

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