Outside Solar-Powered Lights
Mankind desires light. We humans are reliant on light unlike some other species. Our whole world existed only in the day time for millions of years. We woke up with the sunlight and went to bed when the sun went down. Afterward, we learned to produce our own light, but we were not totally successful at it until we commenced using electricity to produce light.
This has worked well for almost a hundred years, but now we know that the main fuel used to produce our electricity, that is to say oil, is becoming too difficult to get hold of and more and more wars are being fought to guarantee the West’s supply of oil.
Not only that, but greater and greater risks are being taken by oil bosses, which has lead to more and more disasters like that of the deep sea rig off Louisiana in the USA.
Therefore, the time has arrived, some even say that it is long overdue, that we depend on a different source of power and less on oil. The simplest and least risky way to create electricity at the moment seems to be solar power. The technology has been with us for decades, but it was not viable for households to use it because it was too expensive, but that is no longer true.
The capability to use solar power to make electricity for our lighting and indeed all our requirements is there, already at hand. The only difficulty is that there are many oil baron billionaires who do not see this development as being in their interest. And they are right, in a way, it is not in their selfish interest to decrease our dependence on oil, but it is in the planet’s and its population’s interest. That is mankind’s predicament at this moment.
Solar panels can be utilized to produce electricity for immediate use either inside or outside the home and the surplus generated can either be stored in batteries or fed back into the electric grid for which you will be remunerated (and remunerated at a very high rate, in some countries).
If you are not ready to come off the grid just quite yet, you could still use solar panels to power some of your external lights. In fact, there is a broad choice of outdoor lighting that provides its own power.
These external lights use mini solar panels, which the manufacturer has built in to the casing of the light to create power from the sunlight during daylight hours and then stores it in internal batteries to be used later.
These lights also have a capacity to run the light on battery power from dusk until dawn. The solar unit determines whether to charge the batteries or give off light by the strength of the ambient light. This solar power set up is ideal for external security lighting and accent lighting in the garden. They are perfect for lighting up the fish pond or the drive too.
Solar powered external lighting has come a long way and it is well worth you finding out more, if you would like to reduce your dependency on electricity produced by oil from the grid.
Owen Jones, the writer of this article writes on a number of subjects, but is now involved with outdoor accent lighting. If you would like to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at Outdoor Wall Lamps.
categories: lighting,security,solar power,alternative,energy,house,garden,family,crime,diy,hobbies,other,uncategorised
Saving Money With Solar Energy
Solar energy installation is initially expensive and therefore a major deterrent. Currently, it’s more expensive for the average American to purchase equipment for a solar home energy system than it is to purchase the conventional fossil fuel home energy system. When looking at the “bigger picture”, however, of a solar energy system installation, here are a few things to consider:
1. Using solar panels to capture and use the sun’s energy will improve your home value.
2. Solar home energy systems pay for themselves in about half their lifetime (on average 25 – 30 years lifetime).
3. A solar energy system is clean and non-polluting. It’s also maintenance-free or low maintenance, because it has no moving parts to break or replace.
4. If you generate more power than you need, you may be able to sell your excess energy to your local electric company.
5. Government sponsored rebates and incentives are available that you may be qualified for.
If you’ve been keeping up with home building trends, you’ve undoubtedly noticed more and more home owners are interested in “going green,” resulting in a remarkable trend toward using as many renewable resources, including solar energy, for construction, as possible. Not only will this trend result in a rising value for “green” homes, it will also push costs for solar energy and other environmentally-friendly building supplies down.
If you’re convinced that solar energy is the way to go when building or remodeling your home, but just not sure if you can afford it…or are willing to pay the initial costs, consider doing the installation yourself. Getting solar panels installed by a contractor can be very expensive…look for bids that are easily 10 times what it would cost you to do it yourself. Solar energy panel construction isn’t terribly difficult…no rocket science involved. It’s basically a specially constructed solar panel (wooden box, photovoltaic [PV] cells, wire, soldering iron, connections, tempered or plexiglass and silicone sealant) to capture the sunlight’s energy on the PV cells that activate electrons. As the electrons move and are directed, they create the electrical chain that you then put through a charge controller in the form of a DC charge. You then capture the charge in either a deep cycle storage battery, or run it through an inverter to transform it into 110 volt AC current. You can find many DIY models on the Internet…some that offer free tips and tricks with instruction, and some that charge a small amount. One site that provides clear instruction at a very reasonable cost is Earth4Energy.
And, of course, you can cut your energy costs by taking advantage of passive solar energy. Explore the most advantageous way to use the sun’s energy to direct sunlight to your home’s windows, floors and walls, in order to distribute heat in the winter, and reject it in the summer. There are no panels, mechanical or electrical devices involved in passive solar energy, but there are five elements of passive solar design that are critical for success. They include a collector – glass area through which sunlight enters the building; an absorber – hard, dark surface where sunlight hits and is absorbed as heat; thermal mass – material below or behind the absorber; distribution – the way in which the solar heat circulates; and control -blinds, awnings, roof overhangs, and differential thermostats.
Using passive, active, or a combination of the two, you can save money with a solar energy installation. Yes, you’ll likely pay more initially, although doing your own installation can certainly reduce that cost. But you’ll be reducing environmental damage to the planet, and you’ll also save money on your utility bills as fossil fuel expenses continue to escalate.
States CEO and President Rhone Resch, Solar Energy Industries Association, on Earth Day 2010: “Today we need to take action to accelerate the deployment of solar. If you are a homeowner or business owner, consider putting solar on your property or buying clean energy through your utility. And if you are a policymaker, consider incentives, like extending the federal Treasury Grant Program, that are working to stimulate more investment in solar.”
Whatever thing, large or small, that each one of us can do to support and encourage the development and usage of solar energy will make a difference for generations to come.
Want to find out more about solar power costs, then visit Timothy Peters’s site at: www.HomeSolarPowerExplained.com
Helping The Environment By Using A Water Filtration System
The environment has been drastically affected by waste over the past few decades to the point that it has become a problem. The landfills in the U.S. have continued to grow to enormous size and the rates for recycling have remained dismally lower than one would like. This problem is largely due to the number of plastic bottles and containers that are not properly disposed of every day. The fact that thousands of consumers dispose of these bottles improperly only adds to the problem for the environment and creates more trash than we know what to do with.
In a 2001 report of the WWF (or World Wildlife Fund), there were over 1.5 million tons of plastic distributed for the bottling of 89 billion liters of water that year. This has increased every year since. This staggering amount exacerbates the waste problem by adding to the number of unused plastic bottles that are thrown into landfills and never recycled. Not only are there too many bottles produced and discarded each year, but the amount of energy that is needed to manufacture them is overwhelming. Bottled water companies use a large number of unregulated resources in their production of the billions of bottles, and this has had a serious impact on the environment. It has been suggested by the WWF that bottled water companies use local bottling facilities in an effort to lessen the fuel expenditures for transporting the bottles.
How you can help
There are things that consumers can do to help reduce their impact on the environment. One of the best ways, of course, is to always recycle your plastic bottles and containers, and assure that they are taken to a recycling facility and prepared for future use. Another way is to wash your water bottles out and reuse them. This is a great way to reduce the number of bottles being thrown away improperly, although it is recommended that you only reuse your bottles once due to slow contamination of the water from the bottle over time. Besides all these other good ideas, there is one major way you can have an impact, and that is with a water filtration system.
By using a water filtration system you are not only helping the environment by reducing the disposal of plastic bottles, but you are also helping yourself. Water filtration systems are ideal for homes as well as businesses. They remove as many or more dangerous contaminants than the large-scale industrial purification methods out there. Remember, the large water treatment facilities cannot always control dangerous outbreaks of certain bacteria. The water that the home filtration systems produce is not subject to phthalate contaminants, and the systems can remove cryptosporidium, a chemical that neither the water treatment facilities nor bottled water companies can completely filter out. Tap water is not anywhere close to being clear of contamination. Sickness and even death from certain contaminants are what initially began the bottled water revolution and sparked controversy over harmful chemicals in the tap water used throughout the United States.
Drinking home filtration system water is also very economical and reduces the cost of constantly purchasing bottled water. Although you need to replace your filter for your system every so often, if you added up the cost to replace these compared to how much and how often you actually buy bottled water you would probably be very shocked. Water filters are also more energy efficient since they use no more energy than is already required to propel the water through a home’s plumbing system. They can also circumvent many of the environmental problems that the bottled water industry causes.
Purchasing water filters can also help the environment by putting more money back into the economy instead of into the cost of recycling and cleaning up the mess from improper disposal of bottles. This extra money could help aid in other environmental efforts like helping endangered species, protecting the rain forests and defending other of Earth’s natural habitats.
Water filters are cost-efficient, good for your overall health and safe for the environment, as well. Helping to reduce the waste from unrecycled plastic bottles will allow the environment a chance to clean up and begin to change for the better. Reducing, reusing and recycling are important ways to begin your personal environmental turnaround, but putting a good water filtration system in your home is one of the best ways to make a powerful impact in one move.
Water Filters Fast carries a stunning array of water filters and refrigerator water filters for all of your home and business water filtration needs.
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How To Save Money With Solar Energy
The initial expense of a solar energy installation is one of its primary deterrents. For the average American today, the traditional fossil fuel home energy system is less expensive to purchase than a solar home energy system. A solar energy installation, however, has a bigger picture to consider:
1. Capturing the sun with solar panels and using that energy will enhance the value of your home.
2. Your solar home energy system will be paid for in about half its lifetime (25-30 years average lifetime).
3. You are installing a clean, non-polluting system that, since there are no moving parts to break or replace, will be either low maintenance or maintenance-free.
4. If you generate more power than you need, you may be able to sell your excess energy to your local electric company.
5. You may be eligible for government sponsored rebates and incentives.
If you’ve been keeping up with home building trends, you’ve undoubtedly noticed more and more home owners are interested in “going green,” resulting in a remarkable trend toward using as many renewable resources, including solar energy, for construction, as possible. Not only will this trend result in a rising value for “green” homes, it will also push costs for solar energy and other environmentally-friendly building supplies down.
If you’ve decided you really want solar energy when building or remodeling your home, but can’t convince yourself you can afford it…at least the initial installation cost…consider installing the system yourself. Solar panels installed by a contractor is much more expensive…bids are coming in that are 10 times or greater more than what you would pay if you did your own installation. There’s no rocket science involved in solar energy construction or installation. Basically, you have a specially constructed solar panel (a box, PV or photovoltaic cells, wire, soldering iron, connections, a cover made of tempered or plexiglass and silicone or other sealant), that captures the sunlight’s energy to activate the electrons on the PV cells. When those electrons move, and then are directed through your panel, they create an electrical chain. That goes through a charge controller in the form of a DC charge. Then, the charge gets either run through an inverter to transform it into 110 volt AC current, or it gets captured in a deep cycle storage battery. There are many DIY models on the Internet with tips, tricks, and instructions. Some are free and some charge a small amount. Look at Earth4Energy to find a clear instruction for a very reasonable amount.
Taking advantage of passive solar energy is a great way to cut your energy costs. Examine closely the best ways to take advantage of the sun’s energy to direct the sunlight to your home’s windows, then walls and floors, to allow heat distribution in the winter, and summertime rejection. No electrical or mechanical devices or solar panels are necessary in passive solar energy, although there are five critical elements for success in passive solar design. Those five critical elements are 1) area…glass generally, to allow sunlight into your building; 2) absorber…hard, dark surface for the sunlight to hit and be absorbed as heat; 3) thermal mass…the material below or behind the absorber; 4) distribution plan or system…how the solar heat gets circulated; and 5) control…awnings, blinds, differential thermostats and roof overhangs.
There’s money to be saved using solar energy, whether you use passive or active, or combine the two. While your initial cost may be higher, (although you can reduce that expense significantly with your own installation) consider the cost of your energy usage over time. With constantly rising fossil fuel expenses, putting in solar energy is going to ultimately save you money on your utility bills. And, you’ll be saving the planet from the environmental damage that continues to escalate.
On Earth Day 2010, Rhone Resch, who is the CEO and President of Solar Energy Industries Association said: “Today we need to take action to accelerate the deployment of solar. If you are a homeowner or business owner, consider putting solar on your property or buying clean energy through your utility. And if you are a policymaker, consider incentives, like extending the federal Treasury Grant Program, that are working to stimulate more investment in solar.”
Large or small, whatever thing each of us might do that encourages and supports solar energy development, will benefit generations to come.
Learn more about solar power costs. Stop by Timothy Peters’s site where you can find out all about home solar power and what it can do for you.
