In general, solar water heater systems can be more costly to purchase and setup than standard gas or electric water heating systems. However, by using a solar heater you will definitely save money on the long run.. By selecting to use solar energy technology you can expect to save around 50 to 80% on your electricity bills.
Gathering energy coming from the sun to heat water is not a new idea at all. Such technology using solar power for heating water exists since the year 1800. Producing warm water with solar energy can be employed about every where in the world and the sun and some special equipment is the only thing needed.
The key parts of a solar water heater are the solar collectors that grab and concentrate the energy coming from the sun and the storage tank. Such simple setup is usually called passive solar power. When mechanical and electrical devices such electric pumps are installed in the system to push the water it is then called solar active. To keep the water hot for long period of time a good insulation should be made to the storage tank.
Usually you will find two types more…
On a rooftop of a multi-duplex building in Louisville, solar panels reflect rays of sunlight and future prospects for renewable energy amidst recent concerns over electric and gas prices. Cynthia Cooke is landlord and owner of the historic 1800’s building on Hepburn Ave, where SunWind Power Systems, Inc. recently installed hot water solar panels.
Cooke was able to capitalize on a $500 rebate offered by the University of Louisville Energy Center and a $2000 federal tax credit, and should observe a net savings of approximately 21% on her annual utility bill. However, the current economic advantage is not the primary reason Cooke decided to go solar. Rather, she chose solar power because it is clean, non-polluting, free, and sustainable. The environmental advantage made the decision easy for this local activist.
Part owner and installer for SunWind Power Systems, Inc. Jeremy Coxon, describes energy as a commodity and most people as renters. “In choosing renewable energy, people become owners of energy,” Coxon said. He tells his customers to expect 70% reduction in their hot water bills.
Solar hot water systems are a century old, but recent improvements in the technology and more…
When people use the term Solar Power they are usually describing one of a number of methods of harnessing energy from the sun. As traditional energy sources deplete and environmental concerns about global warming increase, renewable energies such as solar power are becoming more popular across the world.
There are two methods of harnessing solar energy, solar electric power which use photovoltaic cells to change the sun’s radiation into electricity, and thermal solar energy where the sun’s energy is used to heat water. Photovoltaic cells consist of one or two layers of a semi conducting material, usually silicon. When the suns light shines on the cell it creates an electric field across the layers, causing electricity to flow. The greater the intensity of the light, the greater the flow of electricity. Solar thermal energy is a relatively simple process where water is pumped into solar panels and, as it runs through them, is heated and then kept in a tank ready for use. The water will stay hot for around a day .
If you want to harness solar power for your home , then solar panels are usually fitted to your house roof . These operate during more…
SAVE ELECTRICITY AND WATER
There are many ways to save on electricity and even water. If you live in the western States like I do, we are often on water rationing. Our water bills are very high. So how can we save more money on electricity and water bills?
Heres a few ideas:
ELECTRICITY
Turn down your thermostat to 68 in the winter and 72 or more in the summer.
Leave it there. Put on an extra sweater if youre cold.
Turn down your hot water heater to 120 degrees
Think about insulating those areas of the house leaking energy
Are your windows leaking? Seal them
Get some energy efficient long term light bulbs
Look into Energy efficient appliances
Think about solar and wind
Build Your Own Solar and Wind System
This book is the most comprehensive guide to truly building your own systems to provide electricity for your home. This is a top selling book for a good reason, it’s full of all the information you’ll need to do this project. Check it out for yourself ! See my website link at the bottom of the page.
WATER
Use a rainbarrel outside to capture rain water. Use it to water your garden and lawn.
Dont flush more…
From the word itself, it is perfectly understandable that the water heater warms or heats water. We cannot deny the fact that we need hot water. We need it for our coffee and soups. We need hot water for our baths (we don’t want to freeze to death with cold water). We need it to wash our clothes in, to clean our cars with and to warm our pools. We need it for a relaxing soak in the tub after a hard day at work. Truly, there are many things that require the use of hot water and the easiest way to have hot water is by utilizing water heaters.
The market right now offers different types and kinds of water heater to suit everyone’s needs. Currently there are four types and you can choose one that you think would best suit your requirements and your budget.
One that is gaining popularity is the solar water heater. The solar water heater depends on the sun’s power to heat up your water. Your geographical location is important to consider when buying this type of water heater. It is important that more…
Solar power is recently broadly used not only from business but from private homes instead of traditional energy resources. The main benefit of using it is that it is renewable - solar power cannot finish and as long as there is sunlight power can be generated.
What do you need to have to benefit from renewable solar power? In fact the equipment needed is neither extraordinary nor very expensive. All you need to have to start using solar power as alternative energy source s solar panels. Moreover solar panels are pretty easy to be manufactured in case you want to do them yourself. The materials required are not very expensive and the actual manufacturing does not require great skills.
Once you have the solar panels installed you should decide what for you will use the renewable solar power. It can be used for generating electricity or heating of your home or just for heating water. Many people prefer using solar panels to get hot water only. Other uses it for home heating as well. Some also get panels installed to generate electricity. Still you will have to get a lot of solar panels installed if you want to fully replace more…
How to make a solar powered water battery
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could meet our rising energy demands using sources that are clean and abundant. Ohh say . . . . water and the sun. Well that dream is becoming reality. Amazingly enough, the technology is being driven by extraterrestrial dreams!
I recently read an article on NASA’s website that described a technology they think will be quite useful when establishing a permanent base on the Moon (supposedly going to happen in the next couple decades). This technology makes use of the abundant solar energy illuminating the Moon’s surface. The problem comes when night falls. The answer, a water battery of course!
Well, not exactly the battery you and I think of every day. Really though, the purpose of a battery is to store energy. So how can we use water to do this on the Moon. The technology discussed in the article was called a closed fuel cell. A fuel cell, at least the one discussed in the article is a device that takes hydrogen gas and combines it with oxygen to form water. Anyone who has seen more…
Home solar energy, residential solar panels. They are phrases that one hears a lot in the news, on television, in discussions about the environment and greenhouse gas reduction, and even around the office water cooler. Why would one choose to install residential solar panels, what will one benefit from a home solar energy installation?
Home solar energy installations benefit the homeowner in a number of ways. The most obvious, of course, is that one save money on one’s energy bills. Even a modest installation will pay off handsomely in reduced energy costs, and larger installations may even earn one money if the local supply authority has arrangements in place for paying for excess energy fed back into the grid.
By choosing efficient appliances and selecting the times of operation carefully, one stands to make quite large gains. Furthermore, solar electricity is only one form of solar energy. A good solar hot water system with a small gas or electric booster and a reasonably large capacity will provide even more energy savings. Such diversification will also ensure that maximum use is made of the available sunlight.
But economy of course is not the only benefit of a home solar installation. While more…
Most people have wondered at least a time or two about how a water heater is able to keep hot water pouring from the shower head for the duration of our morning shower. As devices go, the method that a water heater employs to get this done is very simple. For about 75 years, the basics of the water heater have not changed.
All tank-type water heaters have the same common elements. The first and most obvious thing about a water heater is the tank. These can range from 10 gallons up to over 100 gallons. The tank is where water is stored while being heated and held until it is sent out to some open hot water faucet. Water heaters require two water pipes. One to let cold water into the tank and a second to carry hot water to where it is needed. Every water heater has a pop off valve that releases if the pressure in the tank gets too high and a drain to let the water out of the tank for repairs or replacement.
The final common component in a hot water heater is a way to more…
Our government needs to be a lot more assertive and aggressive in developing renewable energy sources. We have set on our reserves of fossil fuel and paid these foreign countries billions of dollars for something we have right here. One of the big reasons for this I think is that people like both of the Bushes, Dick Cheney and probably many others had received big kickbacks from outfits like Halliburton who has gotten fat contract without the benefits of competitive bids. In other words it was not in there best interest to push for renewable energy resources.
We are supposedly the most highly advanced country in the world when it comes to technology and we should have had a lot of this renewable energy developed a long time ago. I was intrigued with solar energy way back in the early seventies and I had a solar water heater on my house in Tallahassee Florida, I never really did set down and figure out how much it saved me or if I even recouped my investment but we sure did have plenty of hot water for showers when we came in from working out in that more…
