Still, there are ways to make sure that you are saving the most money that you can on your energy use and that you are not impacting the environment with your daily activities any more than you have to.

If you have been wondering how you can save money through saving power and how you can reduce the energy use of your living room space, you are not alone. This is the room that most of us spend many hours a day in and it’s where some of the highest energy use items that we own are located like our TVs. You might be afraid that you will have to just spend less time in this room but that is not actually the case.

If you are ready to learn more about how to save energy in your living room, you need to read on for more information!

Energy Saving Tips for Your Living Room

These tips can all help you to improve your energy consumption and make your home more cost-effective and better for the environment. You might use all of these tips or only a few of them for your needs, but all of them can help you to save money and help the environment.

1. Use Power Strips

Plugging all of your high output items like your TV and your gaming consoles into a power strip can help you to eliminate draw off the outlets when you are not using these items. You will save energy when these appliances are in standby mode and they will not be likely to enter this mode while plugged into the wall directly. This is also a good fail-safe to prevent high draw from causing issues with your fuse box and other electrical setups in your home or rental property.

Many people who are planning to be away for an extended time or who don’t want to have to worry about a draw that should not be happening when the TV is no one will actually unplug the power strip to prevent this from being a concern. Especially in some older buildings or apartments, you might be shocked at how much money you are paying every month for power just because your TV and other items are plugged in all the time.

2. Use Drapes Properly

If you have drapes, make sure that they are closed when it is cold out and you want to keep heat inside your living room. You will find that older buildings often have less energy-efficient windows and that you will lose a lot of your heat to the windows just by having them uncovered. If you are going to have drapes on your windows, you should use them to your advantage to keep the heat inside your living room.

If you have wall heaters in your living room, drapes can really help to keep the heat in that you have paid for with electricity. You should always make sure that your drapes are not blocking the heater or the hot and cold air registers as well. This can cause fire hazards in some cases and can block the efficiency of your heating and cooling systems in a dramatic way.

3. Place Lamps Away From the Thermostat

Keeping sources of heat like your lamps or your TV away from the thermostat can make a big difference in the energy efficiency of your living room space. If your thermostat thinks that the room as a whole is hotter than it is, it might be running the heat at the wrong times or using the air conditioning far more than it needs to. Your thermostat tells the heating and cooling system in your home what temperature the interior of the house is and sources of heat like appliances can throw this off by a lot.

You should always make sure that you check the environment near the thermostat once in a while to be sure that you are not causing yourself to be inefficient in your heating and cooling just because the thermostat does not know what temperature your living room actually is. This is one of the biggest ways that people lose money on efficiency each year and you will love getting this money back and giving back to the power grid by not using the power you don’t actually need on a daily basis.

4. Use LEDs in Your Living Room to Save Energy

If you are still using traditional light bulbs, you need to switch to LED lighting for your living room. These lights use much less power and they will last for ten years. They also do not create heat which can help with thermostat issues and heat in the room in the summer. You will find that they cast a nice blue-white light as well which can be really great if you need to see details of your work or you want to avoid the soft amber color of other lightbulbs.

LED lights are not expensive at all and you will find that they can greatly impact your overall energy use throughout your home. Most people make the switch to LED lighting in their whole home when they swap out one area of the house. This is a much better way to generate light and it is so cost-effective that it is well worth the cost to make this change throughout your home.

5. Bundle Up

If you are trying to save some money on energy, you can wear a sweater or cover yourself with a blanket to stay warm in the winter months. This can help you to save a lot of money because even heating your living room by a single degree can require quite a lot of energy to be expended. This is particularly true if you are using wall heaters to heat your living room. You will save a lot of power just by making sure that you are warm without having to change the actual room temperature.

For those who are worried about having to spend money on a wall heater to heat your living room, you might have better luck with an oil heater or even energy-efficient space heaters. Older wall heater units can actually be very inefficient and will cost you far more to use than a simple oil heater would.

6. Conserve Energy by Opening the Living Room Windows 

In the summer when things get warm during the day, if you can open the windows at night to cool the house down, you will save a lot of money on your air conditioning costs. It can really add up to keep rooms cool all day in warmer locations and opening up your windows at night can help the rooms in your home to stay at a reasonable temperature all day without running the air conditioning. If you like to watch TV in the summer, you can try to wait until the evening when the windows are open to cool things off.

Being willing to hold off on using appliances that generate heat during the summer months can be a great way to save money on cooling costs. You will find that your TV creates more heat than you think it does and waiting to watch TV or movies until the evening can be a big help to your power use throughout the day. Beyond that, you probably have other things that you are doing all day long instead of watching TV, so having the TV on for background noise is just leading to energy use that you can avoid.

7. Close Off Attached Rooms

If you are not using your guest room that connects to the living room or you have an office that you are not spending time in during the day, close these spaces off. Both heating and cooling will be slowed down if your living room is open to other spaces that might not be at the same temperature and may not need to be as cool or warm as your living room. The more that you can close off unused spaces during the hottest and coldest months of the year, the more you can save on electricity use for heating and cooling.

Even if you have unused rooms in other parts of the home that are away from the living room, these unused spaces might be impacting your heating and cooling costs in the living room and other areas. Closing off unused spaces will almost always save you money throughout the course of the year. If you are not going to be in these spaces, there is no need to be heating and cooling them all day each day.

8. Clean Your Filters

Make sure that you clean the filters in your cooling and heating system at least twice a year. When these filters become clogged, they can make your heating and cooling much less efficient. This can also cause strain on your heating and cooling systems that can lead to breakdowns that are expensive to fix. Cleaning your filters is easy and you might be even better off if you just replace them with new ones each time that you check on the status of your filters.

If you have been struggling with allergies or other issues, this can also help you to feel better. Dust and allergens can build up in your filters and make the air that is blowing into your home be less healthy than would be ideal. There are many reasons that you should clean your filters and only some of them have to do with saving money and increasing energy efficiency.

9. Replace Old Living Room Appliances to Reduce Energy

Any old appliances that you own that are in use in any room of your house might be causing a big draw on your electricity. This is a common issue with older appliances and many people find that when they replace their older appliances with newer items, they have a reduced power bill and waste less energy.

You might not be able to replace all of your older appliances at the same time, but you should consider replacing the work offenders as soon as possible if you want to save energy. There are many older appliances that can also cause issues with too much draw on your electrical system which can lead to blown fuses and other issues that could otherwise be avoided. You might have to replace your older TV with a newer model as well, but most quality TVs are smaller and generate less heat which is an added bonus.

10. Check for Leaking Windows

If you have older windows, they might not be sealed properly. This can lead to moisture and cold air seeping in that should not be getting into your home. You can replace these windows or seal around them to make sure that you do not have issues with cold air and moisture getting into the room and changing the temperature.

This can be one of the biggest ways that people waste money each year on heating and cooling and often it is one that is overlooked. Unless you stand by your windows for a bit each day, you may not be aware that the cold drafts that you are feeling are from the windows themselves. This is often the culprit for heating and cooling expenses in older homes and rentals but you can still often attend to these problems with ease even if this is not your own home.

11. Use Door Bolsters to Save Living Room Energy

If you have doors that close off your living room and you have closed them and are still not keeping the room as warm as you would like, you should consider getting door bolsters. These handy items will block the cold air that might be leaking under your doors and making your living room cold despite it being closed off from the rest of the house.

Door bolsters also help with noise control which can be really nice if you have roommates or other family members who are on a different schedule from you and don’t want to hear the TV or the video games that you are playing. Many people who discover that there is cold air leaking under their living room doors also find that this is an issue with other rooms of the house as well. Hallways and other connecting spaces tend to lose warmth throughout the day, so door bolsters can help keep warm air in the rooms that you actually spend time in.

12. Add Insulation 

If you are having trouble keeping your home cool or warm, there might not be enough insulation in the walls. You could consider having someone come look into this and advise you about ways to improve the insulation in your home to make sure that it is up to the standards needed to keep your living room warm or cool.

This can be a process to take care of the lack of insulation in parts of your home, but you will save a lot of money once the right insulation is in place. Modern homes have much more insulation than older homes and this can lead to a lot of wasted money and electricity each year trying to keep the temperature of these rooms from being uncomfortable.

Energy Saving in Your Living Room Doesn’t Have to be Hard

From the simple solution of putting on a sweater in the winter to closing doors to unused rooms and running the heat or air conditioning for only part of the day, you can impact your energy savings greatly just by making some adjustments. You will find that your daily routine and comfort will not be negatively impacted by any of the suggestions on this list and you might even feel more comfortable and at home in your living room once you implement these changes.

Saving energy can be harder in a rented space like an apartment, but you can still get the benefits of energy-saving from most of the items that are on this list. If you are able to make some large changes to the insulation in your home you might get the biggest benefit from this alteration to your home’s energy efficiency. This may not be practical for everyone but the other solutions on this list will offer big improvements to the energy efficiency of your home on a daily basis.

If you are tired of costly heating and cooling bills and you want to save the environment, using the tips and tricks on this list will help you to improve your monthly costs and help save the planet at the same time.

If you have wanted to go off the grid but are not sure what kinds of lights will work best for your needs, you are not alone. This is a common question that is asked when setting up a solar system and it is important to make sure that you have the right solar lighting to be comfortable and safe in your home. You will need to make sure that you look into a variety of factors related to the solar lighting that you choose so that you can ensure that you get the right lights for your unique needs.

If you are ready to learn more about the solar lighting that you should pick for your off-the-grid home, read on!

What is Solar Lighting?

Solar lighting can be used both inside and outside a home. If you are off the grid, you will need access to both kinds of lighting systems to make sure that your home is safe and secure during all the seasons of the year. Solar lighting is powered by solar panels that might be installed on the roof of your home or on the property in another location and then power is collected by batteries that power your lights.

You can use unique systems for each kind of solar lighting, and your outdoor lights might have their own collection point and battery while your home is powered by the solar panels that are on your roof. Solar lighting systems are powered by the energy that is created by the sun or daylight through cloud cover. You can install these lighting systems in any kind of home, not just one that needs to exist off the grid.

How Does Solar Lighting Work?

Solar lighting systems are powered by solar panels that are able to transfer the energy of the sun into battery power for your lighting. Solar cells are made up of many layers of crystalline silicon and chemicals that create layers of negatively charged electrons and positively charged spaces. These cells take the light of the sun and excite the negatively charged electrons. This pushes them into the positively charged spaces.

These spaces then move the electron stream as an electrical current into a battery. The electricity is then stored until it needs to be accessed. The battery will charge all throughout the day so long as there is light from the sun that can be converted to electricity. Solar cells that are attached to outdoor solar lighting will commonly use a photoreceptor that can tell when it is dark. This receptor tells the outdoor lighting system to turn on and start accessing the stored electricity in the batteries attached to the system.

Indoor lighting in your home will more than likely not be attached to any kind of photoreceptor and will still be controlled through the use of switches that are in each room. The lights in your home can be powered by the stored battery energy that has been created throughout the day.

How to Choose the Right Solar Light

Solar lights are often chosen based on the quality of the solar cell that they are attached to and the amount of battery that they can store for your needs. You will need higher quality solar panels for lights that will offer enough illumination and duration of light for certain needs. You will be smart to focus on LED lighting for your lighting system since it is energy efficient and offers very bright light.

LED lighting also does not generate heat and the color of the light is quite pleasant when you are trying to work under it or near it. Many homes are lit entirely with LED lighting these days and the bulbs will last for 10 years on average. This means that the LED lights should be an essential part of your solar light system.

Indoor lighting can be challenging when connected to solar if you do not have the right overall system in place. The active time of the light might be a few hours or 12 hours or more. You will want to look at the battery time that is promised in the product information before you pick an indoor light of this type. You can also look at the lumens that these lights will produce. Lumens are the rating for the brightness of the lights.

Lumen output for indoor lights should be about 1-10 lumens. Floodlights will need 1500 lumens or more to be effective. The color temperature of the lights might also be a factor as LED lights off white-blue light that gives the feel of daylight. Amber-toned lights are more commonly connected with indoor lighting due to their yellow-amber tone. LED lights are becoming more common in indoor lighting applications, but some people still prefer amber-toned lights.

Advantages of Selecting Solar Lighting

Solar lighting has many advantages that traditional lighting does not and if you are off the grid, this is your best option for this kind of use.

• This is an environmentally friendly way to create power and saves on other energy creation forms that can cause harm to animals and the environment.
• This is a cost-effective option that makes sure that you are converting power that would otherwise not be turned into accessible power that does not require any kind of energy transfer from other sources.
• These are low maintenance systems that do not need much in the way of attention unless they have reached the end of their life and need to be replaced.
• You can get solar power in a wide array of systems and arrangements. You might install your solar power system on the roof of your home or in another outdoor location.
• You can access hybrid systems that accept power from the grid as well as giving power to the grid when excess energy is created. This can sometimes generate income for your home and save you money on the energy that you use to power your home.
• You might gain access to tax breaks or government programs that will pay for the installation of your solar panels.

Disadvantages of Solar Lighting

• Some solar lighting will not work at night for as many hours as you might need. Lower-powered systems or systems with smaller batteries might not generate enough light or enough hours of light to take care of your needs if you are off the grid. Larger solar systems that can take care of this power need might be more expensive than you expected but can be necessary.
• Installing a solar power system for your home can be quite costly and without tax breaks or government programs backing you, you might not be able to afford this installation. If you are not in a situation where you can give power back to the grid, you will likely not be eligible for the programs that help fund converting to solar power.
• Batteries can be an issue as far as protection and safety and you might not have the room to store your batteries safely to make sure that they are not causing risks to your home’s safety.
• You will need a lot of space for a large solar panel set up if you are trying to power your home with this kind of system. You will need the right roof on your home and need enough space on the roof for this kind of system or you will need a large area to install your solar panels where they will not be damaged or be blocked from getting access to the sun they need to function.
• Silicon dust is actually harmful to your health and working on your own batteries and solar panel system can expose you to health risks that you should try to avoid.

Ways to Make Your Solar Panels Work Better

If you are wondering if there are ways to improve the function of your solar panels once they have been installed, you are clearly thinking ahead. Your solar panel system can only work effectively if you take care of them.

• Clean the panels once a month or so. Your solar panels can work just by absorbing the light from the sun behind the clouds, but they will be obstructed in this process if they are not clean enough to do so. You can just clean them with water and a soft cloth.
• Make sure that you have not placed your solar panels in areas that do not get access to light for most of the day in the winter. This can also lead to moss and other kinds of invaders growing on your solar panel if it is getting moist and it is not in direct light. You will need to care for these solar panels much more often if you have placed them incorrectly and they are only useful in the summer months.
• Consider the use of mirrors to help redirect and increase the amount of light that your solar panels are able to access in a day. You can place mirrors near any kind of solar system that is on the ground with ease and this will help them to be more efficient and effective, particularly if you are off the grid and cannot borrow power from the electricity that is being used by your neighbors.
• Always be sure to look in on your solar panels after a storm and make sure they have not been damaged. You will likely have a warranty to cover these repairs and you should use it any time there are issues with damage to your solar panels.
• Use your online monitoring tools to make sure that your solar panels are performing as they should and to be certain that you are getting the right results for your solar power needs. You might need to have your solar panels looked at if they stop generating as much power as they should or you see a reduction in power generated for a few days in a row.

Choosing Solar Lighting for Different Applications

You might be wondering where you can choose to use solar power for your property’s power needs. These are some common uses for solar-powered lights that you can take advantage of on your own property or in your own home.

1. Street Lighting

If you have a long driveway that needs some lighting and you do not want to have to pay to power these lights, you can use solar lights for this need with ease. Street lights that are maintained by the city are often solar-powered these days for the same reason since this reduces maintenance and demand on the power grid.

2. Driveway and Parking Lot Lights

If you have a driveway or a parking area on your property that needs to be lit at night, a solar lighting solution will take care of this for you. You will just need to be sure that you have the right system in place that provides the right lumens and power to light the space all night long or at the brightness that you want. If safety is a key factor, make sure that you have a powerful system with a strong light in place.

3. Yard Lighting

If you want to light pathways and walkways near your home, a simple solar light system will take care of this need for you. You do not need a big or fancy solar lighting solution to light paths and walkways near your home and you can even use a simple self-contained system for this need.

4. Portable Lighting

There are actually portable lights that are solar-powered that you can use to light construction areas or areas that do not always see activity but still need some light. If you have a parking area that only gets used when guests are in town, you can put a solar-powered light in this area that can be removed later. These lights are also commonly used for camping.

5. Motion Detection Lights

You can actually use solar-powered batteries to power motion lights if you wish as well. These lights will not draw on the power of the batteries all the time but they might need to be highly powered lights. You should be sure that you look into the lumen power and the battery charge that is needed to run these kinds of lights effectively to ensure that no one will come onto your property without the motion light turning on.

6. Signage

You can use solar power to light signs that indicate a business or show your name on the street if you live down a long road. Some people also use these kinds of lights to mark their mailbox for easy location in the dark. You will find that signage doesn’t need to have much in the way of support to stay lit at night and you can use a self-contained system for this need with ease.

7. Pool Area Lights

Many people use solar-powered systems to light up the area around their pool or hot tub. This is an easy thing to install in these areas and you will not need very bright lights for this need in most cases. If you are off the grid, you can actually power the interior lights of your pool with this setup as well. There are many safety applications for outdoor lighting that are solar-powered and if you are in an area that justifies having an outdoor pool, you likely get enough sun each day to power these lights easily.

8. Business Needs

If you are looking to run a business on your property that is off the grid, you can create an easy power storage solution using solar power that will run the machines and other items that are needed for your work. This is one of the best ways to leverage solar power and you will love that you can power your shop and still have leftover energy every day for other needs.

Choosing the Correct Solar Lighting FAQ

How Long Does a Solar Lighting System last?

A solar system will last for about 3-4 years on average before you will need to replace the panels. The LEDs will last ten years or so. You will know that parts of your system are going bad when they are not able to illuminate areas at night. The system will likely not all fail at once, so you will need to decide if you want to replace panels as they go bad or just replace the whole system at once.

Are Solar Lighting Systems Waterproof?

Yes, almost all solar lighting systems are waterproof. They have to be outdoors or installed on the roof of your home and so they are made to hold up to wet and to tough weather. There was a time where this was not the case but there have been many improvements in the technology that makes these solar panels and the systems as a whole possible. If you are not sure if your solar panels are waterproof, the manufacturer should be clear about this in the information about the product.

How Do I Select the Right Number of Solar Panels to Run a House Off-Grid?

Most of the information that has been collected as homes are converting to this method of power shows that you will need about 11,000-kilowatt-hours to have power for a 2,000 square foot home each year. This means that you will have about 13 solar panels for this size home to generate enough annual power supply to take care of your needs. There are some variables to this equation and if you are trying to run a shop of some kind out of your home that creates a heavy draw on power or you need to use excessive power for other reasons that are atypical, you might need more solar panels than this average number.

What Are Some Important Factors to Think About Before Installing Solar Lights?

This is a big investment so you need to think about some of the factors that might impact deciding on solar panels for your power needs. How much energy you need can impact your choice and you might need permits for your installation. The type of your roof can impact the installation process and the cost can vary depending on your location. You will also need to think about whether you will live in your current location long enough to pay off the solar panels. They will take about 5-6 years to pay themselves off so if you are going to move right away after you install them you will not get the full benefit of adding them to your home.

Which Solar Batteries Are Good for Outdoor and Indoor Use?

The best solar batteries to use outdoors and indoors are LG Chem Lithium-Ion batteries. Commonly outdoor solar batteries are flooded batteries that emit hydrogen gas and need to be used in well-ventilated areas away from your living space. You can make a garage or a protected space for them that is not going to connect to your living space. Indoor solar lights like LG Chem Lithium-Ion are safe for use in both locations, which is why they are the best choice for many systems.

Does Solar Lighting Work Through Glass?

Solar panels will work even when the sunlight has to pass through glass. Their efficiency and power outputs will be much reduced, however. This is why it is common to place solar panels on the roof of your home so that there is no impediment to their ability to collect power. There is no need to protect most solar panels from the elements, so there is no need to place your solar panels beneath glass protection of some kind.

There are still many homes in the world that are run on Biogas and you will find that you might have been missing out on a really simple source of light and power by not using this easy-to-make product for your own needs.

If you are living off the grid or need any easy means to create a power source for your home, Biogas might be the perfect solution for your needs. You will not need anything exotic to take care of this need and you will find that common items can generate big results when you set up the system correctly. Biogas is one of the easiest ways to create a source of power for your home without needing to use expensive methods to create it.

What is Biogas?

This is a renewable fuel that is made by the breakdown of organic matter like food scraps and animal wastes. This is a cheap way to fuel some vehicles and it can be used to fuel heating and electricity generators. This is a common way to fuel homes and farms in many countries around the world and is not utilized frequently in the US.

You can actually create your own renewable Biogas at home by creating a simple Biogas system that will generate enough fuel for all of your needs and might even make an excess that you can let other people in your off-the-grid community use. This is an antique method of creating fuel that has been well documented even in ancient times and it still offers a viable means to power and light homes and other places all around the world.

An additional benefit of this kind of system is that the products involved are not volatile in the same way that fossil fuels are and you will be able to make your own Biogas with ease. You would not be able to access fossil fuels with ease in the same way and this makes Biogas a really attractive option for those living off the grid.

Materials You Will Need to Make Biogas at Home

You will need to collect a few key items to make Biogas at home. These are easily sourced items and you will not have to look all over to get them. Make sure that you get quality parts for your Biogas system so that you do not end up replacing parts after only a short time using the system.

• Inlet pipe
• Digester tank
• Slurry outlet Pipe
• Gas outlet pipe
• Adhesive glue that is waterproof
• Vegetable matter like a head of lettuce or dried rice. Some people also use cattle manure or grass.

The digester tank can often be made from a scrap barrel or other large container that is made of durable material. You can heat a piece of metal to melt holes into the sides of the tank or you can drill them out if you have access to the right tools to do this.

You will also need something like a paint bucket for your gas holding tank. It will also need to have a hole melted or drilled into the center of the bottom so you will need to use your heating or drilling method again.

Steps to Make Biogas

1. Make an Airtight Environment

You will want to use your barrel or another durable container for the anaerobic digester. It can be tough to add new material to the digester without letting new oxygen into the system so you will want to make the traditional “teapot” system to allow for adding material without letting oxygen into the system.

You will either need to use a metal pipe to melt round inlet and outlet holes into the barrel or you can use a drill to create the holes. Glue the inlet and outlet pipe with a waterproof adhesive.

2. Add Material

You will need both biomaterial like manure or vegetation matter and some water to be in your tank to create the Biogas. You will want to make sure that you have the ratio of 10% of air space, 50% water, and 40% material to be sure that you are creating the right environment to create your Biogas.

To create the reservoir for the gas, you will need something like a large paint bucket. This will need a pipe fitted into the center of it and glued using the method that you used for the pipe insertion in the large barrel.

3. Put the Holding Tank Inside the Barrel

You will now place the gas holder inside the digester tank on top of the slurry. You will want to open the valve when you do this step. You will also want to be sure that the spigot is pointed upwards and can be threaded out the hole in the lid for the barrel or bin.

Your first batch of gas won’t burn since it will have carbon dioxide in it. You will need to use the second batch and subsequent batches after for burning purposes. These will be free of carbon dioxide and will burn perfectly.

4. Temperature Considerations

The temperature in the most general sense is like the power that you are applying to the process of creation. The more heat you apply, the more gas you will create. However, there is a ceiling to the whole process which happens when it gets too hot for the bacteria in your archaea and they decompose into more fragile states that do not make gas any longer.

Ideally speaking, you will want to be sure that you keep your archaea at about 50-85 degrees. This means that the breakdown process will take about 30 days. This is the most stable way to manage the system and it will make sure that your system can sustain itself even when temperatures fluctuate during high and low external temperature periods as well as times of inactivity.

5. Ensure Neutral pH

This is an important part of the process that aids in anaerobic digestion and you need to be sure that you take the pH at the inlet. You will need to see 5.5 for ideal conditions within the archaea. If your archaea has soured, you will not get gas from it anymore. This is easiest when you use cattle waste and that is the most common form of fuel for this process.

Checking your Biogas pH is really easy to do. You will just want to have pH test strips or you can get a special probe that is made to sit in the slurry and give you a reading of the pH that is present inside the digester.

How Much Biogas Can You Make?

The size of your system and the waste that you are using to fill it and create gas can impact the amount of Biogas that you can make. You will find that many digesters will make about 20 m3 per ton of waste and it will usually take about 10-15 days to generate your first batch of Biogas when you set up your system.

Larger systems can make as much as 800 m3 per ton which is a lot of Biogas! You might not need to generate high volumes of this product but if you do need to, you will want to use animal waste as well as a larger system to collect all of the Biogas that you need for your own use.

Biogas is an Untapped Resource in Many Places

This is a renewable power source that many people do not even know that they can generate on their own property. There is nothing expensive about setting up one of these systems and you will love that you can undertake this project and only have to wait for about two weeks to have a renewable fuel source that you did not have access to before. Using items that you have in your own home, you can create the freedom to love off the grid that many people enjoy all around the world.

One of the other really powerful benefits of using this kind of fuel source is that Biogas is renewable and does not require any kind of exotic materials that you will not have easy access to. Even rice can create Biogas, which makes this one of the most sustainable and readily accessed means to generate power. Imagine having all the fuel that you need right at your fingertips and for a fraction of the cost of fossil fuels!

If you are ready to make the switch to a renewable power source, this is one of the best choices that you can make.

But how can you play a role? If everyone thought like that, something would surely get done to make the world more inhabitable, cost-efficient, and safer.

While they may seem small, implementing personal power consumption changes can contribute to a more thoughtful way of living. These changes may inspire those around you: family, friends, coworkers, and peers; but there’s only one way to know: try!

The following tips are intended to guide you in making some simple yet effective shifts in your everyday living. Here’s how you can reduce and “greenify” your power consumption in three easy steps.

1 – Energy-Efficient Habits and Solutions

No one is expecting you to give up everything you know for “the cause.” But you can use energy more efficiently by changing some of your habits in simple ways.

Heating and Air Habits For Reducing Power Consumption

Cooling and heating are facts of life – but waste occurs; in addition to clothing choices, here’s what you can do. Examine your heating and cooling practices: does your HVAC system run continuously, and if so, what can you do instead?

Activate the air conditioner or furnace when necessary but deactivate or adjust the temperature when you leave home. Additionally, you can purchase a “smart thermostat,” which you can program to automatically change your home’s temperature appropriately.

Ultimately, reducing your power consumption will involve using power only when required. This means making common-sense decisions that are easy to implement and rely on self-constraint where energy is concerned.

While it may seem simple or inconvenient, finding alternatives to adjusting your home’s thermostat can be a big help. Try layering your shirts or wearing sweaters and jackets on cold days and wearing cool clothes on hot days.

Energy Efficient Devices Can Help Reduce Power Consumption

Light usage is another big energy user. Lowering their drain involves the kinds of lightbulbs you regularly use. Many people still use incandescent bulbs, which have mercury – a dangerous chemical – and are well outdated.

You can make the simple switch to LED lightbulbs, which are far more energy-efficient than traditional incandescent bulbs. LED lasts 25 times longer, with a lifespan of about 25,000 hours, and uses 75% less electricity, according to EnergyStar.

Furthermore, EnergyStar-rated appliances offer a set of standards that help you choose the best appliances for energy reduction. While the initial cost may be more expensive than a less efficient product, the reduced power consumption will pay off.

Unused Devices Should Be Turned Off To Reduce Power Consumption

Think of all the electronic devices you regularly own. Are any of them always plugged in, even when not in use? Most electronic devices still draw standby power despite being turned off, meaning your home could be riddled with energy “vampires.”

Devices such as televisions and microwaves should be unplugged or plugged into a switched-off power strip when idle. Additionally, shut down your computer – doing so won’t affect your device’s lifespan.

The easiest, most overlooked thing you can do is turn off lights when they’re not in use. Additionally, you can install motion-sensing switches to automatically turn off the lights when somebody isn’t detected in the room.

2 – Natural and/or Conventional Resources

Another step to reducing your energy consumption can be found just outside your door. Here’s how you can rely more on natural resources, without investing in state-of-the-art technology.

Windows Can Influence Your Power Consumption

Windows are tried and true inventions that can make a great difference during summer and winter. If you’re hesitant to consume power, knowing how to make the most out of your windows may be the solution.

On hot days, open the windows in the morning and evening to take advantage of the breeze. Additionally, closed blinds and awnings can be extra defenses against the heat shining through the windows.

On cold days, opening the blinds can make a huge difference, letting in the sun’s warmth. Additionally, window shutters can help you close out the coldness with extra support.

Moreover, make sure your windows are sealed completely to keep the heated or cooled air inside or outside the home. However, your windows may need replacing: some newer windows are built to be more energy-efficient.

The more you control the weather inside your home, the more you control the energy which generates it. And so, being aware and making use of your window’s efficiency may be the key to reducing excess consumption.

Insulation Can Save Power

Insulation is another great and simple way to take control of your home’s heating and cooling efforts. A little goes a long way in reducing cost and power consumption, and insulation is a great example of this.

For most homes, simply adding insulation to the attics can keep excess heat inside the home during winter. If your home has an electric furnace, adding more insulation to the walls, attic, or basement helps even more.

But the reverse is also true during the summer months: insulation can help keep the cool air inside your home. Help your air-conditioning unit by keeping that hot air out, where it belongs. You’ll likely be surprised by how much your overall household consumption lessens.

Fans, Fireplaces, and Space Heaters All Take Up a Lot of Electricity

During the summer, air conditioning may sound incredibly appealing, especially on those extra-hot days. But air conditioning relies on a lot of power, driving up your energy bills and contributing to potentially unnecessary consumption.

Installing ceiling fans in the rooms you use the most can increase air circulation without relying on air conditioning. After you’ve let in some cool air, you can systematically use your fans to move the air throughout your home.

The wintertime can be oppressive, and the solution seems simple: turn on the furnace for some toasty warmth. But this can be expensive and wasteful by warming up every isolated room of your house.

Take advantage of a space heater or fireplace if you can, and if you don’t, consider purchasing or installing one. They can add some additional warmth that may go a lot further than the furnace would, with less energy emitted.

3 – Switch to Alternative Energies

Many factors are propelling the conversation about global warming and climate change, calling for multiple, immediate solutions. While individual efforts only go so far, they are nevertheless important – you can contribute by considering an alternative energy.

Alternative energy, also known as renewable energy, is found in sunlight, wind, and water – parts of the planet’s natural structure. Increased worldwide attention is driving alternative power sources down in price each year, making them more realistic options for homeowners. 

Solar panels are used by urban homeowners throughout America, while in rural areas, some homeowners utilize wind power or hydropower. Location, individual income, and community planning are all factors in alternative energy’s accessibility, but overall, it is becoming increasingly accessible. 

Solar Energy Is a Great Option to Help Greenify Your Home

Solar technologies have many purposes: they convert sunlight into home light, electricity, and even heating and cooling systems. These technologies not only upgrade your home’s efficiency, but they also improve your property value – all while reducing carbon footprints.

Probably the most readily available alternative energy sources you can invest in are photovoltaic (PV) systems – or solar panels. With 25-year lifespans, solar panels can eliminate electric bills, increase property value, and provide an ROI of approximately 20%.

But if you’re not ready to make the jump to a solar panel, consider something small, like solar-powered landscape lighting. These simple lights stay off during the day, all while storing energy, to automatically switch on at night.

Wind Energy Is A Great Green Energy Option

Wind energy refers to wind flow that has been captured by wind turbines and then converted into electricity. Think of the most common form of wind energy, windmills used to pump water on farms, common wind energy sites. 

So if you live in a rural area, single-wind turbines may be a viable alternative to conventional electric utilities. And if available, wind farms create electricity you can buy on the wholesale power market through contract or bidding.

Hydroelectricity Can Be A Good Idea To Reduce Your Electric Bill

Hydropower has roots in early America, where waterwheels once operated mills. However, these mills are archaic compared to today’s examples. Today, hydroelectricity is the standard, captured from the kinetic energy flowing rivers and generated in two main ways. 

You may have seen a dam, a construction that stores water in a reservoir, generating electricity through turbines upon release. Or maybe you’ve seen “run-of-river” plants, which don’t require dams but funnel some of a river’s flow through a channel.

If you live near a dependable waterway source, micro-hydroelectric plants may be a realistic opportunity for switching to hydroelectricity. If you’re a farm/ranch owner or a small-town resident who lives in such a location, there may be hydroelectric options.

Final Focus On Greenifying Your Electricity

As you can see, there are many reasons to make the switch to a more energy-efficient way of living. Not only is it more sustainable for the planet, but it can be economically advantageous and personally fulfilling.

All it takes is examining the options for your household to see what you can do to cut unnecessary consumption. With methodical planning and a spirited attempt, you can take the steps necessary to make your home more energy conscious.

Of the many things a living person may take for granted daily, the blazing yellow circle in the sky predominates. We depend on the sun for life, yet we rarely give it a second thought – especially its due thanks.

Today, the sun is stepping in and saving humans from an ecological and technological crisis, with some human, scientific help. From saving money at an individual level to improving the lives of potentially billions, solar energy is changing our future.

If you are considering switching to solar power, the benefits could be great for you and the world you share. Read further to ensure you make the best decision possible when switching to solar power.

What is solar energy?

Solar energy, power from the sun, has the illusion of being simple and yet it’s remarkable in its real-world application. Obtained from sunlight and transformed into either electrical or thermal energy, it’s the purest and most plentiful energy on Earth. 

The history of solar

Humans have long been fascinated with the sun, with energy experiments dating back to 7^th century B.C. But during the mid-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Edmond Becquerel and Albert Einstein’s combined efforts made modern solar energy possible.

Becquerel found he could convert electricity from sunlight through metal electrodes in a conductor, shocking the world. This breakthrough inspired Einstein, whose essay in 1905 brought widespread credibility and interest to solar energy’s development.  

Bell Labs invented solar panels for space crafts in the mid-twentieth century, but outside of space exploration, modernity didn’t care. It wasn’t until devastating oil shortages in the 1970’s that the spark was set, convincing scientists of solar power’s importance.

Types of solar power

Presently, there are three main solar power technologies available for residential, commercial, and industrial usage. They are photovoltaics (PV), solar heating and cooling (SHC), and concentrating solar power (CSP).

PV panels are commonly used as residential solar power systems, converting energy from sunlight directly to electricity for various purposes. SHC units have different functions, converting solar heat for your home’s air or water usage, reducing the need for natural gas. 

CSP, also known as solar farms, is for large scale usage only – not residential – namely for factories or power plants. CSP is most commonly found in the southwest United States and uses heat from the sun to run steam turbines. 

Inverters

Solar inverters are essential to your PV panel – converting direct current (DC) of sunlight into alternating current (AC) for usage. There are three types of inverters: centralized inverters, microinverters, and power optimize; and each inverter affects cost and efficiency.

Centralized, or string, inverters are the cheapest option but can be inefficient if there is any shading on the roof. Microinverters are the most expensive inverter and get attached to each solar panel to overcome any intrusion of shade. Power optimizers are mid-expensive inverters which also get installed to each panel but rely on centralized inverters to ensure optimization.

Storage

The sun obviously doesn’t shine 24/7 – solar batteries are useful for storing energy for later or overnight use. Depending on jurisdiction or community, you can sell back stored, unused energy for credits in a process called net metering.

Why switch to solar

Environmentally-friendly

The switch helps more than just you, combating worldwide pollution and securing cleaner air and water for generations to come. Solar energy reduces the exposure of carbon and other pollutants that are dangerous to our environment. 

Solar panels significantly reduce humanmade carbon footprints, offsetting approximately 100,000 pounds of carbon dioxide over a period of 20 years. By making the switch to solar, you essentially withdraw the 100,000 miles of carbon damage emitted by your gas guzzler. 

Consumer-friendly 

Solar is a natural resource, readily available, whereas non-renewable resources like coal, nuclear, and oil are finite and harmful. The sun will outlast humans by far, and we can extend our lifespan as people by making the switch. 

The solar installations themselves are incredibly reliable, usually coming with 20-year warranties and a lifespan likely to surpass the warranty. Solar power isn’t going anywhere, and part of the reason is solar panels really do work. 

Cost-friendly

Electricity isn’t cheap and solar energy, depending on the house and state, can save homeowners approximately $100 per monthly bill. This adds up to tens of thousands of dollars saved over the decades.

Thus, it’s estimated the average American can break-even on their solar installation within ten years. Remember a solar panel is a long-term investment; the cost will offset itself if you purchase intelligently and finance accordingly

Shopping for solar power

Take your time shopping – a solar panel is a long-term investment and you want to be confident in your decision. Research, read reviews, and get multiple quotes from professionals certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP). 

Purchased solar panels see cheaper installation rates, but new homeowners can receive federal and private loans and tax credit. Additionally, leases and power purchase agreements (PPA) exist to accommodate homeowners who can’t afford or aren’t interested in owning installations.

The national average cost to purchase a solar panel in homes is approximately $2.60 per watt. The most typical size, a 6kW system, would therefore cost $11,544 after utilizing a solar tax credit of 26%.

But, of course, the average cost of installation differs from state to state. Consider the average cost of a 6kW system in Alabama at $10.878 vs. New Jersey at $12.277.

Owning a solar panel

General solar loans function like any home improvement loan, whereas, depending on your jurisdiction, subsidized solar loans offer below-market rates. Loans help lower the initial price and the monthly payments are still lower than standard power costs. 

New homeowners can finance solar power with mortgage loans through FHA and Fannie Mae because those account for home improvement. Additionally, buying a solar energy system can make you eligible for a federal tax credit.

Studies show solar panels increase your house’s value in addition to the speed at which it sells on the market. Not only do buyers want houses with low electricity costs, but people also view panels as an upgrade, like a renovated kitchen. 

Renting a solar panel

Leases and PPAs eliminate monthly loan payments by letting homeowners rent panels from solar companies, often with no money down. Both options let you purchase the energy generated without owning the panel, but they differ in determining your monthly cost.

Solar leases assign a set monthly payment based on the estimated amount of electricity the panel will generate. Solar PPAs, conversely, determine the monthly cost by comparing their set price per kilowatt-hour to the electricity produced for your home.

For renters, the company is responsible for the maintenance, monitoring, and repairs of solar panels, which can eliminate certain costs. But everyone should provide upkeep for their panels, as doing so will remove solar barriers like airborne particles, optimizing generation.

Considering community solar energy

If your community hasn’t invested in solar energy, it’s time to call a meeting and suggest a change. Community solar programs exist to help your neighborhood contribute to the solar movement and reap its various local benefits.

Various nearby homeowners can invest together to install a solar array in their community which can then power multiple homes. The initial cost and monthly payments are split between participants, and each homeowner buys into the shared system accordingly. 

Solarize campaigns help communities jump into the world of solar power through various incentives that help them afford solar panels. Additionally, these campaigns will help homeowner groups negotiate the best possible rates, select reliable installers, and decrease total installation costs.  

Other factors to consider

The more efficient your solar panel is, the more effective it will be in powering and cost. But to ensure you get the most efficiency out of your panel, there are a few factors you must consider.

Determine usage: the more energy used, the bigger the unit required, costing more upfront but saving more in the end. Remember to check your utility’s rates and how much they will compensate for the energy you send back to the grid.

Solar reception matters: direct sunlight must reach the panel to generate energy, so your panel needs to be installed thoughtfully. Installers must ensure your solar panel is angled and positioned correctly, and that the shade of nearby trees doesn’t interfere. 

If you must rebuild your roof soon, don’t install the solar panel until after the repairs have been made. And if you’ll be moving within 7-10 years, chances are you won’t break even after purchasing the installation. 

It’s worth noting the type of roof you have matters for installation, though panels can generally go on any roof. Costs may differ depending on if you have composite or wood

shingles or Spanish tiles, so talk to your installer. 

Shine on

Solar power isn’t going anywhere and is in fact expanding in availability and affordability every year. The many options that exist to help homeowners purchase or rent solar power could improve your financial longevity immediately.

Moreover, the future of the world’s wellbeing is at stake. Solar power is ultimately a more ethical and sensible alternative to expiring modes of power. Join the movement and see for yourself what it has to offer you!

The need for solar power has increased exponentially in the last decade. Because it is a simple clean energy source, governments are incentivizing citizens to install them in their own. It can be a powerful source of energy for households and can save them money on their monthly bill. 

Are you thinking of installing solar power for your home? Before you dive into a contract or buy into a solar power system, there are a few things you should know. This list will help you research and prepare for installing a solar power system in your own home. 

1. Is Your Home Optimal?

This is the first and most important question. If your home isn’t designed or located to support solar power, then there is no use in buying a whole system. Obviously shade is a big factor. Is your house mostly exposed to the sun with little shading from trees or other buildings? Then solar panels would be efficient for your home.

The next factor to find out is how many sun hours your location gets throughout the year. You want to take into account the average for the whole year knowing winter will be shorter and summer will be longer. On average, most locations get 3-4 hours of peak sun hours on a sunny day.  

2. Can Your Roof Support Solar Panels?

How do you know if your roof is ready for solar panels? The first thing you should look into is when your roof needs to be renovated. If it needs to be renovated soon, then you will want to wait and invest in putting in new roofing. You won’t want the blow of the added costs to temporarily remove your panels to have your shingles replaced.

The material of your shingles is also a contributing factor. Fragile shingle materials may require special installation techniques. Your shingle material can also dictate the amount of weight that your roof can support.

The structure of your roof is also a vital factor to consider. Is your roof sloped or flat? The shape may not make it ideal for installation. Consider having a contractor or structural engineer inspect your roof on both the exterior and interior to determine if it’s suitable to support panels.

Fortunately, there is a wide range of panels on the market. The various sizes and weights make planning your installation adjustable to the requirements of your roof. Installing supports may also be an option if you decide to opt for heavier panels than your roof is suited for.

3. What Level of Solar Panel Efficiency Should You Buy?

Another driving factor in selecting a panel is the efficiency you desire. The percentage of efficiency is a good way to compare different panels. It’s also a useful way to determine if the panels will meet your energy needs.

The efficiency percentage of the panels measures how much of the sunlight the panels can capture and convert to electricity. A more efficient panel is able to convert the same amount of sunlight into more electricity, despite its size. 

For example, if a solar panel can turn 15 percent of the sunlight it catches into usable power, it’s efficiency rating would be 15 percent. Most panels on the market have an efficiency that hovers around the 15 to 17 percent range. Though there are some high-end panels that can convert over 22 percent of sunlight.  

Keep in mind the factors that might influence changes in the efficiency of your panels. If you live in a dusty area or a place where dirt is frequently airborne, you may need to consider the cleaning regimen to keep your panels running at max efficiency. 

Higher efficiency typically results in a more expensive panel. The trick is to balance your energy needs with your budget. It’s important to calculate how the additional energy a higher cost panel will create too offset your initial investment.

4. What Type of Solar Panel? For Electricity or Hot Water?

The main types of solar panels suitable for residential use are monocrystalline panels,  poly-crystalline panels, and photovoltaics. Each has its own set of benefits and advantages. You can decide which one is best for your unique situation.

Monocrystalline panels are made up of silicon wafers and are the oldest form of solar panel technology. The cylindrical wafers are made from a single piece of the highest-grade pure silicon. This makes them incredibly efficient but also expensive.

These panels can make the most power while taking up the smallest amount of space. Monocrystalline panels are also better at producing energy in cloudy conditions than the other types. Plus, the cost may be worth their long life span. Many panels have warranties of about 25 years.

Poly-crystalline panels are formed from melted and molded silicone. The hardened silicone is then cut into wafers to make up the panel. The advancing technology of these panels has made them increasingly popular.

Because of the more efficient production process, poly-crystalline panels come at a lower price range than monocrystalline. They are also improving in efficiency and some even compare to the efficiency of monocrystalline panels. However, they still may require a larger footprint and don’t perform as well in lower levels of sunlight.

Photovoltaic panels convert photons from the sun into energy. The material in the panels separates the electron from the photon and channels them into the power grid. The conducting material can be most cost-efficient to produce with than silicone, making these panels more inexpensive.

These panels tend to be less efficient, but their lower price point may allow for the purchase of more panels. Plus, as they become more popular, their cost continues to decrease. They are also not as affected by shade or extreme heat.

The level of sunlight and climate in your area can help you decide which type of panel would be best for your needs. You can also determine how efficient you need your panels to be considering your roof space and the power you wish to generate. Your budget is also a factor in balancing efficiency and cost.

Looking at your usage can help you decide how much power you need to be energy independent. Consider both your hot water heating energy usage and the electricity required to power your home. This can drive your decision in the type of panel and the quantity you will require.

5. What Type of Inverter Should You Buy?

The inverter you choose is nearly as important as your decision on the panel type. Different types of converters offer different features and benefits. There are three types of inverters you can select from for your system.

String inverters involve installing your panels in rows, each row connected on a string. Then, each string feeds into a central inverter. You can think of it like singular branches on a tree that are all connected at the trunk. The single inverter is responsible for converting the entire load of energy from DC to usable AC energy.

The benefit of string inverters is that they are extremely budget-friendly. However, each string is only as efficient as the panel in it that is producing the least amount of energy. This makes string inverters a poor choice in partially shaded areas. If even just one panel in the string is blocked from the sun, it can render the entire string unproductive.

A microinverter system consists of smaller inverters that are paired with each individual panel. The electricity is converted from DC to AC right at the source. This eliminates the need for a central inverter all together.

Microinverters are reliable, causing them to rise in popularity. Because the panels are essentially independent, there’s no effect on efficiency should another panel be blocked. This benefit does come at a higher price point though. 

Power optimizers are a great middle-ground between the two options. Each panel still has its own, independent inverter. However, there is still a central inverter that needs to convert the energy from DC to AC before it can be used. 

This can be a budget-friendly option while not compromising performance. The panels still function independently from each other. However, a string inverter is still necessary to transfer the energy for usage in the home.

6. What are The Warranties of Purchasing a Solar Panel?

Your solar system will likely be a significant investment. Getting a return on your investment depends on your system functioning well and producing energy that offsets your initial cost for years to come. Luckily, manufacturers are aware of this and offer warranties for your confidence and ease of mind.

Many solar panels are warrantied for a range of 10 to 25 years. Beware, however, of production caveats. The warranty works on a scale of decreasing the guaranteed amount of power as the panels age. It’s important to review your manufacturer’s warranty terms carefully. 

For example, your panels may be warrantied for 25 years. This doesn’t guarantee that you’ll receive a hundred percent of the original efficiency for that panel’s lifetime. Your warranty may state that after ten years, your panel is only guaranteed to produce 80 percent of the rated power output. The percentage of output guaranteed will likely steadily decrease over the remaining years of the warranty.

Your inverter will likely not last as long as your panels. The expected life span varies depending on the type of inverter and the quality of the construction. The exposure to elements the electrical components must withstand can also shorten its expectancy.

Inverters can be warrantied for anywhere between five and twenty-five years. String inverters tend to have a shorter warranty period than microinverters. However, each manufacturer varies greatly so weigh their terms when considering your options.

Often, a product is only as good as the installation process. A bad install could wreak havoc on your how system. It’s essential to have your installation strongly guaranteed.

Your installer should offer a warranty on their work. This guarantees that the equipment is installed correctly and will perform as promised. It should also state that they will repair or replace any issues that are caused by faulty installation.

7. Who Will Do The Maintenance of Your Panels?

Solar panels are relatively low maintenance. However, it’s important to have a routine in place to keep your system working in tip-top shape. You’ll also want to have a contingency plan should a major issue arise.

Your panels should be kept clean of dust and dirt. This may have to be done more frequently if you live in a dry or dusty climate. You can either spray them down with your standard hose or hire a company to clean them for you. 

It’s important to regularly monitor how efficiently your system is running to detect any problems immediately. If you notice a considerate or long-term dip in production and your panels are clean, it’s time to call your installer. They can assess your system and help you solve any issues.

8. How Can You Finance The Installation Of a Solar Panel?

Your solar power system is going to come with a hefty price tag. Some homeowners may have the cash on hand to pay out of pocket. However, there are options for those that wish to finance their installation.

You can borrow against your home if you have enough equity in the property. A home equity line of credit or a second mortgage could provide the money you need for your purchase. However, it’s important to be wise about borrowing against your property.

There are many options for loans designed specifically for solar energy projects. You may still be able to reap the benefits of tax incentives. Plus, your monthly payments may even be lower than your current utility bills.

You can also ask the solar installation company about the types of financing they offer. They often partner with financial institutions to provide low-interest loans for their systems. Some companies even offer an introductory no-interest period.

Leasing your panels is another alternative. The solar company would keep ownership of the panels and maintain them. Your lease payment to them would basically replace your utility costs so you could live off cleaner energy.

9. Should You Buy or Lease a Solar Power System?

Like a car, you’ll need to make the decision if buying or leasing works best for your situation. Purchasing the panels outright or with a loan is certainly an investment. However, many people find leasing their system much more manageable. 

Buying a system definitely has its advantages. By owning your system, you may be eligible for tax credits. You also could end up making a return on your investment when the amount you’ve saved in energy costs surpasses the amount you spent on your system.

However, owning a system leaves you with the responsibility of maintaining your system. You’ll also have to address any problems that arise or repairs that are necessary. Also, depending on your usage and the cost of your system, it may take you years to see savings that exceed your investment.

Leasing offers you the comfort of not having to worry about your system. You may also have the flexibility of a lower monthly payment than you’ll receive with financing. Your solar company will still own the system so they will take the responsibility of maintaining it off your hands. 

There are some downfalls to the perks of leasing though. You won’t have access to the tax credits that may be available if you owned the system. Also, you’ll have an ongoing payment, rather than a plan to pay off your system and own it outright for no-cost energy.

10. How Much Money Will You Actually Save By Switching to Solar?

Your solar power system can save you some serious cash. However, there are many factors that determine just how much. Your usage, location, and cost of your system all come into play. 

In order to offset your electric bill, your system would need to accommodate all of your energy usage. Keep in mind that you will still receive a bill if your home is connected to the grid. This can be eliminated however if you produce enough energy to be sent back to the grid to receive a credit on your bill.

Your location can determine the amount of energy your panels have the potential to produce, and conversely your savings. Obviously, sunnier locals see more daylight that can generate energy. Also, electricity costs vary by location so some people may benefit more from producing their own energy than others. 

The investment in your system also plays a role in your savings. You may be saving on your energy costs, but it’s important to keep in mind the financial obligations you are paying for your system. You’ll start to see significant savings when your system is fully paid off.

11. What Items on my Electricity Bill Will Change?

You’ll likely still receive an electric bill even with your solar power system. If you are producing enough energy, these will likely be minimal fees. You also may be able to produce enough energy to offset future costs.

Your bill may include a time of use metering cost. This involves the varying rates that the company charges for usage during peak hours. If your solar battery charges enough during the day, you can negate these charges by using that saved power during the high-rate peak hours.

You may also have a service fee that is simply charged for your home’s connection to the grid, whether you are using it or not. Taxes are also still applied to any electrical usage you may have had. These nominal fees should remain steady though. If you see a significant increase in your electric bill, it’s important to check your system’s function.

12. What Are Your Options for Utility Companies?

There are some ways you can make your energy independence work for you. Utility companies are working to partner with solar energy users to protect their businesses in this changing world of energy. It’s important to work with your utility company to explore all of the options available to you. 

Ask your electric company about their net metering options. This is a system where your unused solar-generated electricity is sent back to their grid. You will then receive credits for the amount of energy. So, in times of decreased efficiency of your system, you can use these credits to pull power from the grid. 

You may also find that your system generates a significant surplus of energy. This is a great opportunity to work with your utility company as a power broker. Your company may be willing to agree to a deal to purchase your extra power for a pre-agreed upon rate.   

13. How Can You Connect to The Grid When Switching to Solar?

If you are looking for a solar and electric hybrid, you’ll still need to be connected to the grid. This will allow you to use conventional electricity during low-efficiency times or send extra power back to the main grid. Work together with your solar installer and the utility company to make sure installation is performed correctly.

Make sure your solar company is knowledgeable on the requirements of local utility companies. You might also need a specialized inverter and specific meter for your situation. You’ll want to ensure that the energy you are both using and producing is accurately measured. 

14. How Should You Research Solar Panel Installation Contractors?

The trust you have in your solar contractor is of the utmost importance. You want to be confident in their advice and expertise. You should research your contractor as thoroughly as you research your system.

Don’t hesitate to ask friends and neighbors for referrals. The experiences of others will give you the clearest picture of what to expect. Checking out online reviews and feedback is a good way to research the reputations of possible contractors. 

If you want to make sure your contractor is knowledgeable, you can ask them if they are a certified energy practitioner. This board oversees everything from conducting exams to training and education. Their easy to use directory can help you find a certified installer in your area

15. How Can You Make Sure The Installation of Your Panel is Safe?

Once you settle on a contractor, there are some bases to cover to ensure a smooth and safe installation. The nature of installing solar panels is a dangerous task. You want to be sure your contractors are doing whatever they can to prevent accidents and injuries.

Ask for proof that your contractors are licensed and bonded. They should also carry insurance to cover any accidents that may occur. Don’t hesitate to inquire about the safety practices they have in place and how they are trained in industry standards. 

16. What Can You Expect in Your Contract?

As with any contract, it’s important to make sure that you understand all aspects before signing. Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification or amendments. It’s to the benefit of both parties to go into the project with mutually agreed-upon terms. 

If you have opted for the ownership of your system, make sure the terms are clear regarding your financing if you aren’t paying cash. You’ll also want to review the warranty information carefully. Make sure the component warranties, as well as the workmanship guarantees, are included.

Are you choosing to lease your system? Check your contract for pricing and escalations in your monthly payments over time. It’s also important to look for a guarantee of performance to ensure you receive the amount of energy that you are paying for. Also, consider the terms for ending your lease early if that is a possibility.

17. Is The Installation Contract Fair?

The most important part of negotiating your contract is that it is fair to both parties. Do your due diligence in researching the fine print and details with several contractors. Your research will help you determine if the terms are reasonable. 

Make sure there are clearly defined expectations of your installation in the contract. Is there a reasonable start and end date for your project? What are the ramifications should the installers not meet the agreement?

An ironclad contract can lead to a more seamless installation process. When the expectations are clearly agreed upon, there is less chance for surprises and frustration. Ask how you can make the process smooth and easy. 

18. What Are The US Government Subsidies and Tax Credits on a Solar Power System?

One of the most well-known benefits of owning a solar power system is subsidies and tax credits. These can vary widely by area. The details often change annually or even more frequently.

It’s important to consult your tax professional when factoring the credit you’ll receive from your system. Many times, you may be eligible for a credit to offset a portion of your installation cost. Currently, in 2019, you could be eligible for a tax credit of 30 percent of the cost of your system. However, this rate is planned to decrease and eventually be eliminated in future tax years.

There are also many local subsidies that you could potentially qualify for. Some states offer tax credits while some local utility companies provide rebates and credits. These opportunities vary by area and range in amount and qualification details.

19. Who Gets The Renewable Energy Certificates/ Credits (REC)?

Renewable Energy Certificates are a way to offset your energy usage from non-renewable sources. They are used to buy an amount of energy from a renewable source. Similar to carbon credits, they are a way to support the development and production of cleaner energy.

Your solar power system has the potential to generate sellable energy. An aggregator purchases and combines the RECs from you and other solar energy system owners. They then sell the credits to other consumers or utility companies.

20. Can You Install Your Solar Power System Yourself?

It may be tempting to install your solar power system yourself to save a few bucks. However, this could result in a more costly situation. It can also be dangerous and risky, even for the most experienced handyman.

Even the most researched customer lacks the deep knowledge base that a skilled solar contractor holds. They have the expertise to help you select the ideal system for your situation. These experts can help you plan a system that will best meet your energy needs and last for years to come.

Attempting a DIY installation puts you at risk for damaging your expensive, new solar power equipment. Incorrect mounting or connections can leave a negative, irreversible impact on your components. Also, your erroneous installation could lead to the nullification of your part warranties.

A solar power system is an intricate and complex network of electrical parts and wiring. Mishandling these could lead to severe, even fatal accidents. Not to mention the danger of doing all of this complicated, unfamiliar work on a rooftop. It’s best to leave this to the professional installers with safety strategies and checks in place to make sure your install is performed correctly and without mishap.

Conclusion

There’s no doubt that sustainable energy is the way of the future. Harnessing the wind and sun to power our lives significantly reduces our permanent impact on the planet. Innovation is making great strides in making renewable energy accessible and affordable to nearly everyone.

A solar power system can be a phenomenal investment. It can save, and even make you money. You’ll be more energy independent and reduce your carbon footprint. When researched and installed correctly, your home could see the benefits of your system for years to come.

One of the most common and most affordable options is powering your hot water heater with solar power. Even if you live in a northern or cloudy climate, using solar panels can help reduce the amount of conventional energy you heater needs.

But, where do you start to explore the possibility of using solar power? There are a few things to figure out before you jump in. Let’s answer some questions about using solar powers to heat your water heater.

How much Electricity do Water Heaters use?

Water heaters use a lot of electricity to run. In fact, they are the second largest consumer in most homes just behind heating and cooling. That’s why many people are turning to solar power to heat their water heaters.

• Conventional Water Heater

Conventional Water heaters are reservoir tanks of ready to use water. They actively heat water for about 3 hours per day. They typically use about 4000 Watts per day for these 3 hours of active heating.

When you take a shower or wash a load of laundry, you drain from the reservoir. It may take up to an hour to re-heat the water in the tank. Reheating the water is what consumes the most energy.

Conventional water heaters are the most common in American homes. To save electricity, people can choose to install a solar-powered water heater. The two types of solar-powered water heaters are active and passive.

• Active: circulating pumps and controls

There are two types of active solar water heaters: direct circulation and indirect circulation systems. 

The direct system has pumps that circulate the water through the collectors into the home. This system works well in climates that don’t often have freezing temperatures. Solar collectors use radiation energy from the sun, convert it into heat and transfer that heat to cold water.

The indirect system pumps non-freezing, heat transfer fluid into the collectors and a heat exchanger (pipe or tube surrounded by a fluid). This heats the water for use throughout the home. This system works well for colder climates.

• Passive: No circulating pumps and controls

Passive water heating doesn’t use pumps or controls to heat the water. Sometimes people choose this method to save money. Passive water heating, however, is usually not as efficient as active water heating.

The two types of passive water heating are integral collector-storage and thermosyphon. 

The integral collector-storage system (ICS) heats a large amount of water by combining the tank and collector. There is no need to have pumps or controls because it is heated and stored in one unit. ICS is one of the easier solar water systems to install as it can be put inside any conventional water heater.

Thermosiphon water heaters use gravity to move water between the tank and the collector. The hot and cold water pressure help circulation. This is called the thermosiphon principle. The collector generates the heat and the tank stores the heat. 

The collector sits below the tank so hot water can circulate easily. The hot water in the collector has lighter pressure than the cold water in the tank above it. When the hot water rises the cold water falls back into the collector unit.

• How much money can you save with a solar water heater?

Like any budget estimate, you need to take a few things into consideration when estimating your savings with a solar-powered water heater. 

Consider:

• How much water you use
• How well your system works
• Your climate and frequency of sunny days
• How much fuel or electricity your conventional system uses

Most estimates state you can save anywhere from 50% to 80% on your regular energy bill. When you attach the cost of a solar water heater to a new 30-year mortgage, the monthly cost falls somewhere between $15 to $20 a month. Federal income tax deductions can bring that even lower to about $5 a month. In the end, you save more than you pay for!

How many Solar Panels do you need?

Today, most PV (photovoltaic system) panels create a high amount of energy rated at five watts with an 18% efficiency rate. Storage tank heaters average 3.6kW. One solar panel can usually cover the electricity needs of a household water heater.

If you want to directly heat water, you would use a solar thermal system. Solar panels produce electricity, whereas solar water heaters simply heat water. This system can cover up to 90% of hot water needs in the summer and 40%-60% in the winter depending on your local climate. It can also increase your water boiler lifespan.

Let’s say you want to go to the solar panel side and use that electricity for your conventional water heater. What panels are the best for this? According to the solar panel experts, these are the top five:

1. SunPower 
   1. Very high-quality panels
   2. Highest efficiency and co-efficiency 
2. Panasonic 
   1. Very high-quality material
   2. High efficiency and tied for best temperature co-efficient
   3. Manufacturing excellence
3. LG Solar
   1. Very high-quality panels
   2. Reputable corporation and warranty support
4. Canadian Solar
   1. High-quality panels
   2. Lower price, better value
   3. Warranty Support
5. Trina Solar
   1. Solid performance
   2. Low cost for Tier 1 panel

Solar thermal systems may take a bit more research and time to set up. But, they can also be more efficient at heating water than relying on a solar panel and conventional unit. Here are the most popular brands of solar water heaters for 2020:

1. Duda Diesel offers systems from 100L to 1000L as well as a variety of solar water heater parts. This company uses biodiesel and a variety of alternative fuels in its manufacturing.
2. Sunbank Solar specializes in solar water heaters and makes collectors, pumps, plates, and other system parts.
3. SunEarth produces different types of solar energy equipment for homes and businesses, including solar water heating systems and elements.
4. Apricus is a popular brand of solar water heaters that provides water heater packages.
5. Rheem meets the needs of both residential and commercial solar water heaters.

Should you get a solar panel or a solar water heater?

Solar panel systems have risen in popularity in recent years. The cost of solar panels has gone down within the last few years. You can save even more money by installing panels to cover your home’s energy needs as well as your water heating. 

Solar water heaters, however, are more efficient if you are just looking at heating water. Also, solar water heaters use less space compared to solar panels for meeting the needs of a conventional water heater. Many people today are combing both solar panels and solar water heaters to cut down their conventional energy use.

How many Off-Grid Batteries do you need?

When you don’t have access to the grid, you must rely on batteries as back up for your solar system. These batteries should supply enough energy for some overcast days. It also needs to be small enough to be charged on your panels.

Figure out your amp-hour needs to find the number of batteries

To do this you can see the amount of wattage your system uses in hours per day. Then plan for how many days you want to be able to supply with your battery. 

Calculate the minimum battery AH capacity. Take the watt-hours per day and multiply it by the number of days. Then multiply that by 3. This will give you a 50% depth of discharge on your batteries. Therefore multiply by 2 and convert the kWh result into amp hours (AH). To get the AH, dived the kWH by the battery voltage.

Example:  Your solar needs are 1800 watt-hours per day. You want to have a 3-day backup without recharging. The math is 1800 x 3 x 2 = 10,800 (10.8kWh), which is the energy you would need from the batteries. 

To convert to AH, you need to divide 10,800 by the voltage of your system. Often times it will be 12V or 24V or 48V for commercial use. If your system uses 24V, you take 10,800/24 = 450AH.

To figure out the number of batteries you need, you can divide 450AH by the rating of the battery.

Off-Grid Energy Without Batteries

Other than batteries, you can store solar energy as hot water. By using an inverter connected to the water heater heating element, solar energy is taken directly from the panel to heat the water. No battery required.

Some inverters can connect directly to multiple solar panels. This allows a single inverter to supply hot water for a household. Depending on the size of the inverter, it can meet the needs of a two to five-person family.

You don’t necessarily need to invest in batteries to store solar energy when using hot water. This lowers your energy bill and enables you to be off-grid or deal with unpredictable grid issues. This system is suitable for cold climates and is more cost-effective than installing multiple solar panels and solar thermal systems.

Top Solar Energy Storage Products

The solar industry has a wide range of options for solar power energy storage. Here are some of the top products of this year.

• ABB Solar Universal 10/4 is a residential solar system that powers loads on and off-grid with the ABB Universal 10/4 solution. The Universal 10/4 does simultaneous AC and DC coupling. It comes with an ABB solar inverter and accepts charging from multiple AC and DC sources.
• Electriq Power Electriq PowerPod is a home energy storage, management, and monitoring system that includes lithium-ion batteries and a hybrid solar/battery inverter. 
• Fortress Power eVault 18.5-kWh uses lithium-iron-phosphate technology, offers a digital display to show battery percentage and power output. More compact and affordable, the eVault powers up to 222 kWh.
• Goal Zero Yeti Tank and Link Expansion System allows users to chain lead-acid and lithium batteries together. Consumers can scale based on the individual power needs for a fraction of the typical cost.
• LG Electronics Energy Storage System is a home energy management system. The LGE ESS boasts a  quick installation, a compact design, a scalable LG Chem lithium-ion battery, and a smart energy management system. Offered in both AC-coupled and DC-coupled configurations.

Save Money and the Planet with Solar Power

Solar power not only saves you money, but it is also environmentally friendly. Many conventional energy supplies come from “dirty” energy sources like coal or natural gas. You can reduce your use of fossil fuels by using renewable energy.

Water heaters are the second greatest consumer of electricity in American homes. Conventional systems tend to be inefficient and use a lot of energy to reheat water. Solar water heater, however, is becoming increasingly common and more affordable for modern homes.

With a bit of research and a little investment, you can be on your way to cutting your water heater cost by 50% or more! Statistics have shown that solar paneling and solar water heaters are truly effective in supplying household hot water needs.

Installing solar power by yourself is more than possible by using instructions and videos online. There are many companies that will provide everything you need in a solar power package. Installing a solar power water heater is a great first step towards renewable energy sources in the home.

Switching over to solar power water heating has never been easier or more beneficial. With Federal income tax deductions and affordable prices of solar systems, there’s no reason not to install your new solar power system.  

It’s been some time now since the discovery of electricity and the world has learned a lot more about this awesome power than anyone ever knew was possible. Yet there is so much left to learn. As with most things in life the more you learn about it the more questions that you have, and this is no different. 

Why does anyone want to learn about electricity? What do you gain from it, and what specifically should you know? There are more questions than there are answers but for now, you can focus on one thing in particular. Kilowatts, specifically kilowatts per hour. This is important because it is a measurement by which electricity usage is compared.

There are many reasons why you would want to know not only what kilowatts are, but how much you are using and or producing especially when it comes to solar energy. So today you will find out exactly what these things are and how to calculate how many kilowatt-hours you use.

More and more people are learning that they need to know what these things are and are discovering that it might be harder to figure out than they initially thought. But have no fear! This shall be a trusty guide in exactly what you need. 

What is a Kilowatt?

A kilowatt, much like a calorie, it is a measure of an energy unit. One kilowatt is equal to one thousand watts, which is a smaller unit of measurement for electricity. The standard unit of measurement. That’s it, pretty simple in fact. 

But what kilowatts can do is an entirely different story, and keeping tabs on that can be is very important. 

A kilowatt-hour is how many kilowatts are run through within the span of sixty minutes. This is how the electrical levels of appliances work. An appliance will have a wattage on it, and it will operate within said wattage. Again, one kilowatt is a thousand watts. 

Why do you want to know?

Now you might be asking yourself, why does any of this matter? Why should you care what a kilowatt is or how to measure it? Well, it turns out that they are very important to how electricity, and thus almost everything else works. If you are someone in the business of electricity or say solar in particular you’re going to really want to pay attention to this part. This is for you. 

Estimating your Electric Bill:

One way in which finding out why the kilowatt is important, is when it comes to figuring out how much your electric bill might be. This is important in budgeting. Basing on finding the wattage of each electrical item in your house, you can find out how many kilowatts each device is using and thus the kWh. Or kilowatts per hour. 

Using that you can find out how much electricity each item using each hour, day, week, and even year. This can come in handy when its time to pay those pesky bills. It is never a bad thing to know where your money is going to either. 

On top of that, you can use this knowledge to save money by using certain items less during certain times of the day and evening. When getting solar panels, one must know how much they need to cover the resources that they are trying to acquire. 

Solar Panels: 

There are those of us who are especially interested in wattage, kilowatts, and energy output, and most of those people are in the solar business. Knowing how much electricity is going in and coming out of either a home system or an industrial one is something of the utmost importance in the business  

Not knowing these figures makes it very difficult to make certain predictions that these businesses rely on to make their financial decisions. 

In order to know how many solar panels one might need for a certain job, you are going to need to evaluate how much electricity is being used and or is needed. Without knowing that you cannot provide a system that will cover all of the needs of the customer. 

Now how do you find out?

Since we have now determined why you want to know your kWh you may be wondering how you do it! We will give a quick overview as it can get a little detailed. Basically, you find out what the wattage is, which can be found on a little sticker on the side or bottom of the device. 

You then do some math and you convert watts to kilowatts and then you can figure out your kilowatts per hour usage. And there you have it! Easy. 

Conclusions:

While there is still just so much to learn about electricity, how it works and how it is measured, hopefully now you have a much better understanding. For many people, this information may not matter, but to others, it can be crucial. 

As you explore the world of kilowatts you come to find that you can learn to do common household chores as well as complex solar installations. Learning how much power is going into a system, and coming out, and how much is needed to provide adequate resources is a very important thing to know. 

Knowing not only why you should learn about kilowatt-hour usage but how to do it as well is key in controlling your electric consumption and output. There is always the risk of so much waste if we do not properly regulate this system. 

Using what you’ve learned here can help you with everything from measuring how much your electric bill might be, to learning how much energy you use in your home so you can make the switch to solar panels to power your home if you want. No matter how you use the information, it’s good to know and will be extremely handy to use in the future.

The collective understanding of electricity is broken up into many complex terms and meanings that can be discussed at a later time. Today it’s time to focus on how to measure electricity and touch on why you might want to do that. 

It’s time to delve into a complicated world but fear not, for you shall not journey alone. This shall serve as a guide to learning what a kilowatt is, why it’s important and why you should care. 

In the end, the ultimate goal will be to prove that you can now estimate how many kilowatt-hours you are spending per day, per month and per year. Later on, it shall be discussed why this is important. Let’s get started! 

What is a kilowatt?

Before you get into measuring a kilowatt, and why that might be beneficial it is important that you understand what a kilowatt is.

First named in 1882, watts and kilowatts became standard by the early nineteen hundreds. As a form of measurement having a national standard was going to be beneficial, so unlike the metric system, the world adopted the same type of measurement  

A kilowatt is a measurement of electrical energy. Just as animal bodies run through calories, electricity runs through watts. A kilowatt is one thousand watts.

A kilowatt-hour is how many kilowatts are run through within the span of sixty minutes. This is how the electrical levels of the appliances work. An appliance will have a wattage on it, and it will operate within said wattage. For example, a fan has a certain amount of watts it uses per hour.

A fan could have and exact amount of 125 kWh, but it is rated for 200, meaning appliances are rated at a level that is the maximum and is usually not reached by the device during normal usage. Finding the kWh is a way to find out exactly how much electricity you are using vs. just the wattage it is rated for. This becomes very important later on. 

How to tell how many kilowatts you are using:

So now that you know what a kilowatt is, how do you actually determine how much of it per hour there is? Well, it’s quite simple but there are a few steps to take. Let’s get started. 

Step One: 

The first thing that you are going to do is to find the wattage of the device or appliance you are looking to find the kilowatt-hours of. Usually, there is a sticker on the underside or bottom corner of the appliance. Once you find this tag there should be something listed as “w”. 

This is the maximum power that the device can operate. This is not the rate at which it actually operates on average, just the maximum. Kilowatts per hour are usually lower than the wattage rating. 

Finding this gives you the wattage.

Step Two:

Now you are going to take the number that you have, which is the total wattage of the device, and you’re going to multiply it by how many hours of the day the device is operating or using electricity. This is what matters when you are doing things like figuring out your electric bill. 

So for example, say you have a gaming console that is 200 watts, and you play 4 hours a day, that’s 800 watts a day. Take that number to the next step. 

Step Three:

Now you are going to take your number, which in this example is 800, and you are going to divide it by 1000. This is done to convert watts to kilowatts..

Taking 800, and dividing it by 1000 gets you 0.8 kWh, and that is how you get your answer. You will then have the KWh for that particular device and can configure that into your electric bill or whatever it is you might be doing. 

And there you have it! That is how you figure out the kilowatt per hour of the device that you are using! Whether its an Iphone or a toaster! See, pretty simple! 

Step Four:

Now that you have determined how much electricity you are using per day you can apply that to a week, by multiplying it by 7 for a week, around 30 (or however many days of the month there are) to find a months worth of electricity and 365 for a year and so on depending on what you are specifically trying to figure out. Find the hourly, and daily worth and you can figure out the rest. To figure out the collective use of your entire household you would add all your devices up and the grand total would be how many kWh you are using in your household. Calculating the kWh of your devices or household on a yearly basis is just a little more math.

Conclusions:

Knowing a little about what a kilowatt is and how to measure them is something that can come in handy one day, you never know when you might need to know it. But for those in the electric or solar business, or even those who want to get involved on their own, it is crucial information. 

Most people are probably not going to go around calculating their electric bill by device but if you were going to, you now have the tools and know-how to do it! Which can be very useful in the right situation. 

Understanding and being able to determine your kWh is surprisingly not something that most people know how to do, so keep it in your bag of tricks for just the right time to reveal it and show off a bit. 

As to why this all matters, well that depends entirely on you and why you would need such information, from calculating your electric bill to how much the grid owes you for your solar panel production, knowing this information can come in handy here and there, and it never hurts to know things. 

So the question is, now that you know what a kilowatt is and how to determine how many of them pass through a current in an hour, what are you going to do with it?