Why Choose Solar Panels For Your Home

If you read up about them in the internet, there is a lot that you can learn about the solar panel. For instance, most solar panels for your home have to work also with artificial collectors. These are meant to directly capture and utilize solar energy. They comprise of flat plate collectors and concentrating collectors. If you will own a solar panel, you need to go learn how they work.

A solar panel needs a large clear surface to be able to receive sunlight with. In addition to that, it also needs a lot of space in which the sun’s rays are incident. Once these are in place, you are going to love its performance. But if you failed to have solar panels for your home installed, things aren’t going to go quite as you hoped that they would.

A long harsh winter might try your patience with a solar panel just a bit. Without a lot of sunlight, the thing could come rather close to useless since there isn’t a lot of sunlight to power it. Be sure you have a close alternative close by; after all, you should have known the entire time that the solar panels for your home would not have been ideal at your location.

A good complement for the solar panels for your home are large batteries. With these, you can use the solar electricity even at night or when there’s no sunlight. They are used to store the energy which was taken when there was available sunlight.

Solar technology is not exactly new, but there aren’t too many people into it in the layman’s world. That is why you might have trouble finding someone to help you with the solar panel installation. Perhaps you should call the manufacturing company to help out. They are the ones who produce the device; they certainly know how to install and operate these solar panels for your home.

Power could be totally FREE, you know; no longer do you have to worry about the electricity bill. That would be the day, eh? Well, it is closer than you think. All you need is just to go solar with the solar panels for your home, and you will be home free.

If every householder in the United States, like you, were to get solar panels for your home, the companies producing them could make tons of money supplying them. And then, you would get the last laugh because you never again have to pay bills for electricity. A realization like that would certainly make you want to scramble and get it already.

Although carbon emissions were not the only reason why solar panels for your home were developed, today, they are the chief reason why the solar panel is in use. Now all over the world, people are warned that with the earth’s dangerous carbon emission levels, thing simply cannot continue that way. Solar panels are very simply the best way out.

Solar panels for your home can be made of solar cells or heat-absorbing plates. Either way, they are meant to collect energy from the sun and make it useful for other appliances. If you know how to use them well, then you should be getting them installed in your home right now.

When you need to convert the Sun’s radiation into energy for use, you need to do it with solar panels for your home. The world today has realized in fact that this is the best way to deliver the world from itself. Sooner than you know it, everyone will be buying these things and having them installed wherever they live or work.

Want to learn more about solar electricity? Educate yourself about solar electricity so that you get it right the first time, every-time.

categories: solar panels,home solar,solar electricity,electricity,home improvement,home,house,power,energy,environment,society,globe,world,fuel

Solar Electricity For Your Home

Anyone who produces solar panels for solar electricity right now is about to come to tons of money. With everyone needing to buy and install them at home, the demand scale is about to go off the roof. Even if this producer can only meet a quarter of that demand, they are set for life. But rather than just looking at the trend, why don’t you also get into the business of it and see just how much you can make from the venture? It’s not like a single company can produce the number of solar panels that the entire world needs.

You should see that you get your solar panels from an energy company that knows solar electricity. If you don’t know a lot about the product, get someone from there to help you out, whatever you do though, just get solar empowered. It’s not like it’s going to be too difficult afterall. I mean, you do have access to the internet, don’t you? You can use that too.

The solution to energy for your every day needs is the solar panel. You perhaps wouldn’t have thought of it five years ago, but today you know. If you don’t get the panels already and start producing solar electricity, you might have no other source of energy pretty soon: the world will leave you behind.

Solar electricity will only solve more problems for you. Take a look at your electricity bills after the solar panel installation! Solar panels for your home will save you tons for sure. Also, you don’t need to worry about night time because we also have the technology for that and it’s called the battery which can charge at day time to store solar energy.

You need to invest in the solar panel now if you know what is good for you. This is not a threat; it is a warning. Global warming has been building up for a long time now while the world has sat on its hunches. Now it has seen to it that things need to change from dependency on combustion for power productions. You should turn to solar electricity.

At one time, it was all about coal and firewood for power production. We have been to water, to wind, and to nuclear power. The die is cast for a solar panel invasion. Make way or get caught up in the wave of a change that might yet take some time, but one that is bound to take place anyway. Solar electricity is the future. Consider that free advice.

Solar panel systems are everywhere you look these days. There aren’t a lot of them, but they are there. If you will read the writing on the wall, you will know that the world is going for solar electricity. Ask yourself then: ‘what can I do about this?’ I’ll leave the answer to you if you dare to think that far out of the box. Not like it is much of a big deal, though.

In the UK as well as in the US, little solar gadgets are popping up everywhere. If we don’t have solar electricity pros around to help with these things, people are soon going to be having a lot of trouble with them. Somebody needs to do something hard and fast. How about you? You could do like I did and begin to learn about them. And then you could sell your services to the teeming masses who will only be too glad to pay you for them.

Before long, there will be solar panels in every home. Not the small makeshift ones, but the huge ones that really mean you don’t need any other source of power but solar electricity. There will be a rise in demand for these things, so you might as well get to selling them. Strike rich as the chance presents itself. Another such opportunity might not come for eons yet to come.

Of course, you know about global warming; of course you know that we are soon going to need to stop burning fuels to produce power. Of course you know we are going to have to turn to solar power; and of course there will have to be solar panels to go with solar electricity. The only real question is who is going to supply them when the time comes? Who is going to make a ton of money from it? Opportunity knocks here.

Want to learn more about solar electricity? Learn with me about residential solar power so that you never make mistakes.

categories: solar panels,home solar,solar electricity,electricity,home improvement,home,house,power,energy,environment,society,globe,world,fuel

Don’t Hesitate To Grab Some Solar Panels For Your Home

All over the globe, you can see the scramble to get solar panels become virtually frenzied. Solar panels for your home is now that huge. No one wants to die after all. So if it means saving energy in little ways, or trying other sources, no one minds. And so, solar panels are on the sell. And you can either cash in on it, or be swept away by the wave. You know, you could be a player or a payer. Your call.

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You hold you own destiny in your hands. You can do what you want but you can also takes this wave and ride with it. Solar panels for your home is a niche now, but it will be a mega market in the future. Soon, the world will live off solar electricity.

There is no point getting solar panels for your home if you don’t know how to operate it. I don’t imply that that is complicated, simply that you need to master it. With the appliances you have in your home, you don’t want things acting up suddenly and you can’t handle them. You know what I mean, don’t you?

Put it outside where it can get a lot of sunshine, and the solar panels for your home can power you indefinitely. The only parts of the globe that have trouble with the thing are areas that naturally don’t get a lot of sunshine. In those areas, I suppose they will have to stay with old methods or create some new ones of their own.

It is a big investment, learning residential solar electricity and solar panel installation and then getting a solar panel to power everything that you own. However it is a very good one because you never again have to worry about bills. So if you can afford it now, do it now. Very soon, the world will begin to scramble for it, and then you know that the laws of economics will kick in very quickly. You suddenly have higher prices because the quantity demanded is higher too.

There are government incentives all over the United States now, for folks to acquire solar panels for the supply of power to their homes. The reason is obvious; and there might soon be a high demand for the products. The world is going solar, my friend.

If you have access to a government grant, you might want to use it as they direct to get solar panels for your home. We are looking at a worldwide crisis in which things will likely get worse before they get better. But you can be a factor in your own little way. Get a solar panel, have it installed, and get to generating the solar electricity that you use in your home and in your office.

The earth is slowly being poisoned to death by gas emissions. As much as we would all love for this to change, too many processes depend on them for it to be done too suddenly. However, if we could introduce solar panels for your home little by little to take over, we might pull it off yet. And the apocalypse that the planet so greatly dreads might never actually come.

Sure, the cost of a solar panel today might be on the high side, but you can begin saving up. I know that prices will likely go down soon anyway. Interestingly enough, I do not think that day is all so far away anymore. And then you can buy solar panels for your home and start to help this planet heal from greenhouse gas poisoning. It is going to happen sooner than you expect, you’ll see.

Want to learn more about solar electricity? Click here to learn everything about solar electricity so that you get it right the first time, every-time.

Have You Considered Making Your Own Home Wind Turbine Design?

When one thinks of a home wind turbine, what most probably comes to mind is a gigantic tower with jumbo-jet sized spinning blades. But, with everyone becoming more aware of conserving energy, the technology has advanced so much that it is now possible to have your own small-scale wind turbine at home. Even better is the opportunity for us to make our own, without having to rely on the professionals.

How a home wind turbine works

A home wind turbine makes power by spinning a generator. The generator is attached to the rotor, made up of three aerodynamic blades, that is then attached to a tower. To keep the turbine facing the wind, the rotor has a tail, that acts as a weather vain.

The generator is basically an electric motor. As the coils in the motor spin past the magnets, an electric current is produced. The power produced is stored in batteries, which are connected to an inverter to change the direct current to alternating current, which can then be used to power your home. The advancement of motor efficiency, is the reason wind turbines have become so popular for home use.

Depending on your area’s wind conditions, the tower can vary in length. If you live near the sea where it is windy, the tower can be shorter, but in low-wind areas the tower needs to be taller to catch as much wind possible.

With more money being put into research, the blades have changed drastically over the years. The rotors generally have 3 instead in of 5 blades now, since the blades have become lighter, stronger, and able to spin in very light breezes. The blades also come an assortment of diameters, according to the average wind speeds and energy needs.

Up until now I have been talking about your average horizontal axis home wind turbine. But there is also another design taking off. It is a wind turbine that spins on the vertical axis. Also know as a VAWT (vertical axis wind turbine), this generator’s blades resemble some type of water-wheel on its side. The problem with the VAWT is that it spins rather close to the ground, making it unable to catch the stronger, higher up winds, so it is not a good option for residential home-owners. Also when erected in open areas, the blades are large and spin so fast birds do not see them and fly straight into them – which is not very eco-friendly.

What you need to know before you buy a home wind turbine:

Size of your property:

Wind turbines generally operate better in large areas that cover an acre. This is because wind flow is not deflected by any nearby buildings.

How windy is it where you live?

Ideal wind conditions should be at least 11 mph, but otherwise a taller tower with larger blades will help to catch the high-altitude winds.

Other uses for the wind turbine:

Can you think of other ways to use the wind turbine? For example many farmers still use them as a vital part of their irrigation systems.

Does my house need a constant power supply?

This is why so many people want to get a small wind turbine in the first place – to keep the house powered during blackouts, and prevent economic losses. Although the wind turbine may not power the house all the time, it’s stored power can be used in emergencies, when the utilities are just not enough.

Answering these questions will give you a good idea of how much power you need, how big the tower a blades need to be, and how much it would be worth investing to start making your own power at home.

The great thing about technology is that it is always improving. So much so that motors have become smaller, efficient and cheap enough for us to attach a few small turbines right on the roof, and produce the same power as a larger turbine on a tall tower.

Although professional home wind turbines can run into several thousands of dollars, it is possible to make your own for a tenth of the price, with components found at home and your local hardware store. Furthermore, the U.S. offers both state and federal tax credits that you can use to offset the installation cost. So not only will you reduce your electricity bill, but also your tax at the same time.

Forget about using the home made energy guide to make your own power at home! Try the Earth4Energy Instructions for free, and see how you can cut your power costs by up to 80% with your own home wind turbine and solar power.

My Experience With Make Natural Power

Over the past year a lot of diy energy guides have appeared on the internet, promising to teach even a complete technical newbie how to make their own home solar and wind power, and reduce their energy bills by up to 80%. One those guides happens to be Make Natural Power. But does it deliver what is promises? And is how does it stack up to the other guides?

The best thing about Make Natural Power is its cover. Everything beyond that was disappointing to say the least. Although it appears to have all the features of the the other guides, the information is very thin and not well-explained.

Good Aspects:

The only thing I liked about it was that you can eventually build your own solar panels and wind turbine, but it will take you forever if you are not technologically inclined.

Why it disappointed us:

* Poor drawings

Not only were the diagrams for both the solar and wind power instructions boring and dull, but they were badly labeled and and not even to scale.

* Low quality solar power system

The poor instructions and confusing drawings, made it difficult to replicate. This resulted in me having to make too many guesses and build a rubbish solar power system.

* Poor maintenance advice

While I eventually got my wind generator to work, it ended up breaking after 2 months. This could have been prevented if I was given correct advice on how to effectively maintain the wind turbine.

* Slow customer support

A lot of the time we had to contact customer service for assistance. But they were very slow to respond, and by the time they did reply we had either forgotten what the problem or had figured it out ourselves. On average, it will take over 5 days to get the answers you need.

Conclusion

Make Natural Power is like a cheap replica of Earth4Energy. It was poorly put together, lacked critical advice, and did nothing but frustrate me.

Tim McDonald recommends you rather try Earth4Energy for FREE, if you want to build a quality DIY Renewable Energy system and actually reduce your electricity bill.

categories: make natural power,solar power,solar energy,wind power,renewable energy,alternative energy,home improvement,environment,technology,lighting,hobby,money saving tips,men,society

The Solar Powered Pump Birdbath: How To Do it Yourself

If you have been thinking of making a more eco-friendly garden, have you considered getting a solar powered pump birdbath? Actually, have you thought of making one yourself?

So why would you want to make a solar powered pump birdbath?

The pros to getting one are:

a: The water will not go stagnant since the pump is keeping it flowing

b: The pump does not have to plugged into your power supply

c: No inverter is needed since the pump operates on direct current.

d: Only a few inexpensive solar panels are needed to produce around 6 volts

e: The fountain usually operates during the day when the birds are out in the sun, so batteries are not essential

f: It is possible to make the entire system your yourself, helping you save money

g: It is very portable since it has no wires.

And what does it take to make a solar powered pump birdbath?

The most basic method is to buy a working birdbath with fountain, and then wire up the solar panels.

The cheaper, more labor intensive approach would be to get a birdbath with the right holes drilled for the fountain to be installed. And then add on the pump, fountain attachment, irrigation and power supply.

If you go the DIY route, then you will need to get:

The Birdbath:

It does not matter what birdbath you buy, but make sure there is a place for the fountain to be added. A few options for you would be copper, terracotta, cascading, ceramic, or resin birdbath fountains.

The Fountain Attachment:

This attachment can be source from your nearby hardware store or garden center. It is an optional extra that helps make the water spout out of the top, instead of a small trickle.

The Water Pump:

Next is the pump. Usually a small birdbath only needs a small 6 volt DC fountain pump. But if you have a larger birdbath that pumps more water, and at a greater height, then a larger pump will be needed.

Tubing for irrigation:

This tubing generally should be narrow enough to keep the water pressure high, so that the water can be pumped properly. My advice would be to visit the nearby garden center and have a look at what piping is used.

Silicon Sealant:

This is one of those essentials that you should already have lying around the house. It will help seal all those joins and also protect electrics from water damage.

Solar Panels:

This is what makes this birdbath unique to your average water fountain. Depending on what size pump you buy, will need to get enough solar panels for the fountain to work properly. A a typical 6 volt pump, you will require solar panels with a capacity of at least 6 volts. But is better to be on the safe side and get a 12 volt solar panel instead, for times when it is cloudy and for late afternoons.

NB: You have 2 alternatives for the solar panels:

1 : Buy a small expensive solar kit from Wallmart or Target or any other local supplier.

2 : The cheaper, DIY route and make the panel yourself. Luckily this is actually rather simple for anyone to learn to do. So if you want to learn to make your own, then carry on reading to the end…

To maximize the efficiency of the solar panel, it could be mounted in a simple frame with the ability to be angled towards the sun.

Can anyone build this birdbath?

With the right tools and parts and a the right attitude you could have a fully functional solar powered pump birdbath in an afternoons work. It really depends on your level of experience, but many of our friends (even housewives) have managed to make their own fountains.

If you want you could also add some type of power storage to the system. That way the batteries can store power, which can be used to operate the pump 24 hours a day. To have this option you will need:

1) The right battery:

Because the pump is only 6 volts, a 12 volt battery is more than enough. It should be a deep cycle battery (car battery) that can store the power for a longer time.

Charge Controller:

This is not essential, but it prevents your battery from over-charging. So it can really extend the life of the battery. It will be wired up between the solar panels and the battery.

Other than it being really cheap to make, the big advantage of making your solar powered pump fountain is that once you have that skill it is there with you forever. You could even make it as an eco-friendly gift for your friend’s next birthday.

Building A Solar Powered Pump Fountain

If you have ever wanted to make your garden more environmentally friendly, have you ever thought of buying a solar powered pump fountain? Going one step further, have you ever considered making your own?

What are the benefits of having a solar powered pump fountain?

The pros to getting one are:

a: Fountains circulate the water, keeping the bird bath from going stagnant

b: The fountain is wireless and does not have to be plugged in

c: The pump runs on DC power, so no inverter is needed.

d: Only a few inexpensive solar panels are needed to produce around 6 volts

e: No batteries are required, since the pump only really needs to operate during the day when the sun is out and the birds are in the garden.

f: You can save more money by making the entire birdbath and fountain yourself, even the solar panels.

g: The birdbath can be placed anywhere in your garden, without the need for unsightly wires.

And what does it take to make a solar powered pump birdbath?

The simplest option would be for you to add solar panels to an already working birdbath and fountain.

The more inexpensive, but do-it-yourself method would be to buy a birdbath that is capable of housing a fountain. Then all you need to do is buy the pump, tubing, wiring, solar panels and batteries (optional).

If you want to save money, and build your own system, then you will need:

The Birdbath:

It does not matter what birdbath you buy, but make sure there is a place for the fountain to be added. A few options for you would be copper, terracotta, cascading, ceramic, or resin birdbath fountains.

The Water Spout:

Depending on whether you want the water to trickle or spout out the top, you can get the right attachment from most hardware stores or garden centers.

Small Fountain Pump:

Depending your birdbath size, the volume of water to be pumped and how high you want to pump it, will help you decide on the voltage and size pump needed. For your average, medium-sized birdbath, a small 6 volt DC pump will suffice.

Tubing for irrigation:

This is what the water will flow through. It is best to ask your nursery about the various irrigation options. Otherwise, get ideas from finished pump powered fountains. As a rule of thumb, the PVC piping needs to be narrow to maintain enough water pressure.

Silicon Sealant:

This is one of those essentials that you should already have lying around the house. It will help seal all those joins and also protect electrics from water damage.

The Solar Panels:

This is what makes this birdbath unique to your average water fountain. Depending on what size pump you buy, will need to get enough solar panels for the fountain to work properly. A a typical 6 volt pump, you will require solar panels with a capacity of at least 6 volts. But is better to be on the safe side and get a 12 volt solar panel instead, for times when it is cloudy and for late afternoons.

NB: For the solar panels, there are two options:

1 : Buy a small commercially available solar panel from any outlet, such as Wallmart.

2: Make your own solar panel. This is actually much easier than people make it out to be. With the right instructions you could build your own panel in an afternoon. If you want to go the diy way, then keep reading…

To maximize the efficiency of the solar panel, it could be mounted in a simple frame with the ability to be angled towards the sun.

Can anyone build this birdbath?

If you have all the tools and materials and any diy experience, you could have a working solar powered pump birdbath within in a matter of hours – that’s if all goes to plan…

A nice added extra is to hook up some batteries to the system. That way you can store any excess power, and the pump could run all day and night. If you do want the fountain to operate for 24 hours, then you will need the following:

1) The right battery:

You will need deep cycle battery that is capable of storing a charge for a long time. A 12 volt one should be more than enough to power a 6 volt pump.

Charge controller:

It is not vital , but if you want the battery to last longer, a charge controller will protect the battery from over-charging. It is wired from the solar panels and then to the battery.

The nice thing about about building a solar powered pump birdbath yourself is that it is not only cheaper, but once you know how, you can make as many as you want. It could also make a great gift for an energy conscious friend or family member.

4 Steps To Calculating Your Home’s Solar Power Needs And Expenses

With green living becoming more and more important, many people are starting to install home solar power to supplement their power, and reduce their electric expenses.

But how much solar panel watt power do we need to say halve our power bills? And how much will that power cost us to install?

This is the process we followed, when calculating our home’s solar power needs and the investment required.

1 – What Is Your Daily Power Consumption?:

To do this, get your last 12 monthly power bills and calculate your average kilowatt hour (kWh) usage per month. The reason we use 12 is because our power consumption fluctuates with the seasons. The calculation would be to add up the power used over the past 12 months and divide it by 12. But if you do not have all your power bills, then simply use last month’s one.

Now take your average kwH per month and divide that by 30 to get your average kWh per day.

- Here is an example: Lets say the power used last month was 800 kWh. Your average daily usage would be 800/30 = 26.7 kWh per day.

- So if you want to cut your bill by 50%, then the amount of solar power needed is 26.7/2 = 13.4 kWh per day.

2 – Work Out Your Solar Panel Watt Requirements:

To do this, you first need to determine how many usable hours of sunlight your area receives per day. This is where a solar insolation map comes in handy – you can view one from our original article on our website.

Once you know your daily sunlight hours, go back to your daily kilowatt hours needed and divide it by the daily sunlight hours, then multiply it by a factor of 1.25 (takes into account energy losses from the solar panel watt wiring, battery , and inverter)

- From our same example, if we lived in California where it gets on average 5.5 hours of usable sunlight per day, the solar panel watt requirements are:

13.4 kWh required / 5.5hrs of insolation x 1.25 = 3.045 kW or 3045 Watts daily.

This indicates that our home solar power system must have the minimum capacity to produce 3045 Watts of power.

3 – Calculate Solar Panel Watt Costs:

This step will help you work out the cost of the solar panels needed to make 3045 Watts of power. At the moment the highest average cost for solar panels in the US is $4.85 per Watt.

- Following on from our example, the solar panels will cost 3045 x 4.85 = $14,768 to only halve our monthly power costs. This excludes the cost of wiring, charge controllers, batteries, inverters, and installation fees.

4 – Offset Tax Credits And Rebates:

Before you think you are going to have to fork out at least $14,768 for only 3045 Watt of solar panel power, you need to consider the effect of government subsidies and incentives.

2009’s Federal renewable energy tax credits came into effect from the beginning of the year, and coupled with the state-side incentives in places like Connecticut, California, New York and New Jersey, the cost of the solar power system will be much less.

- Continuing on from our example: If we lived in California, our state tax incentives would be about 20 % of the investment, and the federal rebates 40% of the remaining cost. So, our solar panels would only end up costing us:

$14,768 – $14,768 x (20%) – $14,768 x (1 – 20%) x 40% = $7,089.

Since there are many factors that go into calculating your solar panel watt costs, please only use our steps as a rough estimate. Some things were impossible for us to take into account, such as special offers by solar installation companies, where they offer you discounts on the full installation (including charge controller, inverter, battery, grid-tie electrician costs, etc).

However, from the example, you can see that for Californian to reduce their power bill by half, they would have to buy $14,768 worth of solar panels, costing them $7089 after rebates. A cheaper option would be to learn to source affordable and even free solar cells, and build your own solar panels. This can be done by following a relatively inexpensive step-by-step solar power manual, such as Earth4Energy.

Passive Solar Design – Using The Sun’s Energy For Free

Passive solar design is one of the simplest ways to improve your home’s value and save electricity at the same time.

Passive solar design is a smart way of using the natural heat and light from the sun in your home. This is usually done by using various building materials and concepts to efficiently heat and cool your home. The advantage of using passive solar design is that it is rather easy to use, it needs minimal maintenance, its reduces your energy consumption, while increasing your home’s market value.

How your home was built and what is what built from play a big part in determining its passive solar potential. Ideally it should be built either on a sun-facing slope or on flat land. And if you live in a residential area, any trees surrounding your home should be deciduous to let through sunlight in winter, but shade your home in summer.

When constructing a new home, make sure it is built so that the length of the house faces the sun, allowing the maximum amount of sunlight. Also note how the size, shape and placement of windows will determine the amount of natural heat and light in your home.

So how does the sun heat your home? There are three ways:

1) Direct gain – direct heat from the sun shining on a surface.

2) Indirect gain – radiated heat from objects heated by the sun.

3) Isolated gain – determined by the airflow in your home.

To maximize the sun’s natural heat from all three sources, it is best to use large windows on the sun-facing side of your home.

It is pointless building a home that lets in a lot of sunlight during the day is that sunlight cannot be absorbed and used to keep your home warm at night. So inside, you should use materials and fabrics that tend to absorb sunlight and radiate that natural heat for a long time. And in winter, to maximize the use of the sunlight and warmth, try to close cold, dark rooms off from the rest the house, and locate to sunnier, warmer rooms during the day.

To control how much sunlight and heat enters your home in summer, you could install roof overhangs. They should be the right breadth to block out the hot midday sun, but let in low-angle, weaker sunlight too. And do not forget to use the right foliage and trees in your garden to control how much seasonal sunlight enters your home.

For your existing home, the easiest way to make it more heat efficient would be to install modern windows that can retain heat up to 50% better. Though they tend to be a little more expensive, in the long-term they pay themselves off many times over, by reducing your power consumption during the colder months.

Double-glazed or Low-emissivity (Low-E) windows let solar heat in, but keep in the indoor radiant heat. Another way to reduce heat loss is to ensure tight seals around all windows or by using multiple panes that have gaps between them filled with argon or krypton gas.

What also has an effect is the type of window frames you have. Wooden, fiberglass and vinyl window frames are better insulators as opposed to metal frames that conduct the heat too well. When it comes to buying your windows, make sure they are officially labeled either by Energy Start or the National Fenestration Rating Council (for the U.S.). These two bodies give ratings on how energy efficient and effective the windows are, making it easier for you to buy the right windows for your climate and budget.

So you can see, passive solar design is the effective use of nature and physics to maximize the use of the sun’s natural lighting and heat. Always remember, the point of solar passive design is to reduce your electricity usage and bills. So it is recommended to always weigh up the costs against the potential power savings when installing any passive solar solution at home.

Passive Solar Design: A Good Start To Living Off The Grid

If you ever wanted to save electricity and improve the comfort of your home without using any high-tech gadgets, then passive solar design is the answer.

Passive solar design is a technique of using the sun to naturally heat and light up your home or office. This is achieved by using various building features and materials to improve heating and cooling efficiency. The best part about passive solar design is that it is relatively simple to implement, little maintenance is needed, and your home’s market value can increase considerably.

Your home’s passive solar potential is determined by where and how it is situated and by the types of windows and materials used. Although most buildings can be optimized to receive the ideal amount of sunshine, it is easier if they are on flat land or a sun-facing slope. If your home is surrounded by many trees, make sure they are deciduous so that they shade your home in summer, but their bare branches let sunlight through in winter. Also, try avoid nearby buildings that create too much shade.

For any new building, it is best to build it so that the length faces the sun. Another factor determining your home’s potential for natural light and heat is the shape, type and size of windows you use.

So how does the sun heat your home? There are three ways:

1) Direct – this the heat generated from the sun shining directly on an object.

2) Indirect – this is heat given off from objects heated by sunlight.

3) Isolated – caused from the air movement in your home.

The get the most out the the above 3 heat sources, you should try install large windows on the sun-facing side of your home, as this will allow the most sunlight in.

It is pointless building a home that lets in a lot of sunlight during the day is that sunlight cannot be absorbed and used to keep your home warm at night. So inside, you should use materials and fabrics that tend to absorb sunlight and radiate that natural heat for a long time. And in winter, to maximize the use of the sunlight and warmth, try to close cold, dark rooms off from the rest the house, and locate to sunnier, warmer rooms during the day.

To control how much sunlight and heat enters your home in summer, you could install roof overhangs. They should be the right breadth to block out the hot midday sun, but let in low-angle, weaker sunlight too. And do not forget to use the right foliage and trees in your garden to control how much seasonal sunlight enters your home.

For your existing home, the easiest way to make it more heat efficient would be to install modern windows that can retain heat up to 50% better. Though they tend to be a little more expensive, in the long-term they pay themselves off many times over, by reducing your power consumption during the colder months.

Double-glazed or Low-emissivity (Low-E) windows let solar heat in, but keep in the indoor radiant heat. Another way to reduce heat loss is to ensure tight seals around all windows or by using multiple panes that have gaps between them filled with argon or krypton gas.

The type of windows frames you use can also make a huge difference. Metal frames should be avoided since they draw heat out of your home in winter, but heat up your home in summer. It is better to use wooden, vinyl or fiberglass frames to insulate your home better. When you do buy modern windows make sure they are labeled by the National Fenestration Rating Council or by Energy Star. That way you will be able to buy the right windows for your needs and budget.

So you can see, passive solar design is the effective use of nature and physics to maximize the use of the sun’s natural lighting and heat. Always remember, the point of solar passive design is to reduce your electricity usage and bills. So it is recommended to always weigh up the costs against the potential power savings when installing any passive solar solution at home.