Wind Energy Voice

Globally there is an increasing awareness among people about the damage that we have done to our environment. This factor coupled with rising fuel prices has revived the interest of people in wind turbines. wind power for homes is something that homeowners around the world are looking at seriously. Not only can wind turbines help in generating clean power, they can also help you save substantial amounts of money on your energy bills in the long run too.

There are several online guides that can help you build your own wind turbine. You need not be technically qualified in order to install one in your home. In fact wind power for homes is now only a matter of following instructions from detailed manuals, most of which you can find online. Moreover, the entire process of putting together the equipment in place is also a fun opportunity for the entire family.

A good amount of planning and research is needed if you are thinking of building your own wind turbine. First of all you will need to get all the equipment and tools ready. You will for instance need a generator, a mounting, blades, a tower and batteries to store the power in. You can find most of the things that you need for the purpose at a local hardware store.

You will then need to decide on the location in your home that you want to place the wind turbine in. The rapid advances in technology mean that you need not live in a very windy area for your wind turbine to generate power. Even the slightest breeze is enough to turn the blades that you can find in the latest wind turbines.

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The main cooling control of your house is its design. A well designed house takes into consideration the house’s orientation to make the most of prevailing wind directions and encourage favorable summer breezes.

Window sizes and placement also affect summer cooling. If the windows are located and sized well you can open them during hot summer afternoons and create a cooling breeze flowing through your whole house.

Your house’s orientation and shading features such as window overhangs and louvers effect how much sunlight is captured; a well orientated house will take advantage of the sun at different times of the day and during different seasons. Ensure that windows are big enough to capture free solar energy, but small enough to avoid any unnecessary over-heating in summer. Smaller windows will also reduce excessive heat losses during evenings, especially during the cooler months.

Room location is also important. By positioning the rooms which the family live in on the side of the house that naturally makes the best use of the summer sun, you will improve the amount of free solar heat your house naturally receives. Make sure that your deck also receives sun during the times you want it. Most people love to spend a few hours on the deck at the end of the day. A deck built to capture the evening sun and which is shielded from the wind can be used almost as another ‘room’, perfect for summer parties!

The thermal mass of your home is a key passive design component working like a sponge to suck up surplus heat during the daytime and releasing it later in the evening. Simple measures, such as replacing carpet with ceramic tiles will soak up the summer sun to maintain a steady cool temperature during the day and in the evening. But keep in mind: Thermal mass does not replace good insulation. Both go hand in hand and work best in combination.

If you don’t have a lot of thermal mass available, for example in a home with suspended timber floors, overheating can be a problem. External shades and sun sails can be fitted to complement the orientation of your house and assist with cooling. Tinted windows positioned correctly can also reduce the amount of solar heat entering the home.

Lastly there are also many cooling products available, namely air-conditioning units and fans. Commonly known as active cooling systems these offer a consistent room temperature, while at the same time, deodorise and clean the air, resulting in a healthier living environment for all the family. To maximize energy efficiency and ensure optimum home comfort we at Right House recommend that air conditioning units and fans are used as ‘extras’ supporting your home’s in-built passive design cooling features.

And remember, good insulation does not only keep the heat in during the winter, it also keeps unwanted heat out in the summer, reducing your air conditioning bill.

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Text by Terrell McSweeny, Domestic Policy Adviser to the Vice President. Vice President Biden and the Middle Class Task Force just finished unveiling the Recovery Through Retrofit Report, at a public event inside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Joining the Vice President at the announcement were Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy, Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor, Shaun Donovan, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and Karen Mills, Administrator of the Small Business Administration. Last May in Denver, CO the Vice President asked the White House Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) to report back to the Middle Class Task Force with a plan to make sure that the unprecedented Recovery Act investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy lay the groundwork for a self-sustaining home energy efficiency retrofit industry — which will create good, green jobs and save middle class families money on their energy bills. CEQ answered this call by bringing together eleven Departments and Agencies and six White House offices to develop todays report. The report identifies three barriers that have prevented a national market for home retrofits from taking off. First, consumers dont have access to reliable information about retrofits. Second, the upfront costs of home retrofits can be high but consumers dont have access to financing. Finally, there arent enough skilled workers to serve a robust …

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Everybody is feeling the pinch of the increased Oil and Gas prices. So many people are becoming curious about solar energy. Here is a quick synopsis of how solar energy works.

Sunlight is made up of tiny packets of energy, called photons. Every minute, enough of this energy reaches the earth to meet the world’s energy demand for a year.

Photovoltaic panels consist of many solar cells. These are made of materials like silicon, one of the most common elements on earth.

Each one is designed with a positive and a negative layer. This creates an electric field just like in a battery. As photons are absorbed in the cell, their energy causes electrons to become free. The electrons move toward the bottom of the cell and exit throguh the connecting wire.

This flow of electrons is what we call electricity. -The US Department of Energy.

How would you like to use Solar Power for Homes and UNPLUG your house from your electrical company? You can setup your own renewable energy system in your backyard for less than $200!

Why would you want to use Wind and Solar Power for Homes? Because Wind and Solar power are called renewable energies. This means that this kind of energy is impossible to exhaust because it is generated by natural forces, instead of being created from a controlled reaction like burning fuels or nuclear material. One day we will run out of oil. We must change our habits now, before that happens.

Why should you create your own solar power for homes?Because you will save hundreds of dollars every time you get your power bill! This is great for our environment and your children will thank you for it.

Complete instructions are becoming available to make wind and solar power for homes affordable, so that you can make this project yourself. These plans are not coming from your gas or electric company,are they?

It is time to start the revolution from home. Big business will not bring it to you becasue it is not in their best interest.

When you can make wind and solar power for homes for less than $200, why wouldn’t you! You will be able to spend your savings on more important things.

Knowing that you are doing your part to conserve our planet feels great! Fully illustrated instructions can make this a very simple and fun family project.

Won’t it feel good to know that you are part of the solution, not the problem. Wind and solar power for homes is the way of the future.

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Fed up with paying high prices for your electricity?
Do you want to beat the energy crisis?
Do you want to make free energy for your home?
With wind power for homes you can build your own wind generator and produce enough electricity to power your entire home. It is easier than you may think to build your own wind generator and start to make free energy for your home. Most of the parts needed can be purchased locally from hardware stores and you can even use auto parts.

Wind power for homes is nothing new and windmills have been around for hundreds and hundreds of years in one form or another. These days they are not just used to grind corn into flour, but to produce great quantities of electricity to power homes and industry. And do not be confused by all the different names that they go under these days, (Windmills, Wind Generators, residential wind turbines, Windmill Generators,) they are all one and the same and they all have exactly the same purpose, and that is to make free energy.

So why should you build your own wind generator when it is possible to just go out and buy one of the residential wind turbines that are available on the market? One simple answer is “the cost”. If you were to buy one of the residential wind turbines or have a commercial wind generator installed on your property it could cost you thousands of dollars. But with wind power for homes it is possible to build your own wind generator for a fraction of that price.

If you opted for a professionally installed wind generator or purchased one of the residential wind turbines it could take years before you would see a return on your investment. When you build your own wind generator you could see a return on your investment much much sooner, and be able to make free energy in a matter of weeks, if not days. Even if you use the highest quality materials available when you build your own wind generator the final price would still a fraction of what the commercial residential wind turbines would cost you.

Electricity that is generated by wind power is one of the cleanest and most environmentally friendly forms of renewable energy today. With wind power for homes you are not only able to make free energy for your home but you can also pat yourself on the back for doing your bit to help stop global warming by producing your own clean energy.

It is so easy to build your own wind generator and any Do-It-Yourself enthusiast can make one using simple tools, you do not need to have any special skills and there are detailed guides and instructions available to show you exactly how to go about it. Many of these instruction guides can be found on the internet and I have found three of the top ones.  Find out for yourself how you can make free energy with wind power for homes TODAY and start generating your own electricity tomorrow.

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One of the biggest problems with renovating an older home is the lack of energy efficiency. While home buyers want a house that is as economical as possible, they also don’t want to destroy classic architecture to achieve this. So, what’s a historical home renovator to do? Happily, there are many ways you can improve your house’s “green” factor, while preserving the classic lines that attracted you to the home in the first place. Here are a few of the simplest:

Insulation
Many older homes suffer from a lack of insulation, especially in the attic area. With the new spray foam insulation, you can prevent unseen cracks from leaking out heat. 40% of your home’s energy could be escaping merrily through invisible openings; this is one way to keep it inside and your heating bill lower. Doors and windows can benefit from extra insulation as well.

Windows
Many of the “old style” windows can be found in new, energy conserving materials. Enjoy the same classic look while saving big bucks on escaping heat. Look for windows with an ENERGY STAR certification.

Lights
Some energy savings are as simple as screwing in a light bulb. Compact fluorescent bulbs can use as little as 25% of the energy of an ordinary bulb. They also have a much longer lifespan. CFLs come in all sorts of types, ensuring that the owners of older homes with older fixtures can use them.

Appliances
A switch from your vintage refrigerator to an ENERGY STAR one can save you quite a bit. Depending on the appliance you replace, you can save up to 50% more energy and water. Replacing your washer and dryer and water heater will net you even more savings.

Thermostat
A programmable thermostat is the way to go in any home. Programming times for the thermostat to run will save you around 10% on your heating/cooling costs. Plus, it’s easy to program the thermostat so that you never have to worry about it again.

Air conditioning unit
An air conditioning unit that has a high SEER (seasonal energy efficiency ratio) rating is going to save you a lot more money than the antique version in your older home. A good tip for keeping your unit functioning as well as possible is to change the filters regularly. This will enable it to work at its best.

Going green doesn’t have to spell doom for classic home styles and heritage houses. Rather, it should be viewed as a challenge to find materials and appliances that enhance your home’s livability while helping it retain the appearance of yesteryear.

Technorati Tags: efficient, energy, Homes

Would it surprise you to know that up to 15% of our power bills are spent simply on electric lighting? Perhaps many of us are not aware of the small, yet effective ways we could economize on our energy payments.

For those of us who do not have homes built in the last few ‘energy-conscious’ years, there are still ways that we can ‘green-up’ our homes. Many of the obvious ways have to be incorporated into the actual construction, but there is always room for improvement, even with new houses.

Statistics say that air conditioners and heaters suck up the largest supply of energy in the home and that reverting back to the old fashioned methods of keeping cool may cut down on our energy bills.

One old fashioned method for keeping your house cool is not to let the sun shine on your windows. Glass heats up very quickly and the warmth radiates into your home just as if the oven door was open. Drop down blinds on the outside of your house are the easiest and most efficient way to keep the sun off your glass windows. A cheap and effective alternative, which you can use temporarily each summer, is the bamboo roll down shade. It attaches to the outside of your home – even a couple of nails will hold it if you’re desperate, and it stops the sun from heating up your glass.

Failing this, blinds closed on the inside of your windows will stop the heat from moving too far into your room. Likewise the closing of drapes helps keep the heat within the window area. However, the use of external bamboo roller blinds – especially on south facing windows – will make a noticeable difference.

Another old fashioned of keeping your home comfortable throughout the year is to plant trees and shrubs against the house. In the Mediterranean, for instance, large olive trees which ‘fan out’ are planted near the windows. They keep the house permanently in shade in the summer but in the winter the leaves fall and the sunlight can shine into your home.

Another point to consider is this: throwing open the doors and windows to give a cross-breeze is also a way of letting in the warm air. Therefore, if the roof of your home is well insulated, it is often better to keep all the windows and doors closed. The cooler overnight temperature will last longer – as long as your roof is well insulated.

If you incorporate these ideas into your home, you’ll notice a difference in your air conditioning consumption. Heating costs, however, are more difficult to manage.

Old fashioned draft strips really do work to keep the warm air in, and the cool air out. They’re very inexpensive to buy, so they can be used in the winter and discarded for spring.

You’ll want to check your furnace as well, as older furnaces sometimes run very inefficiently. This means that you’re paying more to heat your house than you need to. The newer models are far more energy efficient, and well worth the initial costs of buying a new unit.

Since lighting covers up to 15% of the power bill, it must be included in any economical measures. Turning off lights when leaving the room, not leaving computers or TVs on standby – all these save power. A big change would be to replace your incandescent lamps with fluorescent lights. You will have four times the amount of light per watt, the bulb will cost one third as much to operate and will last ten times longer!

Finally you can look at your hot water system – another possible 15% of your total bill. If you do not want to switch to the new ‘tankless’ hot water on tap method, then try installing energy efficient flow controls for your showers and sinks. The volume of water is reduced without the pressure being compromised.

Most of these changes are inexpensive to implement, but will give you noticeable returns on your energy bills.

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Using less energy is the easiest and quickest way of reducing global warming in the future.

We have put together some simple tips to show how you can cut the amount of energy you use without it costing you a penny, as well as some, low cost actions you can take which will pay for themselves in little or no time.

For instance, did you know that the quickest and most cost effective way of improving your energy efficiency is by installing insulation? Insulation made with recycled glass (glasswool) is particularly environmentally friendly – and insulation requires no maintenance and will provide energy savings year after year, performing as good as the day it was installed. That’s why so much of this site is dedicated to different ways to improve your home’s insulation.

Tips to improve energy efficiency.

1. Turn down your central heating by 1°C It could cut your heating bills by up to 10%. If you feel it’s too cold, just pop on an extra layer of clothing like a T shirt under a shirt or a jumper or cardigan.

2. Don’t leave appliances on standby. How often do you leave the TV on standby when you go to bed? That TV, DVD player, HiFi, video recorder are all munching electricity – so turn them off.

3. Unplug mobile phone chargers. It’s handy to leave your mobile phone charger plugged into the wall, but if its switched on even without the phone attached it will be using electricity.

4. Set your hot water to 60°C. For most people, setting the cylinder thermostat at 60°C/°F is fine for bathing and washing.

5. Don’t overfill your kettle. It’s easy to over fill a kettle, but try and only boil the amount of water you need (Always remember to ensure you boil the minimum amount for the safe use of the kettle – see your kettle’s user guide if in doubt).

6. Turn off lights when you leave the room. Always turn lights off when you leave a room and adjust your curtains or blinds to let in as much light as possible during the day.

7. Use economy mode on the dishwasher and 30°C to wash your clothes. Try and use low temperature programmes, and ensure you wash full loads.

8. Draw the curtains. Close your curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows – even in rooms you’re not using.

9. Take a shower not a bath.
Water requires a lot of energy to heat it up, and a typical shower uses just 20% of the hot water a bath uses.

10. Put a plug in it!. Always put the plug in your basin or sink. Leaving hot water taps running with it removed is akin to washing money down the plughole.

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My energy efficiency improvement project began in the middle of the summer this year. This was when I decided to take several steps in making my home more efficient in terms of heating and cooling. Several factors like the increased cost of oil, the struggling economy and rising energy costs, all influenced my decision. I also wanted to do my part, although a minor one, in helping the environment. I made three improvements to my home, and they have all helped in their own way. I had my home re-insulated with expansion foam, I replaced all of my standard incandescent light bulbs with CFL Bulbs and I purchased an Infrared Heating unit.

The decision to insulate my home with expansion foam was perhaps the largest undertaking of my efficiency project, but it also gave me some of the biggest returns. My home was built some time ago, and as a result, the insulation was not performing up to the standards of today. After researching the benefits of Expansion Foam Insulation, I decided this was the best solution for my home. I hired a company who inspected my home, and determined the spots that needed the extra insulation. It was installed by drilling small holes into the outside walls of my home and pumping in the foam into the gaps. The foam then expanded in the space, filling in all the trouble areas. While this was occurring, other workers were on the inside making sure the insulation was being installed correctly. I live in a 2 story home, with an unfinished basement, and it did take quite a lot of Insulating Foam to complete the process, but it was definitely worth it. After the installation I noticed an instant improvement in my home’s ability to maintain a desired temperature. This has helped me to save money on my heating/cooling bills because I am not wasting money on losses of energy that the previous insulation had allowed for.

The second step in my efficiency improvement project was replacing all of my standard incandescent light bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs). The CFLs consume much less energy than standard bulbs, and also have a much longer lifetime. The great thing was how affordable the lights where, and that no extra installation steps were required. The lights fitted directly into the existing fixtures, and began saving me money instantly. Implementing the CFLs will help me save approximately 20-30 dollars in electricity costs during each bulb’s lifetime of use.

The final addition to my home was the purchase of an EdenPure Infrared Heater. The extensive research I did online looking for an affordable way to help lower my heating bills this winter led me to this product. Infrared Heaters are much more energy efficient than standard electric coil heaters, and they also heat the surrounding area more effectively. I was able to save money on my heating bills by turning my furnace’s thermostat down, and allowing the Infrared Heater to handle a share of its work. An Infrared Heater is also much safer, and provides a warm soothing form of heat that my family and I love.

After implementing these 3 simple improvements, my home’s energy efficiency has definitely increased. My home’s heating and cooling bills began to lower, and I did not have to sacrifice any of my home’s comfort for it either. Although there are many other things that you could do to help, these 3 basic solutions are an easy way to get you started on the right path.

Technorati Tags: efficiency, energy, Homes, Increase

Today’s energy efficient homes are built to meet or exceed the government’s 5 STAR requirements for energy efficiency. Consider the following: when gas prices are higher, people will drive by several stations looking for a cheaper price or bargain- instead simply stooping at the first station that is most convenient.

Real estate, new home purchasers seem to follow the same trend. There are many first time home buyers who are still looking building homes all over the country. But not as many as in the recent years. Those buyers are just scrutinizing their investment more. They are shopping multiple builders, researching energy efficient house and system built homes on the internet, etc. at much more higher rate then before. The inflation, which is increased cost of land, building materials and labor have slowed the market, but have also created a great opportunity for builders of energy efficient house building systems. Those builders who stand the scrutiny of being compared to many other possibilities have much better chance to stay in business.

A slowdown can spell doom to many builders using traditional construction methods, as it is nearly impossible to price much less than other builders without offering less quality/features. However, is stark contrast, energy efficient house with System Built Homes thrive in this market as we able to offer homes that match (or often exceed) quality/feature standards while offering a much competitive price than houses are built with regular stick building. While the slower market dictates less and more scrutinies buyers, an energy efficient house with System Built Homes have the ability to attract more of these buyers.

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