Using solar energy for your home is one of the easiest ways to reduce your electric bill. Because solar energy is highly efficient, and with the tax incentives available, you can regain your expenses quickly.
The most efficient way to to make use of solar energy for your home is with solar hot water. Your electric hot water heater is probably the biggest consumer of power in your house. An electric hot water heater is much more expensive to operate than a simple solar hot water system.
Solar hot water
With solar hot water you can make your own system, buy a system and install it yourself, or hire the entire project out to a solar contractor. When you get down to it, it is a matter of time, money and skill.
Preheating your hot water with a solar collector is the easiest way to use solar energy. This is easy to do and can make a real difference, with a minimum effort and expense.
In fact, you don’t even need solar collectors in the usual sense. For very little money you can have a passive solar heating system by using a plastic barrel and a sunny room. This simple arrangement is easy to do and can make a huge dent in your hot water bill.
New construction
The best way to have solar energy for your home is to include it as an integral part of the design, before anything is constructed. With new construction you can orient the house to the best possible angle, set the roof at the optimum angle for the sun, and many, many other things. With new construction, you receive the most benefits of solar energy.
It is so important to hire a contractor who knows about energy efficiency in home building. Some builders are more able and willing to use efficient approaches to building.
Ask a solar expert, do research, find out for yourself. Your reward will be a beautiful home that is easy to heat and cool!
Do it yourself kits
Obviously, most people are already in the house they are hoping to make solar, at least as much as possible. For starters, you should consider a kit to do it yourself. These kits come in a variety of forms, but generally they are inexpensive and made for the average person to use.
From the kit you will learn how to make a solar panel, windmill and a generator, all out of hardware store materials. Even though you will not be able to generate enough power for your entire house with one of these kits, there are fully functioning systems. However, you can supplement you regular source of electricity and help reduce your power bills.
Climate
In the not-so-distant-past solar energy for your home was unrealistic in northern areas that have many cloudy days. Things have changed as the technology advances. Nearly every area can make use of solar energy now that the photovoltaic cells have become more efficient.
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Jon Arnett, Randy Hough and company have been involved with energy saving programs for many years in such places as Alaska, Wisconsin, Norway and Croatia. Recently they constructed a passive and active solar heated villa in Croatia, which is beautiful and efficient at the same time (plus it is right on the Adriadic Sea). Check out their website: http://www.SolarOnYourOwn.com to help you in your quest for reducing your energy dependence. Find out how you can save money, save energy, and save the earth!
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