Sunny Side Up With Solar Energy!

We’ve placed an unbearable strain on our natural resources in order to meet our ever growing energy demands. And now, the time has come to consider healthier options. Options that don’t have a devastating effect on our environment. Options that are practical and tap into the earth’s renewable natural sources. Solar energy is one such option that uses the most powerful source of energy – the sun. This clean and restorable energy is the way of the future. But what exactly is solar energy? How does it work? In what way does it affect our lives? Lets’ find out…

Solar energy is derived from the sun and doesn’t use up our non-renewable natural resources, nor does it harm the environment in any way. This source of alternative energy captures the sun’s rays and stores them or converts them into energy or heat. The great thing is, this type of energy is not only renewable, it has the capacity to power every single electrical outlet on earth! Surprising, isn’t it?!

Sunshiny days
You see, the total energy we get from the sun each year is 35,000 times our total energy requirement! But, what happens is, around one third of the sun’s energy either gets absorbed into the outer atmosphere or is reflected back into space. Now, utilizing two thirds of the sun’s energy available to us, we can generate heat or electricity with the help of solar panels.

Lighting up your life
Also known as solar cells or photovoltaics, these panels are used to provide electricity for pumping water and powering communications equipment. The excess energy produced by panels can be stored in batteries for use after sunset or on cloudy days. On a smaller scale, people are using solar panels to light up their homes or offices and run their appliances. The simplest of photovoltaic systems help to power our calculators and wrist watches! As you can see, solar energy already plays an important part in our lives. But its scope has to broaden and enter the mainstream. After all, solar power is the cheapest and most harmless form of generating electricity today!
Slowly but surely…
If the thought of spending thousands of dollars to save thousands of dollars on electricity bills is holding you back, you could always start small. Instead of fully converting to solar energy, simply add a solar system to your house. You can purchase affordable DIY kits on the Internet that show you how to build a solar panel in less than $200! Earth4Energy  is one such kit that comes with a detailed manual and instructional videos at a discounted price of $49.97. That’s $250 spent to cut your electricity bills, reduce your carbon footprint, protect your home from blackouts, lessen your country’s dependence on foreign oil! A small price to pay for a lot, wouldn’t you say?

Wind for Nothing & Power for Free!

The cost of power, increased awareness about climate change and the negative effects of greenhouse gases is making more and more people switch to alternative forms of energy. If you’re considering to use renewable energy at home for whatever reason – a cleaner environment, reduction in electricity bills or a combination of both – know that you’re moving in the right direction. If non-renewable natural resources keep dwindling at the rate they are, you can expect skyrocketing energy prices. Your plan to generate wind energy may be a safeguard for the future – yours and the planet’s…  

As a source of power, wind energy is an extremely viable alternative to fossil fuels. It’s free, plentiful, clean and sustainable with no greenhouse gas emissions. Does it get any better than this? The one minor negative, that too, a debatable one, is the aesthetic impact of wind farms. If some people find wind farms unappealing, others consider them quite charming! That said, the land on which wind farms are built can still be utilized for farming or a farmer with an entrepreneurial and social bent of mind can even turn it into a tourist attraction! Plus, renting out land for wind turbines makes for a sizeable extra income.

The year 2008 saw a worldwide capacity of wind powered generators at 121,000 megawatts – accounting for about 1.5% of electricity produced globally. And it’s growing rapidly at the rate of 30% annually! Today, 80 countries around the world use wind power for commercial reasons. Though there’s a lot more wind power available that can be harnessed…
 
Wind energy was used 5,500 years ago, but it was only in the early 80s when the modern wind turbine replaced its older equivalent, the windmill. Harnessing the wind’s energy to generate electricity with increasingly efficient designs, today large wind farms are connected to local electric power grids. Smaller turbines come in very handy to provide electricity in remote areas where diesel fuels would’ve been the only other option. Usually, small wind turbines generate up to 50 kW of power, and can be used for communications or pumping water. Farmers, home owners and ranchers in windy areas also use them, along with batteries for storage, to cut down on electric bills.

In case you’re not looking at investing a fortune on alternative energy or you simply don’t have the budget for it, you might want to consider making your own windmill! That’s right! There’s a DIY kit brought out by Earth4Energy that shows you how to build a windmill from scratch for about $100! Now, that’s nothing compared to an electric bill! Their easy to assemble windmill can provide electricity at your home for at least 3 to 5 years! So, there you go! Practical, economical, and ecological sense all rolled into one! Plus, your utility company will be happy to buy the surplus electricity not used by you!