GetSolar Staff. Sunday, November 14th 2010 09:00
Some businesses and homeowners are motivated to go solar because they want to reduce their environmental impact – but for others, it’s all about the potential savings. By reducing the consumption of grid-sourced energy, solar power can slash a household or business’ energy bills significantly. But can a solar installation do more than break even and have a positive return on investment?

The answer is yes – with some caveats.

In most cases, solar arrays will have a payback period – the length of time they take to pay for themselves through energy savings – of no more than 15 years. (Solar water heating systems, which are much cheaper than home solar installations, have a shorter payback: Because they only cost a few thousand dollars, they will pay for themselves in far fewer than 10 years.)

In states with robust solar incentive programs, solar installations can take much less time to pay off. In places like California – which often have rebate programs at the municipal level – or New Jersey – which requires utilities to pay clean-energy producers for the power they generate – solar projects’ payback can be surprisingly short.

Yet even solar installations in states without strong rebate programs can pay for themselves in short order.

On November 12, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch profiled chemical distribution company Walsh & Associates, which recently put 416 solar panels in place at its warehouse. The array’s $500,000 price tag was offset by a 30 percent federal tax credit and a one-time, $50,000 payment from utility Ameren – but Walsh assumed the rest of the installation cost.

Even so, the company expects its solar project to be paid off in just six to nine years. The reason for the quick payoff is that Walsh will cut its energy spending sharply: By going solar, the firm will slash its $36,000 annual energy bill to just $1,500.

Assuming the array has a 25-year useful life, the chemical distributor anticipates that it will enjoy a return on investment of half a million dollars. Homeowners who go solar shouldn’t expect to save $500,000, but they, too, can see a positive ROI by installing a solar array.

Solar has environmental benefits, of course – but it’s hard to ignore the economic ones.

JEREMY BOREN

The Associated Press

PITTSBURGH – When Michael Merck’s remodeling crew is finished, sunlight that once streamed through dusty cracks in a vacant East Liberty home will strike a solar panel array capable of generating enough energy to support a family of five.

At least, that’s the goal the owner of West Penn Energy Solutions set for himself in a novel bid to transform a deteriorating 100-year-old shell of a house into a Zero Energy Home , a “green” living space that produces as much energy as its occupants consume in a year.

“We want to show that we can take this great example of Pittsburgh housing stock and convert it into something as energy efficient or more energy efficient than what people are building new,” said Merck, 32, of Regent Square.

Work began in March on the North St. Clair Street home and could be finished by year’s end.

Merck hopes to sell the five-bedroom house for about $265,000. He’ll list it for sale soon before it’s finished in case a buyer wants his company to customize it.

Since minimal air will be able to enter or escape, Merck will use special wall paints and wood stains that emit little or no toxic gas. Rain barrels outside will catch water to irrigate the lawn and garden. Solar-thermal panels mounted atop awnings over two master bedroom windows will block some sunlight, yet catch enough to heat a water tank in the basement equipped with a 400-gallon reservoir. Sun-heated water will flow to showers, sinks and the wood-floored home’s radiators.

Merck said the annual cost for electrical service and heating the home will be less than $300.

One drawback: No air conditioning, but a ventilation system will bring in cool, fresh air and exhaust stale air. A single window-mounted air conditioner could cool the entire house, if the owner installed one, he said.

“This really is Michael’s dream and his initiative to do a net-zero energy house, and it’s one of our core principles, so we’re happy to be working with him,” said Nate Cunningham, director real estate for the nonprofit East Liberty Development Inc.

ELDI owns the house, but it has worked out a unique business deal with Merck and with two other developers: father-and-son-team Albert and Chas Suter and, separately, Thomas Bencho, who are renovating homes on North Euclid Avenue and Beatty Street, respectively.

The nonprofit purchased the vacant homes typically in economically depressed or crime-prone areas , and gave the small developers an option to renovate and sell them for a profit. Cunningham said ELDI is slowing creating a market for higher-priced homes with the goal of creating a mixed-income neighborhood of homeowners and renters.

“What we liked about them was they’re not making us pay anything up front,” Chas Suter said. “When we go to close with a buyer is when we pay them for the house and we pay a finder’s fee.”

The Suters are the first to nearly complete renovations to a house on North Euclid. Theirs is not a net zero-energy house. They preserved a stick-and-ball staircase, pine wood floors and created a master suite. The asking price is $239,900.

“It allows them to continue their mission of bringing homeownership back to East Liberty, and it allows contractors with limited resources to renovate a property … and sell it,” said Coldwell Banker real estate agent Holly Sisk, who is working with the Suters.

Cunningham said a real estate market analysis shows there are few who own homes worth between $150,000 and $300,000 in East Liberty. ELDI is changing that.

Three of six homes on North Euclid that ELDI helped to build are sold or under contract. Each falls in or above that price range. People want to live near the improving Penn Avenue corridor, he said, which offers easy access to Whole Foods, Border’s, Trader Joe’s, a planned Target, and other retail and commercial gems.

ELDI has nine more homes it could offer to small developers.

“We are getting the pioneers now, but we are seeing a pick up in momentum from home buyers,” Cunningham said.

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Information from: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, http://pghtrib.com

The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County recently completed the installation of five solar-thermal hot-water systems.

Sun-heated water is flowing at public restrooms at three forest preserves, Springbrook Prairie in Naperville, Hidden Lake in Downers Grove and Spring Creek Reservoir in Bloomingdale.

Solar-thermal systems are also at work at the headquarters building at Danada Forest Preserve in Wheaton and the structural maintenance facility at Blackwell Forest Preserve in West Chicago.

The solar-thermal systems work in conjunction with conventional natural gas or electric hot-water heaters, which were already in use. Solar panels mounted on the buildings’ roofs preheat water using energy from the sun, reducing or at times eliminating the use of natural gas or electricity. Through reduced energy costs, the district’s return on investment is about eight to 10 years.

“Even on cloudy days and through cold weather in winter, solar energy can produce hot water,” said Jason Berger of the district’s structural maintenance department. “The systems are designed to last at least 20 years with little to no maintenance, so the long-term savings of both utility costs and conventional energy resources will be beneficial.”

A grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation paid for 25 percent of the costs, and a rebate from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s Solar and Wind Energy Rebate Program funded 30 percent.

(Editors note: These rebates can be yours too. See our solar hot water and solar hot air projects)

Solar power is radiant energy that is produced by the sun. Daily the sun radiates, or sends out, an enormous amount of energy. The sun radiates more energy in a single second than people have used since the beginning of time!

The energy of the Sun derives from within the sun itself. Like other stars, the sun is mostly a big ball of gases––mostly hydrogen and helium atoms.

The hydrogen atoms in the sun’s core combine to form helium and generate energy in a process called nuclear fusion.

During nuclear fusion, the sun’s extremely high pressure and temperature cause hydrogen atoms to come apart and their nuclei (the central cores of the atoms) to fuse or combine. Four hydrogen nuclei fuse to become one helium atom. However the helium atom contains less mass than the four hydrogen atoms that fused. Some matter is lost during nuclear fusion. The lost matter is emitted into space as radiant energy.

It requires an incredible number of years for the energy in the sun’s core to make its way to the solar surface, and then just a little over eight minutes to travel the 93 million miles to earth. The solar energy travels to the earth at a speed of 186,000 miles per second, the velocity of light.

Only a small part of the power radiated from the sun into space strikes the earth, one part in two billion. Yet this quantity of energy is enormous. Each day enough energy strikes the united states to supply the nation’s energy needs for one and a half years!

Where does all of this energy go?

About 15 percent of the sun’s energy that hits our planet is reflected back to space. Another 30 percent is used to evaporate water, which, lifted in to the atmosphere, produces rainfall. Solar power also is absorbed by plants, the land, and the oceans. The rest could be employed to supply our energy needs.

Who invented solar power ?

Humans have harnessed solar energy for centuries. As early as the 7th century B.C., people used simple magnifying glasses to concentrate the light of the sun into beams so hot they would cause wood to catch fire. Over a century ago in France, a scientist used heat from a solar collector to make steam to drive a steam engine. In the beginning of this century, scientists and engineers began researching ways to use solar power in earnest. One important development was a remarkably efficient solar boiler introduced by Charles Greeley Abbott, a united states astrophysicist, in 1936.

The solar hot water heater became popular at this time in Florida, California, and the Southwest. The industry started in the early 1920s and was in full swing just before The second world war. This growth lasted before mid-1950s when low-cost natural gas became the primary fuel for heating American homes.

People and world governments remained largely indifferent to the possibilities of solar power before oil shortages of the1970s. Today, people use solar technology to heat buildings and water and also to generate electricity.

How we use solar power today ?

Solar power can be used in several different ways, of course. There’s two very basic kinds of solar energy:

* Solar thermal energy collects the sun’s warmth through 1 of 2 means: in water or in an anti-freeze (glycol) mixture.

* Solar photovoltaic energy converts the sun’s radiation to usable electricity.

Listed below are the five most practical and popular techniques solar power is used:

1. Small portable solar photovoltaic systems. We have seen these used everywhere, from calculators to solar garden tools. Portable units can be utilized for everything from RV appliances while single panel systems are used for traffic signs and remote monitoring stations.

2. Solar pool heating. Running water in direct circulation systems via a solar collector is an extremely practical solution to heat water for your pool or hot tub.

3. Thermal glycol energy to heat water. In this method (indirect circulation), glycol is heated by natural sunlight and the heat is then transferred to water in a warm water tank. This method of collecting the sun’s energy is much more practical now than ever. In areas as far north as Edmonton, Alberta, solar thermal to heat water is economically sound. It can pay for itself in three years or less.

4. Integrating solar photovoltaic energy into your home or office power. In most parts on the planet, solar photovoltaics is an economically feasible solution to supplement the power of your home. In Japan, photovoltaics are competitive with other kinds of power. In the US, new incentive programs make this form of solar technology ever more viable in many states. An increasingly popular and practical way of integrating solar energy into the power of your home or business is through the use of building integrated solar photovoltaics.

5. Large independent photovoltaic systems. If you have enough sun power at your site, you may be able to go off grid. It’s also possible to integrate or hybridize your solar power system with wind power or other types of alternative energy to stay ‘off the grid.’

How can Photovoltaic panels work ?

Silicon is mounted beneath non-reflective glass to create photovoltaic panels. These panels collect photons from the sun, converting them into DC electrical power. The energy created then flows into an inverter. The inverter transforms the energy into basic voltage and AC electrical energy.

Pv cells are prepared with particular materials called semiconductors for example silicon, which is presently the most generally used. When light hits the Photovoltaic cell, a specific share of it is absorbed inside the semiconductor material. This means that the energy of the absorbed light is given to the semiconductor.

The power unfastens the electrons, permitting them to run freely. Photovoltaic cells also have more than one electric fields that act to compel electrons unfastened by light absorption to flow in a specific direction. This flow of electrons is a current, and by introducing metal links on the top and bottom of the -Photovoltaic cell, the current can be drawn to use it externally.

Do you know the advantages and disadvantages of solar technology ?

Solar Pro Arguments

- Heating our homes with oil or natural gas or using electricity from power plants running with coal and oil is a cause of global warming and climate disruption. Solar power, on the other hand, is clean and environmentally-friendly.

- Solar hot-water heaters require little maintenance, and their initial investment can be recovered in just a relatively small amount of time.

- Solar hot-water heaters can work in almost any climate, even just in very cold ones. You just need to choose the right system for your climate: drainback, thermosyphon, batch-ICS, etc.

- Maintenance costs of solar powered systems are minimal and the warranties large.

- Financial incentives (USA, Canada, European states…) can reduce the price of the initial investment in solar technologies. The U.S. government, as an example, offers tax credits for solar systems certified by by the SRCC (Solar Rating and Certification Corporation), which amount to 30 percent of the investment (2009-2016 period).

Solar Cons Arguments

- The first investment in Solar Water heaters or in Solar PV Electric Systems is greater than that required by conventional electric and gas heaters systems.

- The payback period of solar PV-electric systems is high, as well as those of solar space heating or solar cooling (only the solar domestic hot water heating payback is short or relatively short).

- Solar water heating do not support a direct in conjunction with radiators (including baseboard ones).

- Some air conditioning (solar space heating and the solar cooling systems) are costly, and rather untested technologies: solar air-con isn’t, till now, a truly economical option.

- The efficiency of solar powered systems is rather determined by sunlight resources. It’s in colder climates, where heating or electricity needs are higher, that the efficiency is smaller.

The author – Barbara Young writes on www.12voltsolarpanels.net/rv-solar-panels-101-ultimate-guide-12-volt-battery-charging“>motorhome solar panel kits in her personal hobby website 12voltsolarpanels.net. Her efforts are centered on helping people save energy using solar power to reduce CO2 emissions and energy dependency.

Advertising Feature — By Rachel Fallert
May 20, 2010

With energy costs on the rise, it is more important than ever to improve existing homes. New lines of windows, insulation, doors, air conditioner and more are available that not only add value to a home, but are cost efficient in the long run.

FALLERT HEATING & COOLING

•SOUTH LYON

A home energy audit is the first step to understanding how much energy is consumed in a home. Fallert Heating & Cooling of South Lyon can evaluate all aspects of a home’s energy use. Proper energy management will keep all systems running efficiently. An energy audit of electrical heating and cooling includes checking insulation, draft stopping, windows and doors, as well as the overall envelope of the home. The assessment will determine the efficiency of the heating and cooling system and how to conserve energy. Corrections in the system will save homeowners time and money.

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Internal Sponsorship:
Just released from GreenEcoClub the DIY Easy-Energy-Audits. This step-by-step guide will show you how to do energy audit on your home like the pros. Easy-Energy-audits

Air conditioners are 50 percent more efficient today than ever before. Homeowners can cut up to half or more of their electric bill when installing a high efficiency air conditioner. Fallert Heating & Cooling installs a full line of air conditioners to suit any home. Planned maintenance is important to keep air conditioners and heating systems operating at peak efficiency. All systems must be maintained in order to keep energy costs lower. Heating systems should be checked in the fall right before the heating season, and air conditioners in the spring before the cooling season.

Geothermal systems are the most efficient way to heat and cool a home. The system draws heat of the ground to warm and puts heat in the ground to cool the home. The temperature of the ground about five feet under the surface stays relatively stable throughout all seasons. Not only is this energy efficient and environmentally friendly, the tax credit for geothermal systems have been extended. Homeowners who install geothermal systems may be able to claim up to 30 percent of the installed cost in tax credits in the year the system is placed into service and it no longer has a cap.

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Whether a homeowner is installing a new or old system, planned maintenance is crucial to keep heating and cooling systems operating at peak efficiency. It will not only increase the lifetime of the system but will also ensure it is energy efficient.

Fallert Heating & Cooling is located at 10075 Colonial Industrial Drive in South Lyon. Visit www.fallertheatingcooling.com or call (248) 782-5861.

KC CONSTRUCTION

•GARDEN CITY

While many homeowners believe now is the time to pick up and sell rather than invest in their current home, KC Construction believes it is the perfect time to stay put and make some updates that will add value and increase energy efficiency. Making small changes such as new windows, insulation or siding will not only keep a home in shape — it will add value back faster than non-energy efficient homes.
 
Insulated siding includes custom gapless fit with a layer of polystyrene foam between the home and siding. The insulation can reduce the heating and cooling energy loss through exterior surface walls up to 20 percent. The thermal resistance in insulated siding can reach up to triple the value of other siding options. It is more durable than traditional siding, and it is resistant to pressure and wind, allowing it to last up to 50 years. Insulated siding helps reduce outside noise with a layer of polystyrene foam that acts as a great sound barrier. With all the benefits of insulated siding, including the increased curb appeal, the most appealing of all is the decrease in home energy costs and greater efficiency.

KC Construction provides expertise in all phases of residential and light commercial construction work, specializing in exterior work. The company offers reconstruction as well as remodeling services — anything from one storm door to an entire subdivision.

The company sells do-it-yourself supplies with free usage of its equipment for various projects. Visit KC Construction June 12 for an open house event, featuring manufacturer’s representatives, a car show and give-a-ways.

MECHANICAL ENERGY SYSTEMS

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Solar Hot Water

I’m interested in solar water heating? How does it work and is it feasible here?

On average, a solar water heating system properly installed here can provide more than half the hot water needed by a typical home throughout the year. From May to September, it should provide almost 100 percent. Since water heating accounts for about 15 percent of a home’s energy costs, these systems can save you money. But they don’t come cheap. We recommend you research the technology and talk to a couple of quality installers before investing in a system.

• How they work

A roof-mounted solar collector is made up of tubes of circulating liquid that absorb the sun’s radiant heat. The heated liquid is pumped through a heat exchanger where it preheats water in a solar tank, typically located next to your water heater. The preheated water is fed into your water heater, reducing the amount of energy needed to bring the water to the desired temperature.

• Heat exchangers

You can install a separate solar tank with a heat exchanger or choose to replace your water heater with one with an internal heat exchanger.

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“If you have an efficient water heater, you probably want to hang onto it, and go with a separate solar tank,” said Heath Kearns, sales manager with Mr. Sun Solar in Portland, which makes and installs the Sol-Reliant system. “Water heaters with a heat exchanger cost between $300 and $400 more, but are substantially more efficient. With a two-tank system, you have to use hot water before the preheated water can enter the tank. In a single tank, it’s being preheated no matter if you’re using water or not.”

John Lutes of Simple Solar Solutions in Vancouver sells three brands of systems, ranging in price from $4,000 to $9,000. He typically installs an external heat exchanger, which allows him to use a “plain old water heater.” That’s much less expensive than an internal heat exchanger.

• Incentives

Solar water heating systems certified by the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation are eligible for a 30 percent federal tax credit and a $1,000 rebate from Clark Public Utilities, if installed by an approved contractor.

Kearns said the incentives mean a $9,200 system would carry a net cost of $5,740. In addition, Washington residents pay no sales tax on solar equipment.

• How it pencils out

Lutes, who is a former accountant, makes a financial argument for solar hot water systems.

“It takes nine and a half years to pay back the system, so that’s a 10.5 percent return on your investment,” he said.

Although incentives and tax credits do not apply, solar swimming pool heaters can reduce pool-heating costs considerably.

The Energy Adviser is written by Clark Public Utilities energy counselors, who provide conservation and energy use information to utility customers. Send questions to energyadviser@clarkpud.com or to Energy Adviser, in care of Clark Public Utilities, P.O. Box 8900, Vancouver, WA. 98668. Past topics are available at www.clarkpublicutilities.com.

By Ann Robinson and Annie Vernon
Published: Sunday, April 25, 2010 6:15 p.m. MDT  

Recently, we wrote about tankless water heaters.  

Following its publication, we were contacted by a nice gentleman named Larry Wilkins.  

Wilkins has been in the tankless water heater business for many years, and operates a company called Envirotherm.  

We visited his office so he could share his expertise and enthusiasm for tankless water heaters. Wilkins emphasized that tankless water heaters can increase the energy efficiency of your home in more ways than one.  

Solar Hot Water with Tankless Hot Water Boost

As you may recall, a tankless water heater is a small, electric- or gas-fired appliance that takes the place of a standard water heater.  

The traditional unit that probably stands in your basement has a 30-gallon to 75-gallon tank of water that is kept heated day and night, whether you need it or not.  

A tankless unit runs water on demand through a small maze of piping where it absorbs heat from the burner assembly and then passes out into the supply system.  

The tankless water heater saves money, since you are not burning energy to maintain that large tank of hot water 24/7 in your home.  

But with its initial cost being two to three times higher than the standard water heater, there is a monetary payback factor to consider. On the plus side, because of the greater efficiency, there is also an environmental savings of thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide each year.  

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In a typical forced-air unit, when the thermostat tells the system that room temperatures are below a set comfort level, the air handler kicks on, drawing room air from a “cold-air return” through ductwork into the furnace’s heat exchanger, which is a combustion chamber around which the air flows.  

This heat-exchange system can be removed and a fan coil installed in its place within the furnace body.  

It is this coil that uses hot water from the tankless unit to transfer heat to the air moving through the furnace and out into the ductwork system in your home.  

Wilkins says if you are interested in further improving the energy efficiency of your home with your tankless water heater, you can install a solar water-heating system. These systems are generally composed of solar thermal collectors (two panels on your roof or wall) and a water storage tank that stores the solar-heated water for use in your home.  

There is a mixing valve to regulate the temperature of the water coming out the tank if the stored water is too hot for domestic use, and there is also a connection to the tankless water heater that will kick in if the water in the tank falls below a certain temperature.  

The water from the tank will then be pulled through the tankless heater to boost its temperature to the desired level before it is distributed in the house.  

Of course, the system is not quite as simple as this, but hopefully you get the general picture. Wilkins estimates that the entire system will cost approximately $16,000, including rebates that are currently available for this type of upgrade to your home.  

The payback on this is somewhere in the neighborhood of 10-15 years, but in addition to benefitting from your increased independence from the power or gas company, you will also be eliminating significant amounts of pollutants, such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from the atmosphere.  

Currently, this type of system makes more economic sense than a photovotaic system (where you are actually generating power from solar energy) whose payback is about 2 1/2 times longer than that of a solar hot-water system.  

While existing furnaces can be adapted, the best time for you to consider this approach is when you need to replace a furnace. And if you need a new water heater at the same time, here’s your big chance to further investigate this opportunity to bring your home into the 21st century.   

Architects Ann Robinson and Annie V. Schwemmer are the founding principals of Renovation Design Group, www.renovationdesigngroup.com, a local design firm specializing in home remodels.  

 Reader comments:

The savings can be even greater. I had solar thermal panels installed along with a tankless unit as a backup on sunless days. My yearly average savings over my old traditional heater has been 85%. Actually during four to five months a year we use so very little gas that we have to pay the city their minimum charge $15. With that we get endless hot water for everything. At the current pace of savings the whole unit will pay for itself in about 7 to 9 years. 

Free Power

Free power isn’t totally free you will need to invest in equipment; but the power you make will be free. You have a large advantage over power companies when you make free power at home. No delivery charge. 

Power companies collect power or convert it then deliver it. They divide the cost of investment over 30 to 50 years and charge you for the investment and delivery amortized over time. 

What is the delivery cost if you make your own power (Zilch, zero, nothing)? If you hire a contractor to install energy devices at your home the cost will not be much cheaper than the Power Company. Your payback period will be as high as 25 years, not much better than the Power Company’s payback period. 

The rules change when you make your own power with a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach. No delivery charge, no contractor cost and investment payback period is usually under 5 years. 

Here are seven reasons to make DIY homemade power:

 
1.) Free power is everywhere. You just need to collect it. 

 
2.) Collecting free power is easy with solar, wind, and solar hot water systems. 

 
3.) Free power investment is cheap for DIY. DIY projects can be 1/10 the cost of commercial and payback is 5-10 times faster, usually under 5 years. 

 
4.) The governments encourage free power collection. The government will pay you. In the USA the tax credit is 30% up to $2000 for solar electric and solar hot water and up to $4,000 for small wind turbine. That is not much for commercial investment of $20,000 to $80,000; but this is a lot for DIY projects of $100 to $6,000. 

 
5.) Free power is green. The more you collect the less the power company pollutes our planet. That makes a greener planet for our future and the kids’ future. 

 
6.) Do-it-yourself guides that make free power projects easy and low cost are cheap. Projects are a $100 – $200 investment. Multiple projects can get you off the grid completely. 

 
7.) Remote sites like a vacation home or cabin, hunting lodge, campsites can be powered by these free power projects, no gas generator and no kerosene. 

Solar Panels

This Is What It Looks Like

Solar panels are a collection of solar cells, soldered together into a system. The cells can be purchase on eBay for about $50 per 100 watts of power. You assemble the cells in to 70 – 175 watt panels. Installing the panels is a matter of some brackets and wire. Solar panel installation is much more flexible and portable than wind turbines. 

Solar panels produce 18+ volts in to a battery charge controller. The controller fills deep cycle batteries with the power during the day. Power can be generated most days, even with clouds. 

 The limitation of solar panels is the sun. It’s up only half the day. A power inverter converts the battery’s power to household power for your normal use, day or night. Building several panels can achieve 1000+ watts of power. 

Small Wind Turbine

DIY Wind Turbine

Wind turbine is not for everyone. You need an open space, not because they are too large but because the wind flows better in the open. You need a minimum of 10+ M.P.H. wind speed with 20+ M.P.H. being ideal. An advantage to wind turbines is the wind can blow all day to produce power day or night. Another consideration is the wind turbine needs to be on a tower. 

The taller the better, in the 20 – 60 foot range. This usually requires local zoning permits. If these are not a problem you will get twice the power out of a wind turbine than for the same investment in solar panels. The break-even point is $400. More than that, the wind turbine is less costly to build for the same power output. 

You can easily get 450 watts to 1,000 watts from one DIY homemade turbine. Like the Solar Panel description above, you store the energy in deep cycle batteries and use an inverter to make household power, day or night. 

Solar Hot Water

Solar Hot Water

The power required for a home hot water heater is about 30% of the household energy budget. The solar hot water can easily cut that in half. Solar hot water uses the greenhouse effect. 

Build a box with a glass cover and some pipes and you can get hot water in the range of 120 – 130 degrees Fahrenheit winter and summer. Feed this hot water into you hot water heater for storage and the hot water heater will shut down, no power consumption. The hot water heater will only run when a boost is required like washing clothes. The construction is cheap and easy. 

Solar Air Heater

Solar Air Heater

Think about it. Free heat for the garage, basement or out-building. No wires not power costs. Supplement your house heater with free heat from the sun for as little as $30 in parts. 

Assuming you have most of the common parts around your garage, then yes you can. Even if it costs you a little more, its a fun “DIY Project” for the weekend.  

Geothermal Heat Pumps

Geothermal typical System

Geothermal heating and cooling technology provides exceptional performance and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agrees that a geothermal heat pump is the most energy-efficient, environmentally clean, and most cost-effective space conditioning system available. 

    Today’s best geothermal systems outperform the best gas technology, gas heat pumps, by an average of 36% in heating mode and 43% in cooling mode! 

       You can save 25-50% on home electric bills compared to conventional heating and cooling systems. Imagine what you could do with the extra money in your wallet! 

The Reason for Guides

Do you want to know how to do these projects, what materials to buy, how big or small to make things? Get a DIY guide is the answer. For under $50 you can get a step-by-step guide, a plan and in some cases where needed you get a video tutorial. 

Which guide is best? Where do you get the guide. Go to www.ResidentialEnergykit.com for help. 

Free energy is all around us.

Thanks to the sun, energy hits the earth every day. The reason you pay for energy is, it costs to collect and deliver this energy. The power companies don’t make energy. They collect it or convert it and then deliver it. What if you could collect and convert your own energy? Wouldn’t that be free energy? Wouldn’t the delivery cost be zero? What would it take to be real? Read on.

Energy Sources

• Numerous types of energy like sunlight (solar = UV and Infrared), wind, wave, bio-mass, geothermal, fire and countless other labels identify the various forms of energy. Fortunately, energy recovery techniques are becoming less costly and more available to the homeowners.
• The solar industry is in high growth right now. Solar cell cost is dropping every day as solar cell production increases.
• Windmills have been around for hundreds of years and are again becoming more popular. Many farms still use windmills to pump water. Why not electricity? Certain locations around the globe have reliable wind, like the entire ocean coastlines and valleys near mountain ranges. Wind farms are new but will take time. Wind farm power distribution grids need to be rebuilt so that their power can go to non-windy places.
• Bio-mass is a questionable power source as growing bio-material has its own pollution and takes away farmland from food production.
• Geo-thermal is very popular in certain location like Iceland for obvious reasons. For most of us geothermal will help heat our homes.
• All these forms of energy have natural limitations and delivery cost for power companies. Finally, a source of energy that does not come from the sun but is a matter of physics is magnetism. More later.

Homemade Energy

Homemade energy’s first cost saving is no delivery cost. Capital investment, installation and maintenance cost; however, remain. Those homeowners that have purchased solar panel installation in the pasted for $20,000 or much more have a 25-year payback. That is, the energy savings pay for the installation cost and begins paying the homeowner after 25 years. Wind and geothermal also have substantial payback periods. What if you build and install an energy system yourself. Realize that today, there are kits and guides that show you how. The cost of materials and your time would be your investment and that usually works out to be 1/10 the cost of commercial installation.

Homemade Solar Panel more…

Homemade solar panels build by homeowner’s range from 75 watts (about $98) to 175 watts per panel. By chaining panels together solar panel system can achieve 1000+ watts of power. The basic unit of the solar panel is the solar cell and you need to purchase that. Many distributors of solar cells are selling solar cell kits for $40 to $100 depending on the size of your panel and the grade of the solar cell. Grade A solar cells are top of the line and produce up to 3.5 amps at .5 volts that works out to be 1.75 watts. A kit of 100 solar cells will build a 175 watts panel. Grade B cells have minor imperfection and sell for 80% – 90% of grade A. Grade C are damaged, like corner chips, but functional and cost about 50% that of Grade A. The rest of the panel construction is plywood, glass, solder, usually one rectifier and RTV sealant. Construction time per panel is 1 to 2 days.

Homemade Wind Turbine Generator more…

Homemade wind generators (from $140) consist of blades, a motor / generator, swivel mount with wind vain and a tower. All the materials are available at the hardware store or auto junkyard. The hart of the wind generator is the motor / generator. All motors can be used as generators. You only need to rotate the shaft. The ideal generator will produces 18+ volts at about 300 revolutions per minute (rpm). This is the speed most wind turbines will rotate at in a 10-mile per hour wind.  Shaft speed is important. Car alternators and generators are possible candidates. Special motors available on eBay can produce a lot of voltage at low rpm. These special motors will produce up to 48 volts and 450 watts of power in a 20 mile per hour wind. Blades can be purchased or manufactured form 6 inch plastic drain pipe. The blade must be near perfect to work well. The tower can be a simple pole with guide wire support or elaborate like an antenna tower. Construction time is about 1 week.

Homemade Solar Hot Water more…

This is the simplest and yet the most effective (about $50) solution to energy. By preheating your hot water with a homemade solar heater box you can save up to 30% of your energy cost. Hot water is the most expensive energy system in the house after Heating / Air Conditioning). This solar hot water box system consists of a plywood, glass, plastic pipe and sealant. By gathering the infrared sun rays like a green house you can heat water to over 120 degrees even in winter. This is sufficient to shut down your hot water heater. When hot water demand is high, like early morning and washing clothes, the hot water heater will need to run normally. The rest of the day, water is heated in the solar box and stored overnight in the hot water heater. The construction time is about 1 day.

Homemade Solar Air Heaters more…

These are simple devices that heat a room from a material you have around the house or garage for about $30. Put the heater in a sun facing window and it will capture the heat like a greenhouse. Then either with a blower or convection it will heat the room. Temperatures can be over 140 degrees fahrenheit.With this heater you can shut down the home thermostat and save a lot of power consumption. This is a great way to heat out buildings like a chicken coupe, workshop, or storage shed.

Homemade Magnetic Generator more…

This is the newest source of energy and politically charged. Many economies are based on oil and coal that could be threatened by large-scale free energy. What is special about magnet energy it does not need the sun or wind or other natural forces. Therefore; it runs 24/7 all day and night, day after day. It is not interrupted by nature and is more effective than other homemade energy sources by a factor of 2 or 3 times. Its operation is a matter of physics. Prototype systems have been available since the 1990′s. Recently, since 2007, several efforts to commercialize this technology have been started and it could take decades to become popular among nations. As a result, a few homemade energy guides feature this magnetic power technology. By carefully choosing materials and placing magnets in the right relationship with coils, you get a generator. The materials are simple aluminum, cooper, plastic, mica, magnet wire, and magnets. All these are available at the hardware stores, Radio Shack or the Internet. Construction time is about one week. Common household tools are all you need. Building more than one of these generators, in conjunction with deep cycle storage batteries and a power inverter, can power your entire home.

This is Important ~

If you seriously want free energy at home and you are willing to build a device yourself to save cost, you need a guide.

These new guides have all the development worked out and offer step by step instruction. This will save you both time and money. Usually you can be operational in less than a week.

If you want my critical review of the best guides Go To: www.ResidentialEnergyKit.com