Electric Cost ...Is There a Cheap Alternative?

Alternative energy sources are big news right now. Our country's dependence on oil has put most of us in a position of helplessly paying whatever we are told to stay warm and living the lifestyles to which we have become accustomed. Gas prices skyrocketing to over $4.00 per gallon during the summer of 2008 have tricked us into thinking that $2.60 per gallon is a huge bargain. Heating bills have gotten outrageously expensive as well. Hard working people are being forced into choosing between staying warm and buying food. The government is slow to act, but individuals don't have to be. It is foolish to wait for the government to solve your problems. Now is the time to think outside the box and help yourself out.

Solar power and wind power are not just a dream of the future anymore. There are people taking advantage of these energy sources right now. You may have seen them in your own neighborhood as people look for ways to "go green" and save themselves from the rising costs of heating and electricity.

As technology has improved, these alternative sources of energy have finally started to become accessible to people besides the extremely rich. It just isn't common knowledge yet. As fuel costs continue to climb, you can count on people starting to look more and more for ways to maintain their lifestyles without going broke.

I would predict that as the cost of electricity rises over the next year, more and more of your neighbors will be opting for alternatives like This! Depending on how many hundreds of dollars you are sending to the utility companies every month, you might want to consider joining them.

The great majority of energy consumed in the United States is from fossil fuels. In case you are not familiar with the definition, the fossil fuels include oil, natural gas and coal. Crude oil from the ground is refined and sold as things like gasoline, jet fuel, motor oil and a wide variety of popular items. Byproducts of the refining process are even used in plastics! Natural gas is commonly used to heat houses and is also burned in gas clothes dryers and gas stoves. Coal is commonly burned as part of the process used to produce the electricity that is sent to your home.

All three of these fossil fuels were formed through the very long term chemical decomposition of plant and animal material. Fossil fuels take millions of years to form. The fuels we are using today have been forming since prehistoric times. In just the last century we have managed to use up massive amounts of the Earth's supply of these resources. We can't wait for millions of years for a new supply to build up for our use.

By comparison, we currently only tap a tiny fraction of the energy supplied by the sunlight hitting the Earth every day. Sunlight itself can be converted to electricity by photovoltaic solar panels. It can also be used to heat structures by either active means (mechanically moving the heat) or passive means. Sunlight also plays a major role in producing the wind that turns turbines which in turn can be used to produce electricity. It does this by heating the surface of the Earth unevenly. Warm air rises, cooler air sinks. Convection currents are formed, air moves, and we have wind! Please click Here! to see a chart breaking down U.S. energy consumption by source. It is a real eye opener!

Whether you decide to consider alternative energy sources for your home or not, it would be wise to at least be informed about what your options are before reaching the point where everyone is trying to figure things out and panicking all at the same time. I hope you enjoyed the lens!