Cheaper Energy For Your Home

Solar cells have come along way since they came around in 1883, yes I was shocked myself (no pun intended) to discover they are that old. At 1% efficiency you would of needed to cover your roof in Photovoltaic Cells to power a calculator that you had when you was kid!

At today's 30% efficiency rating for a PV cells it is now becoming a viable source of renewable energy. We see PV cells popping up every where from garden night lights to Ipod chargers. If you live in an area which sees plenty of sunshine then maybe a PV home system will help drastically reduce your electricity bills.

As well as the PV cells which convert the suns energy directly to electricity storing in to DC batteries for later use, there is another means to collect solar energy for home use. These are called solar water heaters, they collect the energy by means of heating water then using a heat exchange system plumbed into your home water pipes. These nifty little devices can reduce or eliminate the need to pay for hot water.

New lens under construction just about Solar coming soon!!!

Now if your not lucky enough to live in a sun drenched area of the world you may be blessed with some wind, not the sort you get from eating too many beans though!!

Using wind as a power source is one of oldest forms of harnessing energy, ancient civilizations used it to power their boats, to the first windmills in the 7th century Afghanistan. Wind is actually a by product of the sun heating the earth unevenly, more at the equator and less at the poles, also the difference between land mass and bodies of open water.

Unfortunately at the moment it is underused resource as the modern world had been developed off the back of fossil fuels, but things are changing. Currently there is a big drive by governments and power companies to take advantage of this renewable as they have finally realized that fossil fuels are 1. Going to run out sooner or later 2. The adverse affect they have on human health, environmental impact and the contribution to climate change.

Wind does have some distinct advantages, it is compatible with the landscape and almost everywhere has wind, night and day. It's cheaper to install than PV cells on a cost per kilowatt comparison and is more maintainable (PV cells need to kept very clean otherwise there efficiency rapidly drops)

Biomass gas has been produced since the earth became host to carbon based life. Think of all life on the planet as Mother Natures batteries. It's only recently that the potential of this energy source has been realized. As organic matter rots or decomposes it releases methane and nitrogen back into the atmosphere (which are much worse for Global Warming than Carbon Dioxide many times over). Also as the material rots heat is produced which can also me tapped by using a heat exchange.

For most of human existence we have been throwing our garbage away and burying it in the ground in landfills, very little in modern times has been put to good use with the exception of a few die hard gardeners and their compost bins. What started as small experimental enterprises in the developing world to provide cheap fuel for cooking has now been scaled up, operational waste plants are now a functioning reality.

The average family (if there is such a thing?) will produce tons, yes tons of organic waste each year which with some basic apparatus can go to produce fuel and fertilizer. It could also mean a reduction on your local taxes depending on where you live in the country.

This is one of easiest and cheapest ways of reducing an impact on the environment.
It is removing some of the most harmful greenhouse gasses from the environment, and if burnt converting them to a less damaging one (Carbon Dioxide).
Reducing the need to use landfill sites as a means to dispose of waste and the haulage of said waste to the landfill.
Removes some of the demand on fossil fuels.
With the exception of the production of the equipment for recycling tank, siphoning&gas storage there is little to none environmental impact.