How You Can Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

The use of electricity is prevalent in most American homes, and its use is commensurate with energy costs. Which therefore means that the more electricity that you are using, the more that you will have to pay for it.

To make matters worse, we are in a day and age where almost all of our daily tasks rely solely on technological devices, and these devices need to be constantly charged in order to function properly. Because of this reason as long as we continue to rely on technological devices to perform everyday tasks, our electricity bills are going to rise.

But there are sources of renewable energy that are reliable and affordable power sources. Solar panels being the most popular. Because the sun freely exists and is inexhaustible, we are able to harness the sun and use are able to convert it into solar power for our everyday needs. Which begs the question; ‘how can one save on the cost of solar energy?’

A Solar Panel Installation 

A few years back it was a lot less common to see a rooftop solar panel installation. But, with today’s technological and aesthetic advances in the solar panel world, on top of the rising costs of electricity, solar power is looking more and more appealing to homeowners. Rooftop solar panel installation is not only raising the value of the property of a home, but solar energy itself is helping a lot of consumers saving on their electricity bills. If you live in an area that gets a lot of sun throughout the year, a solar panel installation will help reduce if not totally eliminate your electricity bills.

The cost of solar energy has gone down as the popularity of a solar panel installation has gone up. The cost of solar energy is expected to continue to fall as they are beginning to encourage switching over completely to sources of renewable energy. As much as you will spend on the upfront cost of solar energy, you will be able to save a whole lot more in the long-term aspect of solar panel installation.

Solar Heater For Hot Water

What a lot of energy consumers fail to realize is that they are using large sums of energy on heating water. Another thing the seldom realized is that you can use solar power to save on gas costs as well as save energy, by heating your water with solar energy. All you will need to do is install a solar power water heater. The way that solar power water will work is by circulating the water through a black insulated collector in order to maximize the absorption and retention of the sun’s energy in order for the solar powered system to effectively heat the water.

Once the solar powered system heats the water, it is then collected and lead to a reservoir tank or directly fed into the water system for use. Again, the initial investment of solar energy will be a little costly, but you will be guaranteed potential savings which will amount in hundreds of dollars a year.

Use Solar Power Light Bulbs

The use of solar power light bulbs can go a long way in reducing the need for artificial lighting which consumes a great deal of electricity. Therefore, solar power light bulbs are very durable and will provide the same amount or even higher lighting when it comes to the efficiency of solar energy.

If you are looking for a simple way to begin switching over to solar energy, you should consider replacing some of your light bulbs, especially outdoor lighting to solar power light bulbs. The payback of these solar power light bulbs is almost immediate and isn’t going to require high initial investment costs. These simple solar powered systems are suitable for both the home and the office.

Solar Power Banks and Solar Energy Chargers

Solar power banks and solar energy chargers are directly utilizing the sun’s energy to power electronic devices. The advantage of them is that they are very easy to carry around. This means when you are traveling, you aren’t going to have to worry about finding a place that has electricity to plug your electrical devices to charge.

If you are serious about making the switch to solar energy, you can make your solar power bank and solar energy charger your primary charging option. You simply leave the solar power bank or solar energy charge outside during the day so you can trap the sun’s energy and use it during the night.

Passive Solar Heating

Passive solar power heating is one of the simplest methods of tapping solar energy because this doesn’t require any special solar energy technology. If your windows are facing in the direction of the sun that’s all you will need for your house to be heated and retain warmth during the winter. By opening their curtains, it will allow the windows to capture the warmth and radiate it into your house, there for providing free indoor heating.