Solar cells, invented by Charles Fritts in the 1880′s, are known as photovoltaics. While they did not create much electricity at the time, the revolution they started has kept going. The Vanguard 1 satellite used solar cells for power after the battery died, is a great example.

The 1973 oil crisis stimulated a significant demand for solar power. Power companies used to charge consumers one hundred dollars for every watt, early on. During the decade of the ’80s, it dropped to seven dollars a watt.

Solar energy usage is increasing in Japan and Germany while declining in the United States. From 31.2 megawatts of power in 1994, this increased to 318 megawatts in 1999 and worldwide production growth increased by 30% towards the end of the 20th century. Next to these two countries, Spain is the third largest user of solar energy followed by France, Italy and South Korea.

A trio of fundamental approaches exist for maximizing solar energy use. To be precise, these are comprised of passive, active, plus solar-based photovoltaic methods.

The passive approach depends much on the design of the building. The building will be able to contain heat better, allowing the people inside to stay comfortable with help from a controlled ventilation system and day lighting. By applying this, homes can expect to reduce the requirement for heating by 80% and at a minimal cost.

Active solar heating converts sunlight to heat and provides space and water heating. Such as is done in Europe, the correct size could cover over 50% of your water heating.

Lastly, there is photovoltaic, which changes solar radiation to electricity. This happens by installing solar cells, and the more intensity of light, the greater the flow of electricity. Watches and calculators are some devices that utilize the different size available.

Solar energy is currently used to power some vehicles. The World Solar Challenge in Australia invites competitors all over the world to compete in the event that also features cars not commercially produced yet. There are also balloons and aerial vehicles that are unmanned. Thus far, only passenger boats have been successful using solar energy.

If we want to preserve the environment, as well as reduce our need for oil, solar energy is an option. Our elected officials need to be convinced to do more about solar power, because of it being the cheapest way to provide our homes with electricity.

Wanting details about home solar panels? Have a look at www.solarpanelyourhome.net where we give this. You will also read about solar energy.

Original Post Here: What Exactly is Solar Energy?

These simple to produce DIY energy projects are found in the internet and are open to the public for viewing. Some net sites will also provide simple video instructions. What has been complicated science that geniuses alone can be knowledgeable about is now a science kid’s undertaking. Several of the kits you can purchase are extensive, and they are very simple and fun to make.

As a preliminary to getting started with your own energy transition undertaking, it is worthwhile making the effort to realize how the process works. Energy is not created, simply collected. Everyplace, one finds free power that is waiting to be tapped. If you would like an instance of this, the sun’s rays, if gathered, could supply us with 20,000 times our contemporary energy needs.

Collecting this huge resource is made possible through solar panels. There are solar panel kits available in the DIY stores and the internet. It is easier to do this than creating all the parts yourself, but it will cost more.

Solar panels are made up of single cells that absorb solar energy. The sun’s energy is carried in the shape of photons. As the photons strike a solar cell, the face of the cell becomes negatively charged and the lower side is positively charged, which creates a potential difference, precisely as in a battery. The sun’s converted energy can then be stored in a battery. Another option is to then turn your DC power into AC with an inverter, so you can use it in home appliances or sell it back to the power company.

It’s straight forward to see just what a good resource solar energy is. The other power sources such as wind may also be of great help to us. The race is on to make the technologies easily and cheaply available in everyone’s home. With only a moderate quantity of spare time, we can put in our own solar panels and start reaping the benefits of free natural energy.

Your kids can discover all about how electricity is made by helping you formulate your own fun DIY energy project. Going beyond solar for the moment, some folks are also collecting energy from biomass plants and wind turbines. You can even do very quick and simple projects like fashioning solar lights for your garden or shed, or a small water heater for washing. As the years go by you can make extremely substantial energy savings by building a bigger project or two.

People everyplace are looking for green alternatives to fuel and energy as planetary warming starts to step-up. Green energy resources would include anaerobic digestion, geothermal, wind, hydro, solar, biomass, tidal and wave power.

Harnessing usable renewable and sustainable resources could be a wonderful DIY energy project for the whole household – it also involves everybody becoming conscious of the fantastic benefits of renewable energy as well as participating in saving money and saving the environment.

If you’ve been waiting to start your own DIY energy project, be sure you first have a look at Paul Robertson’s excellent FREE REPORT on DIY Energy Projects, plus a whole range of other ideas on how to save money.

Original Post Here: DIY Energy Home Projects

Image by Marcio Cabral de Moura via Flickr

Sometimes it seems that the switch to alternaive energy is like a roundabout… and around and around it goes.

One such area is that of fossil fuel subsidies meted out to developing nations.

On the surface this seems to an alturistic standpoint with which we all get to feel better by assisting those developing nations in the pursuit of attaining the mod cons of life.

However an alternative viewpoint is that perhaps these very subsidies are in fact locking those nations into a path of development that ensures dependence on fossil fuels just like the rest of the world.

I have to think to myself what is the point in that?

If we are now realizing that fossil fuels must be phased out in a timely manner and replaced with alternative sources to lesson our footprint on the environment then why are we setting these nations on the same treadmill?

Clearly it's not working for us, so why do we act as though it will work for them?

Surely a more rational approach would be to take those very same subsidies and direct them towards placing those developing nations firmly on the path towards alternate sources of energy just like ourselves.

However as always it's never as simple as it seems from the outside.

Original Post Here: The Challenge of Fossil Fuel Subsidies

There are two main reasons that you might want to do that. First of all there are the environmental reasons, because solar power is a clean form of energy which does not create pollution. Being a renewable energy source, it also means that you are getting energy without depleting the Earth’s resources. The other main reason is financial, because it allows you to make savings on your energy bills, and make money through the Feed in Tariff.

Although the financial issue is more important in each individual practical case, the environmental concerns are potentially even more important if the worst case scenarios of not transitioning to renewable energy come to pass. If we cannot eventually transition to renewable energy then one of the following scenarios is virtually certain to occur. Firstly, we could run out of the fossil fuels, in fact as they are non-renewable sources that is certain to occur unless we choose to stop using them first. This will mean that we won’t be able to use electricity anymore, we won’t be able to use mechanical transportation, in short it will be a return to the dark ages. Before that occurs, however, we might get the effects of global warming, which could lead to such a shift in the climate that humans will no longer be able to survive on this planet.

This is why it is actually crucially important that solar panels become more affordable. After all if people can’t afford them, then there is no way that they can buy them. It is also no good for the government to simply force their production because in their current state they are not efficient enough take over from fossil fuels anyway. What needs to happen, therefore, is for solar power to become as cheap and efficient as the non-renewable energy we are using at the moment.

At the moment, however, there are many challenges to be faced in terms of the solar power that we are using. First of all, it is not very efficient. That means that for all the energy that the solar panels could potentially be getting from the sun, much of it is being wasted. That is why research is always being done in to how to make solar cells more efficient.

As already stated, the issue of how expensive solar installations are is also an important one. Although the government cannot really just give people free solar panels, they are doing what they can to make buying them a better investment, and therefore more attractive to people. Although this does not solve the problem that many people still will not be able to afford the installation costs in order to take advantage of the Feed in Tariff scheme.

If we were only able to power our homes with solar power, however, then it would only solve half the problem. There would still be the issue of all of the energy we use for transport. However we are able to put solar panels anywhere, even on cars, boats and planes. Eventually, therefore, just about everything could be powered by the sun.

There are very significant issues that have got to be worked out before everyone will be able to make use of solar energy for their everyday tasks though. However the key is that the people who are able to afford the technology now make the investment. That will increase demand, allowing solar companies to do more research into creating more efficient solar cells, and eventually the price will come down as well. This is the only way we will be able to avoid the nightmare scenarios of complete economic collapse and global warming.

Find out more about the Feed in Tariff and solar energy

Original Post Here: Getting Involved With Solar Energy

Just because a certain brand claims to be the top water filter system, that doesn’t mean they really are. In order to determine how sincere their claims are, you have to do a little research. Review their data performance sheet and you’ll find exactly what they reduce and by how much.

The data sheet of one popular water filter removes 80 percent of copper, 89 percent of mercury and 96 percent of chlorine. That is all they claim to remove. Another system doesn’t provide percentages or a list of specific contaminants. Instead, they claim to reduce some heavy metals, some cysts, some industrial pollutants, chlorine and pharmaceuticals.

These systems also tell you that you must change your filters every two to three months. So, you wind up spending a lot of money on a filter that doesn’t really give you the cleanest water possible.

Those who want something better do have other options. You can have pure water with the right system. Make sure the one you buy has been tested and proven to remove 99% or more of all harmful substances, including chlorine, fluoride, lead, mercury, copper, cysts, parasites, E.coli, pesticides, VOCs, Radon 222, nitrates, nitrites and trihalomethanes.

A good quality filter doesn’t just remove toxins. It should also make sure to keep in the good minerals found in water that the body needs. The good thing about systems like this is that they don’t need as many filter changes either.

Finally, make sure your filter confirms that is has been tested by State and EPA accredited laboratories to exceed EPA & ANSI/NSF (Std. 53). If you know the state and lab it was tested in that would be even better.

It is possible to have clean drinking water. You just have to know what to look for. Hopefully these tips will help so you and your family can start drinking pure water now.

Berkey Water System Hoping to actually find the right water filter? Then visit www.BerkeyCleanWater.com to learn more and download loads of FREE water filtration resources. Water Filters

Original Post Here: Clean Water Not From All Water Filters

The entire Green DIY Energy Guide comes as three separate but fully integrated modules.

1. Solar Panel Systems

This first module covers some basic solar energy facts and solar energy information on how solar power electricity is produced and how you can create your own solar panel system.

It is broken down further into an exact step by step process you can follow to easily to create your own solar energy.

There is additional information on how to find free solar panels and all you need to know about maintaining the solar energy system you have created.

2. DIY Solar Panels Guide

In this module you will find the exact step by step sequence you can follow to build a solar panel from scratch even if you have never done anything like this before.

It covers everything from building the solar panel itself to connecting the individual solar cells and wiring the whole thing together. All steps are backed up with very detailed and very easy to understand instructions, plans, diagrams and full color photos.

In the example they use for demonstration purposes they managed to build a full solar panel for just under $100.00!

3. Installing and Mounting Solar Panels Guide

Of course once you have made you first solar panel (or array of panels) it’s not much use to you until you install it and connect it!

In the third module of the green diy energy guide you will learn the basics of solar panel installation from the type of local government requirements you may need to be aware of to the actual installation of the panels on your home and finally connecting the whole thing up to your home electrical panel.

Full instructions and detailed plans are provided for all the electrical wiring needed and how to do it including how to integrate multiple solar panels together.

Included as a bonus is over an hour of high quality video showing every step covered by the guides so you can actually see someone doing it.

Below is a short video that will at least give you a quick overview of the program.

Click Here to See the Green DIY Energy Guide

Original Post Here: Green DIY Energy Guide – An Introduction

We all know that home energy consumption has become a major problem facing the average person today. We all need electricity to power our lives and we have not only grown accustomed to having it, but but have become greatly dependent upon it. 

Unfortunately this dependence comes at a price that in these modern times, is becoming more and more difficult for the average person to bear and in fact it really comes at TWO prices.

First we have the cost of powering the average home which has been taking up a greater and greater percentage of average household expenses for a number of years now. This trend is not likely to change anytime soon.

Secondly there is the cost in terms of damage to our environment and the loss of our natural resources. We may seem to be doing OK now but what about our children and our grandchildren?

solar energy homes running on solar power electricity have been around for a while now ever since their design and manufacture became efficient enough to make them feasible. Unfortunately the solar energy house is still not as common as it should be given the large amount of solar energy information available today.

Click here to see GreenDIYEnergy.com

Why is this the case?

Many people think of solar power electricity as something that is so technologically advanced or complicated that they couldn’t possibly begin to understand it any any meaningful way. Truthfully this is a situation that has been intentionally created by people who seek to profit by keeping the general public in the dark.

By doing this they can keep the technology in their hands, control the profit that comes from it and dictate the value of that technology to you and me.

If they “say” it is really complicated and very expensive we simply don’t have the solar energy information available to us in order to disagree. We either have to pay the price being demanded or use traditional energy sources which is most likely coming from the exact same people!

Solar Energy Facts

(without the technical jargon.)

Solar power electricity is created by photovoltaic cells. The word “photo” refers to light and the “voltaic” part comes from volts as in electricity. Simply put these are made from material that when exposed to sunlight produces electricity. The material itself is usually enclosed like a sandwich between two layers of glass.

An individual cell does not produce a great deal of electricity but when they are arranged together in large blocks or panels then they can produce more than enough electricity to power the average house.

As long as the solar panels are exposed to sunlight they are producing electricity however at night they stop. So all that is needed is a way to store the excess from the day so that it can be used at night.

In the past this was done by using batteries but currently there are many places where the solar panels can be connected to the main electricity grid and the excess during the day goes there. When the sun goes down the solar energy home owner then draws power back from the traditional grid.

At the end of the billing period the amount of power you put into to the grid is deducted from the power you used from the grid and you are billed or credited on that basis.

The key to making solar power electricity work for you is too avoid the incredibly high initial purchase and installation costs which can run upwards of $20,000.00

That is where the green diy energy program comes into play offering a complete do it yourself solution that anyone can follow and successfully convert to a solar energy home at a fraction of the cost.

Click here to see GreenDIYEnergy.com

Original Post Here: Solar Energy Facts

It’s pretty easy to get overwhelmed with information on just about any subject now that we all have access to the internet and the subject of solar energy is no exception ot this.

To some degree search engines help us at least isolate the information we are looking for but the truth is that they cannot place a value on each individual piece of data or its source.

On this page I wanted to gather together some solar energy information based on reality to help you get a clear picture of the benefits to you the consumer with regards to solar energy and especially DIY home solar power.

First of all let’s get the hype out of the way. And remember the hype can come from many places and directions!

The idea that you can slap up your own solar power system and instantly enjoy the savings of a totally free solar powered household is pure rubbish.

The size and expense of a solar power array large enough to do that would mean that even if you did have free power for the rest of your life you would never make back the original investment.

Similarly the idea that solar power is too expensive to be of any use anyway or not worth bothering about is also just as silly. As with most ideas like this the real truth always seems to sit somewhere in the middle ground.

A professionally installed full sized solar power array can provide substantial savings to any home owner living in an area that has sufficient sunlight.

Over the lifetime of the installation the savings in power will offset the initial expense and again, this is largely dependent on the available sunlight in your area.

The big problem is that the upfront expense of these solar energy units puts them out of the reach of many people if not most people who would benefit from them.

The actual cost of these units is padded with huge profitability both in the materials required to build them and the installation itself.

Finally, here is the big myth regarding solar power for the average home owner.

The technology not only of building your own solar panels but also of installing them and integrating them into the power system is so far beyond what the average person could possibly understand or do that your choices are:

1. Solar panels installed professionally at huge expense or,
2. No solar power for you!

The good news is that the previous statement is exactly how I described it. It is a myth.

The truth about solar power for household use as a DIY project is this.

Given the right plans and detailed instructions any person of reasonable intelligence could build and install their own residential solar power system.

Such a system would not be able to fully power your home and make you independent from traditional sources of electricity.

It could, however, significantly reduce your dependence on those sources of power and provide noticeable savings on your yearly energy costs.

The amount of savings available varies widely depending on:

The availability of direct sunlight throughout the year;
The size of the solar system you install and;
Whether or not you further supplement the system with additional systems such as wind power.

The key here is getting “the right plans and detailed instructions.”

Click the link below to take a look at the best do it yourself home solar power guide available today that also includes a separate and equally detailed guide to home wind power.

GreenDIY Energy Guide

Original Post Here: Solar Energy Information

As is often the case with “alternative” technology such as wind energy, your perception of that technology is often shaped and limited by the information you are provided with.

Very often those sources of information have been to some degree manipulated to make that technology seem far more complicated and inaccessible than it really is.

Wind power electricity can not only be easily understood by the average person but it is also a relatively easy method by which the average home owner can supplement their household power needs very cheaply.

What are Wind Energy and Wind Power?

Wind energy is just energy provided by the motion of the wind and generally describes ways in which to convert that energy into a useable form.

Man has used wind energy to drive mechanical devices such as windmills and water pumps for centuries.

Wind power describes a method by which we use the energy of the wind (motion energy) to drive a device that converts that energy into electricity.

This conversion process is very simply explained.

If you send electricity into an electric motor the motor spins. This is the process of converting electrical energy into motion energy.

If you reverse the process and use motion energy to spin the shaft of the motor and hold on to the wires coming out of the motor you will feel electricity. This is just motion energy being converted into electricity.

The science behind this is quite simple.

Attached to the shaft of the motor are coils of (usually) copper wire and on the inner surface of the motor casing are magnets.

If you were awake during high school physics you may remember that when a magnet passes close to a copper coil there is an electrical charge created in the coil.

On the other hand if electricity is fed into the coil and the magnet is close by, the magnet will be pushed way from the coil.

This is really the only principle you need to understand regarding electric motors. Supply it with electricity and you get motion, supply it with motion and you get electricity.

Think about it this way. Your local wrecking yard, second hand shop or recycling center doesn’t just have a bunch of used electric motors lying about the place… they have a bunch of cheap electric generators lying about the place!

Obviously it is going to take a little more than picking up an electric motor to get yourself set up with a wind powered electricity generator in the backyard or on the roof.

However building, installing and connecting your own “do it yourself” wind power generator is much easier than you may think.

You can take a look at the video below to get an idea for yourself of just how easy it can be but before you do I want to explain why I have referred to that particular product.

The downside of home wind power generators is pretty obvious… no wind, no power!

The ideal situation would be to utilize the two most accessible green home energy solutions in combination with your existing electricity supply.

Those two solutions are wind power and solar power.

The green diy energy system thoroughly covers both of these sources of energy within the one package unlike many others who are solely devoted to either wind power or solar power.

To get an idea of the solar aspect just click on one of the links in the menu to take a look at their solar power solutions.

Click Here to See the Green DIY Energy Wind Power Program

Click Here to See the Green DIY Energy Wind Power Program

Original Post Here: Wind Energy Wind Power and Home Wind Generators

There are those that want you to believe that a wind turbine generator is something far too technical and so hugely expensive that it is totally out of the reach of the average person. That you are better off staying with traditional sources of power for your home because, “it’s all too hard to deal with.”

Others promote the idea that the technology of wind turbine power is practical for home wind power but again, it is all too technical and difficult for the average person to understand and implement. Their solution is that you buy their (very expensive) product with its (very expensive) installation costs.

What both of these groups are trying to achieve is ultimately the same thing.

To discourage you from trying to make your own home made wind turbine generator. (At least they agree on something!)

The main result of this is a sea of confusion and misinformation on the subject making it seem far more difficult than it really is and making you think that the wind turbine cost will be out of your reach.

So to begin with lets clarify a few things here to de-mystify wind turbines and wind generated power.

What is a Wind Turbine?

You can click the link to read a technical definition of a turbine if you like but let me translate it into plain English.

A turbine is just about any rotary (it goes in circles) mechanical device that is driven by some kind of continuous flow of energy and changes that energy into some other kind of more useful energy.

An example of this is a hydroelectric power plant.

The weight of stored water in a dam causes huge pressure. This pressurized water is funneled through pipes so that jets of water are hitting the fans of the turbine continuously.

This spins the turbine and in this case the more useable energy created is electricity.

The truth is that we all have a number of turbines sitting around our house right now! Only because they are going in the other direction we call them something else… electric motors.

We feed a flow of electricity (electrical energy) into them and get a flow of usable energy (motion energy) out of them and they do stuff for us.

The interesting thing about electrical motors is that if you feed motion energy into them, electrical energy comes out. All you need is something to supply the motor with motion energy… and that’s where the wind power comes in.

You use the energy of the wind to spin the motor and then collect the electrical energy created.

Now I am sure you are thinking this all seems pretty simple so far and you would be right. It is quite a simple concept to understand.

However there are a few technical points to consider that make building your own wind turbine generator a little more complicated… but not too complicated.

The first is the point of aerodynamics. That is simply the study of how air travel over and around objects.

This comes into play because the ability of any wind power turbine to effectively use the available wind to turn the generator will depend on sound propeller design.

Unless you have access to a nearby wind tunnel this can be a challenge!

Other things to consider are: selection of electric motors to get the most efficient use of the wind power available, positioning of the wind generator and finally how to construct the whole thing.

Construction involves not only the design of the device but also how to deal with the electrical wiring.

None of these points are too difficult to understand individually but as a whole they can be a little challenging.

By far the easiest and cheapest way to install your own home made wind turbine generator is to follow a tried and tested project plan that explains every detail you will need to cover.

On this site I recommend the green DIY Energy Wind power Program for that exact reason.

Having said that there are a few other points you need to consider when looking at something like this.

First of all if anyone presents a DIY wind energy solution to you that claims you will be able to fully power your home using it then be very suspicious.

It is highly unlikely that a residential wind power unit would ever be able to generate that amount of power.

A wind power generator should realistically be looked at as a supplement to your power needs. Something that can help reduce the burden of your existing energy costs.

Finally, a wind power solution such as this is obviously limited by the availability of wind!

The best possible solution would be a combination of wind power and solar power with both offering reasonable set up costs and good returns on investment.

The green diy energy guide includes full designs and instructions for implementing both wind turbine power as well as solar power and it is because of this I highly recommend it.

Click here to see the Green DIY energy Wind Turbine Power System

Original Post Here: Home Made Wind Turbine Generator