Solar cells or photovoltaics were invented in the 1880’s by Charles Fritts. Although it did not convert a lot of sunlight into electricity at the time, this started a revolution that continued on to the 20th century. The greatest example is perhaps the Vanguard 1 which was a satellite fitted with solar cells that enabled it to transmit back to earth after its chemical battery was exhausted.

It success prompted NASA and its Russian counterpart to the same with other satellites including Telstar which continues to serve as the backbone of the telecommunications structure today.

The most significant event that stimulated the demand for solar energy was the 1973 oil crisis. Early on, power companies would charge the consumer a hundred dollars per watt. In the 1980’s, it became only $7 per watt. Unfortunately, the lack of government funding did not sustain its growth so the growth of solar energy was only 15% annually from 1984 to 1996. But you can still on your home by checking out house insurance quotes.

There have been a decline in the demand for solar energy in the US but this increased in Japan and Germany. From 31.2 megawatts of power in 1994, this increased to 318 megawatts in 1999 and world wide 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.

There are three basic approaches to get the most out of solar energy. It is namely passive, active and solar photovoltaic systems.

1. In passive, it has to do a lot with the building design. This will enable the building to avoid heat loss so people inside will feel a great degree of comfort with the help of controlled ventilation and day lighting. Homes that apply this will greatly reduce their heating requirements by as much as 80% with minimal cost.

2. Active solar heating is used to convert sunlight into heat which provides space or water heating. Used extensively in Europe, getting the right size will cover 50% to 60% of your hot water heating requirements.

3. Lastly is photovoltaic which converts solar radiation into electricity. This is done by installing solar cells in the ground and the greater the intensity of the light, the greater the flow of electricity. These are available in different sizes and some are installed in consumer devices like calculators and watches.

Some vehicles are now powered using solar energy. Cars although not yet produced commercially compete in the World Solar Challenge which invites competitors from around the world to compete in this annual event in Australia. So to save on your car the best you can do is look at Get The Cheapest Car Insurance Quotes Online. There are also unmanned aerial vehicles and balloons. To date, solar energy has only been successful in passenger boats.

Many of us take the sun for granted and if we are really serious about preserving the environment and reducing our demand for oil, solar energy is just one of the options we have on the table. We have to lobby and convince our government leaders to do more because it is the cheapest means of providing our home with electricity compared to rechargeable batteries, kerosene or candles.

1. Ask friends or neighbors for their recommendations. They should be able to tell you who did a good job, and who was not so good. Someone is far more likely to remember poor quality service, but they will still remember those who did a great job.
2. Get an accurate quote from the electrician. By seeing how competitive each one is, you will be able to get to know them better. The more quotes you have, the easier it will be to hire an electrician. Often times cheap quotes does not necessarily mean they will do the best job. It works the same even with the more pricey quotes.
3. Make sure to seek out references. If you have doubts, find other people who have tried their services. Any electrician with nothing to hide will have no problem providing these. They may be friends or relatives so do not forget to be really critical of what they say. It is always an important point to consider when hiring an electrical contractor.
4. Make sure to ask the electrician about their guarantee policy. When you are hiring an electrician, find out if they are willing to come back if a problem recurs or persists.
5. Do they look like a profession? When you are hiring an electrician, the electrican presentation will be a major factor. See if they are prepared for the job and are professional looking. These areas can help you determine the reputability of the contractor you are employing.
6. Remember to talk permits when you are hiring an electrician. A good electrical contractor will not begin any job without discussing their permits. In the current economic climate, some people may be willing to do work which they are not licensed to complete. A good electrician will help you understand that their permit is your insurance should there be a problem.
7. Specify the job properly. This is really important when selecting an electrician through quotes. You can't compare electrical quotes unless each electrician is reviewing the same issues.

You have to make a decision based on questioning and observation. As the saying goes - you get what you pay for! Save even more money with some simple energy saving tips.

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It is important not to get too caught up in worrying about saving energy. In other words, don’t do too much planning – start taking action today. Everyone agrees that you can make small changes to save energy, lower your costs, and help keep the world green. Energy saving light bulbs are, of course, one of the best ways to do this. Even better, you can switch to a new, high efficiency lighting scheme. LED lights use up a fraction of the energy of normal light bulbs and don’t have to be replaced for years. Although they can represent a substantial initial investment, they will more than pay for themselves. They’re one of the best ways to save energy easily and reasonably cheaply.

There are other commonsense saving energy schemes. One of the most important ones is to turn down the heat when you go to sleep. When you are tucked in, snug under the covers, you don’t really need to heat your house unless you live somewhere extremely cold. You can substantially cut down on your heating bill without really decreasing your comfort. A lot of houses come with automatic thermostats that will turn on and off at certain preset times of day. If you don’t have something like this, consider investing in one. It makes it a lot easier to only heat your house when you need it.

One of the best ways to save energy is to think about your daily routine. Cars use a huge amount of energy and, if you can eliminate unnecessary trips or carpool, you can definitely do a lot to decrease your ecological footprint. The energy savings from this will be massive. Your gas bill will go down, and you will be able to feel good about yourself for doing your part. If you do something drastic like switch to bicycle riding or public transit, you can help even more.

First, its always best to purchase your gas either first thing in the morning or late at night. The reason for this is because gas is denser at a cold temperature, so you’ll basically be getting more for your money.

Secondly, check your local gas prices to find the best price available.  You can check your local gas prices online as well, which will prevent you from wasting gas while driving around to look for the best price.

By keeping your car well maintained, you can help improve fuel consumption. By simply tuning your car, you can decrease your fuel consumption by up to 20 percent.  Also, you should keep your tires properly inflated and aligned.  Tires that are under inflated will cause fuel consumption to increase by 6 percent. You should also make sure that you change your oil and air filters on a regular basis as well.

Other tips to keep in mind are to drive by staying in the posted speed limits, as the faster you drive you will use more fuel.  Whenever possible you should use overdrive, as this will help fuel and also improve the wear on your engine.  You can also combine your errands by making a list of things that you have to do, as the more you cold start your engine, the more fuel you’ll be using.

By taking the time to do these tips, you’ll be amazed at just how much fuel you can save. Gas prices are becoming ridiculous these days, which is why you want to do your part to conserve every little drop that you can!

We’ve discussed the Portable Generators in the previous article. Let’s now discuss the Permanent Generators.

2. Permanent Generators.

Permanent generators are programmed to be turned on automatically within the specified time after power loss. These generators are connected to the wiring system inside the house. This is why it will start on its own whether there is nobody present in the house during black out. It also has the capacity to shut down on its own once power is restored.

This type of generator is powered by natural gases. The kind of gas that you are using to power some of the appliances at your home can also be used to power this generator.

The choice of permanent generator will depend upon how the homeowners plan to use it. If you need to power up more than the required appliances, then you can opt for permanent generators that have more than 17,000 watts capability.

These types tend to be more expensive than portable generators. But with all its capacity, the initial money spent will be worth it once you see the kind of back up energy it will provide when you need it the most.

Are generators hazardous?

Portable generators are more hazardous than permanent generators. This is because they are making use of gasoline and diesel and is more capable of burning up when overheated.

This kind of generator is like your car. They tend to overheat when used extremely for a long period of time. This is why you need to check regularly and rest it for a while to prevent any damage to you, to the generator and the appliances that it is powering.

Poisoning is also another hazard caused by portable generators. Since it is running on gas, carbon monoxide is being released into the air. According to studies, many people die of carbon monoxide poisoning. One of the reasons for this is that they are not aware that they are inhaling carbon monoxide.

To prevent this from happening, the generator should be placed in locations where it is properly ventilated. Consider placing them outside your home where there are no chances of people to be suffocated from the carbon monoxide it gives off.

Consider these things when you are in the process of buying a back up power for your home. Together with the necessary power supply is the need to make sure that you will encounter no health problems when you are using them already.

Back up power is important not only in business establishments but also in homes. This is especially so if people are experiencing man-made or natural catastrophes and have no way of preventing and avoiding power shortage. This reminds me of the energy crisis that we had here in 2006. We were forced to live with NO ELECTRICITY AT ALL for 2 straight days! And this happened in the summer time when the daily average temperature at that time was around  100 deg C. I almost went ballistic because I had no access to my TV, computer, DVD, radio for 2 straight days! Thank goodness that there is a motel nearby where me and my family ended up staying there for the remaining of the power black out period.  The motel was not affected since they had the back up power generator. Can you imagine if they didn’t have the generator?

During these unfortunate times, people need a source of energy to power up appliances or furniture that is important in running their household. Examples of these are heaters to warm the home in winter times, air conditioning for summer times and of course, oven and other cooking appliances for food support.

Generators are important because people have no way of determining how long the power will be down. If you want to make sure that your home will remain in a good and stable condition, you should have back up energy in order and ready to use at any time.

There are two types of back up generators:

1. Portable generators.

This is the most economical generator that is capable of supplying back up energy. Portable generators are the most commonly used in homes or household. Appliances that needed power supply are plugged directly into this generator. This is done using wires and other cords that are applicable to the appliances.

Many of these type of generator already has advance features like the stop or start button which people can use to be able to save up on the energy they might be needing for some time.

Portable generators also have different types depending on the volt specification that you are using in your home. You will be able to choose from 120 up to 240 volts capability.

One of the widely used portable generators is the one that is gasoline-powered. People choose this type of generator because it costs less compared to the other type. There are even those that run on diesel or a combination of both.

One of the downside to this is that it cannot be used for longer time. People need to refill and refuel this generator often to be able to extend its power support. In addition, diesel powered generators are much more expensive. Although it is more efficient and with supplies that are easy to find, you may find it hard to start in cold seasons.

The other type of generator is permanent generator, which I’ll discuss in the next article.

Last week was the start of the Fall season. That means the cold Winter season is around the corner! And you know what usually happens in the Winter season. Depending on where you live, most of you will blast your heater/furnace like there’s no tomorrow

Winter means COLD AIR! But for those who are conscious enough to notice, winter means larger electric bills as well. Yes, it is true. Aside from summer, winter is the season of the year where your electric bills skyrocket to digits that cost you financial burden. Why is that? Because we need to warm our home. Because we want to be comfortable during winter time. Our home should have the right temperature to give us comfort. And the modern way to do it is by turning on our heating system. This consumes the biggest portion of our electric bill. Fortunately, we have the whole Fall season to prepare for it. And preparing for it means that we must have the right tool and proper information on how to save during the coming season.

Let’s get started.

THE FIREPLACE

Getting our fireplace ready will certainly results in better savings; and fall is the best time to clean and repair our fireplace. Make sure that the dumper is tightly sealed when not using them.

A small space would let the cold air rush in and send the warm air out. If you were using electric heating system, an opening on the fireplace would mean bigger work to maintain the place warm. Let professional contractor to do the proper maintenance. They are certainly more capable in securing your fireplace.

When you decide to use the fireplace, you can turn down your heater or you can even turn it off. This will save you as much as 8% on heating cost. The furnace will work extra effort if the filter is full of dirt. This will result in energy waste, since the furnace will consume more power against the service it brings. To avoid this, make sure that your filter is clean. The owner’s manual will tell you how to clean the filter. A clean filter will let you breath clean air around your house. A clean filter saves you 5% on heating cost.

THE THERMOSTAT

A programmable thermostat or a centralized heating system will let you save on the heating cost. The programmable thermostat will let you set your desired room temperature on a specific period of the day. This is much useful if you are leaving your home or are going to sleep overnight. The centralized heating system on the other hand will give you the ultimate control on the temperature of every room. These 2 will let you decide how warm a room could be. One interesting thing to note is that a centigrade lower on your heating system will let you save as much as 5% on your heating cost!

THE OPENINGS

Openings on your doors, windows, joints and sills will let the cold

air outside to go in and the warm air from the inside to go out. Make sure that these openings are sealed with either sealant or weatherstripping. It will help reduce the work of the heating system immensely.

THE DUCT

Small leaks on duct will certainly result in lost heat. Therefore, you need to make sure that this is regularly checked. Usually ducts are located on unheated places. This is another reason why heat is lost.

Insulate the ducts by wrapping it with R-6 or higher fiberglass. Never use cloth-backed tapes. You can also wrap them with UL-approved metallic or plastic tapes and mastic sealants. The note that leaking ducts work 30% more on your heating system so make sure they are sealed and secured.

THE SOLAR HEATERS

You don’t need to have solar panels on your roof to use the sun as the source of heat. All you have to do is open your drapes during the day to warm your room. This way no electricity is used. At night, you can close them at night to keep the warm air inside. Reduction of the use of heating system during the day will let you cut as much as 10% on your electric consumption.

THE WATER HEATER

Households can set the heating system between 120 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. This range is ideal on both mobile homes and regular homes.

What do you think? Can you think of something else to prepare for the cold winter season?

However, as our government will tell you, the search for alternative energy sources does not come cheaply. Sometimes, the cost of developing one type of alternative energy source is just not feasible enough to be explored by the government.

There is also the problem of transition from conventional energy sources to the alternative energy sources. Many people are suspicious of any new methods and would prefer to stick with their conventional electricity.

However, these people are gradually being persuaded to the alternative side mainly because of the high cost of home energy consumption. New energy technology, of course, takes some time to perfect. In the meantime, there are a lot of things you can do to minimize your home energy consumption, for example, the most simple one is lowering the usage of your home air conditioning system in the summer time and furnace in the winter time.  Think of how much you will be able to eliminate from your home energy consumption by just turning these appliances off when you are not using them!

Next, let’s go over the kitchen area. Kitchen appliances count around 30 percent of home energy consumption. Of course, you can’t really turn off your refrigerator when you are not home, could you? Don’t panic, there are a lot of alternatives in order to help you reduce your electricity bill.

Did you know that leaving the refrigerator door open can also increase your home energy consumption? When you open your refrigerator door, heat rushes inside the refrigerator. This means that the fridge has to consume more electricity in order to maintain its internal temperature. If you leave the door open, you are wasting electricity!

Water heating cost many US households around 105 billion kWh in electricity. Now let me ask you this: is it really necessary that we use hot water everyday when we take a bath? If you answer yes, don’t worry…you don’t need to take a shower with cold water everyday! Fortunately for you, there are alternatives to using electricity to heat your water. There are solar heaters out there that can be used to heat your water. They can also be connected to power small appliances.

Now, let’s go over lighting. Did you know that lighting counts for around 9 percent of home energy consumption? Now, people would agree that you need lights in order to see your way around the house. I’ve noticed that there are some houses in my neighborhood that have have some lights on even during daytime. Before I saw how much it costs us in our energy bills, I used to do this too! But, do we really need to have our house lights on for 24 hours, even during daytime?

So, as you may have observed, there are a lot of easy ways by which we can cut back our home energy consumption. Just by exerting a little effort, we can save a lot of our money. Did you realize how much energy our homes consume just because of wastefulness?