If you’re building a new place to live, or just adding to an existing one, if you calculate your system properly , you can gain kilowatts of free energy that is otherwise neglected every year anyway, pouring in all around you from the sun.
According to an article at about solar energy systems, proper features, including well positioned walls, windows and other basic furnishings and trim can make a huge difference in the amount of passive heat a home can absorb. If you’re thinking you’d like to capture a much larger portion of this free energy, you might be thinking of utilizing active solar heating.
Solar energy systems collect the sun’s energy, producing heat that is then piped through some form of heat exchange . This is usually referred to as the “transfer fluid”. It then gets pumped into solar water heaters and other storgage mediums, where it is then taken advantage of for hot drinking and shower water as well as for heating, which is very handy during the cold winter.
Here’s an economical tip: In the case that you are actually ON the grid, take this into account: It benefits you more when you find ways to conserve, and make your home more energy efficient than to find ways to generate more electricity.
The power that comes from utilities is much less expensive than the power you will be able to generate yourself at first, when you account for the cost of the new equipment.Of course this doesn’t apply to the cost of incoming power so much to a system that is completely off-grid, since they don’t have the option on power company power anyway, but ALL systems can benefit from higher efficiency.
This means that easy steps, like using insulation, if you have done it properly, can save you a boatload that will likely be more valuable in the long run than purchasing specialized equipment and systems that will only be dumping their precious products (hot water and air) under the doors…out the window…and through electrical sockets.
Here is a brief overview of the most common solar energy systems today:
Solar Water Heaters
Heating water from the sun is one of the oldest and best methods to further your quest for renewable energy. using these tips by themselves can save you 50% of your power costs. Some methods include:
- Flat panel collectors – these are simply boxes with windows to the sun that let a heat transfer fluid flow through them. They have been around the longest, and have improved immensely since their beginnings.
- Evacuated tube collectors - these are more efficient thanks to a vacuum and alcohol heat exchange fluid rather than regular water, the tubes are quite an advancement in solar collector technology.
Photovoltaic (“PV”) panels
- There are the blue panels you see on every one’s roof these days.Getting more efficient and less costly by the day , these PVs can lead to the electricity you need to run pumps for a in-floor heater , as well as converting some to AC from the DC created by the panels.
There’s actually a bunch a lot more information on the subject from: this website, which covers solar energy systems, as well as other renewable energy topics in depth.
