One form of alternative energy you can use to cool your home is geothermal energy. This might sound surprising, but you can actually use the energy found in your own backyard, by utilizing geothermal heat pumps. You can save as much as 70% on your cooling bills.
The bad news is that professionally installed geothermal systems are still expensive. The good news is that there are ways in which you can harness geothermal energy, to partially cool your house, without shelling out a fortune for it.
You might already be utilizing geothermal energy without realizing it. Homeowners in norther states often use this renewable energy without, their direct knowledge.
This article will teach you how to maximize the cool air that’s stored within your basement.
You need to have a basement, or at least some crawl space beneath your home, for this cooling method to work. You must be able to access the space from within the confines of your home. If the space has a small window or vent, this will help with the air flow. You will also need a small portable fan for this one.
The principle of geothermal cooling works in this way. During hot summer days, the basement is cooler than most parts of the house. The basement’s exterior walls are controlled by the constant heat trapped a few feet underground, right beside the house’s foundation. The temperature penetrates the basement walls and cools the air trapped inside. You must then distribute the cool from this musty and damp air, throughout the rest of home.
The most efficient way of doing so is to cover your windows with shades or curtains during sunrise, to minimize the natural heating by the sun. During nighttime when the outside temperature falls below 75 degrees, open your upstairs windows while leaving your fan on, to suck in the cool air.
But, once the temperature get higher than 75 degrees, you can turn on your geothermal cooling system by opening one of the windows in the basement. You don’t need to open it fully. A small opening is enough just to let some air through. Be sure to close all other windows in your house except for one. That way, air flows through the open windows. The open window should be the highest one in your house. This will vent out the most hot air.
Your small fan should be turned on and should point toward the window. This should make the air from the basement move up to the open window, and let the hot air go out. It usually takes between thirty minutes to one hour to circulate the cool air from the basement to the rest of the house.
This method of utilizing geothermal energy might seem to involve lots of work. But your family and your finances will benefit from it in the long run. You’ll see your dependency on your air conditioner decrease, resulting in lower energy bills.
————————
There are more ways to cool your homes without the need of plugging into the grid. For information on where to find complete and step-by-step instructions on how to install DIY Wind and Solar Power systems, along with pictures, videos, and diagrams, please visit Popular DIY Wind and Solar Power Guides.
You can also find more general information and solar power projects at Do-it-Yourself Solar Power.
Source Article: Do-it-Yourself Geothermal Cooling
As we are discovering, America has become far too dependent on foreign fuel imports, making us vulnerable to price shocks from increased demand, political instability in source countries and the increased likelihood of the weakening of the dollar. Also, with the increased threat that global warming we need to break away from a fossil fuel dependent economy. So, we have to learn to conserve fuel and stop pollution.
One option that more people are looking at is solar home panels. Solar power can be broken down into two categories – passive power, such as more windows to let sun in and heat the house with less power from other power sources, or solar cells which collect the sun’s energy and turn it into electricity. In some cases home owners can even sell some of the power back to the utility companies if they are generating more than we need. Today, although our demand for energy is increasing, the availability of energy sources is decreasing.
Stand outside and look up into the deep blue sky, then imagine the incredible power of the sun’s energy streaming into your home when you install a solar roof. Think of the advantages; no land has to be developed or spoiled as a new power plant would, you will simply add solar panels to your roof to harness the sun’s energy. The real beauty of the idea is that, after installation, a solar roof will bring you energy without any further investment; there are no moving parts, nothing to wear out or need a repairman.
There is no fuel to pay for; the sun pours out its bounty for free. Your roof is just sitting there, make it work for you instead; get a solar roof. I think solar power electricity is an awesome way to recycle energy and use the natural resources that Mother Nature provides for us! Using solar energy may be more efficient and less harmful than other sources of energy. Although initially expensive, solar electricity may be a way to provide energy and electricity to third-world countries around the globe.
Sunlight can be harnessed from every corner of the earth, and the costs of the initial set-up would be an incredible way to provide third-world countries with a means of supporting themselves! Rural villages in Africa could experience the wonders of television, toasters, and microwaves without having to worry about using up other resources or polluting the environment. I am of the firm opinion that the day is not far off when countries world-wide will realize the bounty of solar energy and turn to solar power generation as the only viable independent solution to their electricity requirements.
It just might save some places in the world from constant darkness! Just imagine a world where everyone could have the morning with hot coffee while watching the world news Solar electricity could help globalize and reform the entire world.
What Is A Solar Panel? Solar panels are what you put on your roof, or pole mounted, or even ground mounted to capture the power of the sun and turn it into something mankind can use. Specifically, solar panels take on one of two types: solar thermal collectors used to capture heat, and photo voltaic solar modules which convert the heat and light from the sun into electricity.
In many third world countries, you see large black plastic bottles on the roofs of most homes. These are a form of solar thermal collector used to heat the water for household use. In areas near the equator where the suns shine almost every day, for most of the day, these are a very effective way to heat water for daily use.
In developed countries, solar panels acting as thermal collectors are generally closed tube systems of air flow capture devices. For heating space, the air can be sent into porous rock, like lava rock. For heating of water, for use as either water to use or water to heat the home, panels that cycle some form of liquid that does not freeze, such as anti-freeze or glycerol is used, in a drain back fashion.
But the big rave these days is in photo voltaic (or PV) electric generation. PV solar panels are often referred to as solar modules, which are ganged together to capture the suns power and create electricity that can power you home, or even better, flow back into the grid where anyone else can consume the power you are generating.
Advantages and Disdvantages of Solar Power
With all the hype of solar energy, you must become aware that there are advantages and disadvantages regarding solar.
Let’s start out with the disadvantages, and get it over:
• It only works when the sun shines
• Generation is the easy part, storage is the hard part
• Power companies generally limit what you can connect to the grid
• If you buy today, you may miss the new technology of tomorrow
but enough doom and gloom, what are the advantages?
• Go Green
• Reduce your electricity costs
• Lock in your current rate for future power
• Get paid to install solar
These are just a couple advantages.
So, to recap, “Solar panel” describes two types of devices that collect energy from the sun:
* Solar photovoltaic modules use solar cells to convert light from the sun into electricity.
* Solar thermal collectors use the sun’s energy to heat water or another fluid such as oil or antifreeze.
Nth Degree Energy (http://NthDegreeEnergy.com) offers Solar Energy Solutions to residential homeowners and commercial/business owners in the Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona regions. We design, install, warrant and maintain your solar photo voltaic electric generation system as a turnkey solution. You sit back, relax, lock in your electricity rate for years to come, and know you are helping mother earth survive a little longer.
