A Green Energy Home
With the recent advances in green energy technology, it is becoming increasingly easier to start converting your home to run on green energy. A green energy home utilizes renewable resources to provide electricity, hot water, and heat – without monthly utility bills and without damaging the environment by using daming fossil fuels.
There are several ways to implement a green energy home plan.
Solar Energy
The first possible method is solar energy. In a green energy home, you would a solar water heating system, such as solar hot water panels to heat and store water for use. Additionally you can install solar panels, which use photovoltaic cells, to convert sunlight into electricity. These systems can be expensive when purchased commercially, and having them installed by a professional can have a heavy cost as well. But there are many great resources available which you can use, to learn to to build your own solar panels and solar water heating systems. And this can reduce the cost greatly.
Passive Solar Energy
If you are building or remodeling your home, or are about to begin construction on a new home, a great way to make it a green energy home is to implement passive solar design during construction. This means taking advantage of south facing sides of the house, (assuming that you live in the Northern Hemisphere, that is) for heating and cooling. By installing many of highly efficient windows, and by using heat-retaining bricks and stone in your south facing areas, you will be able to take advantage of passive solar energy while developing and designing your home. This allows for energy savings later on.
Wind Energy
Another good addition to a green energy is a windmill. Windmills are used to generate electricity from the movement of the wind. This is not only a renewable source of energy, but an entirely clean source of energy as well. Windmills can be installed on rooftops, or in yards, and offer a source of pollution-free electricity.
Windmills can be purchased from retailers, and there are also a wide variety of affordable kits available for the motivated do-it-yourselfers. This makes it possible to handle the implementation of your own green energy home plan without having to pay heavy installation fees.
Hydroelectric Energy
If you have a stream of running water on your property, you may also be able to a add hydroelectric power system to your home. This is a great pollution-free option that is easy to maintain, and continues working for as long as there is moving water available.
The ultimate green energy home would combine all of these resources. By using wind, water and solar to generate electricity you are looking not only at huge savings and possible profits from your electricity usage, but you would truly be green as each of these options contributes little to global warming. To further combine passive solar design and solar hot water systems, you are reducing your energy needs exponentially and truly living the dream of going green.
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A green energy home doesn’t have to require more maintenance than a traditional home. Solar panels and other solar equipment require little to no maintenance. Wind and water turbines require not much more than regular oiling for peak performance.
- Thanks to Home Made Energy for providing the information in this article.
Source Article: A Green Energy Home
