Free energy for the masses – Solar Energy Systems

If you’re building a new living space , or just adding to an already made one, if you calculate your system correctly , you can gain kilowatts of free energy otherwise essentially thrown away every year anyway, shining in all around you from the sun.

According to an article at about solar energy systems, the right planning , including correctly laid walls, windows and other simple trim and furnishings can provide a huge difference in the level of passive heat a home can create . If you’re ready to accquire a much bigger chunk of this free energy, you might be thinking of utilizing active solar heating. 

These solar energy systems capture the sun’s rays and convert them to heat that freely flows throughout a medium, usually referred to as the heat “transfer fluid”, into solar water heaters and other storgage devices, for heating and to provide hot water well into the frigid night.

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 cheaper 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 greaterefficiency.

This means that easy steps, like using insulation, if you do it properly, can save you a truckload that will likely be more valuable in the long run than purchasing  special systems and equipment that will only be dumping their valuable by-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.  Just taking advantage of this tactic alone can easily save you 50% of your energy bill.  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 - more efficient thanks to a vacuum and alcohol heat exchange liquid rather than water, these 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 panels can help you produce the power needed to run the pumps in your solar water heater, as well as power to convert to AC from the PV’s DC, that can run your household appliances.

You can get much more information on the subject from: this website, which covers solar energy systems, as well as other renewable energy topics in depth.