Renewable Forms of Energy To Use In Your Home
Given the rise in global energy demand, the laws of economics dictate that there will be a corresponding increase in energy price. Given these fundamental laws, it is no surprise that people are searching for alternative ways to meet their energy demands.
You may be at a loss as to how to find other ways to meet the energy demands of your home, but this article is meant to provide you with some basic ideas for places to start your search. Read on about renewable energy sources that can help meet your energy demands and decrease your dependence on the utility company while still being environmentally friendly.
The most environmentally friendly and easy way to get involved in renewable energy is to install solar panels on your home. You may be thinking that there is no way you can afford solar panels, but there are many programs you might be able to take advantage of to help you offset the costs.
Check with your local utility company, many times they offer incentives themselves, but at the very least they can help you with navigating the state and federal requirements for incentive programs. Once you have solar panels installed, your local utility company might also pay you for excess electricity you generate.
Although it may seem counter intuitive, you may be able to help offset your costs and help the environment through the use of stoves. Not all stove burn wood, some burn pellets. These pellets can be made from animal dung and other byproducts that would otherwise go to waste. Also, the electricity you use to heat your home is already being generated by burning, this just cuts out the middle man.
A simple but effective tip to be a lot more green is to use an outside clothes line to dry your clothes. Not only does this decrease your use of natural gas or electricity in your clothes dryer, it is completely free! Using this simple step could decrease your bills by ten to twenty dollars a month.
If you are looking into solar panels, you should also explore the idea of a solar water heater. This is very similar to panels and can be used in conjunction. Solar panels take sun light and turn it into electricity, solar heaters collect the heat from sun light and use it to heat the water for your hot water needs. By doing this you can avoid the use of natural gas or electricity by your water heater.
Look into rain reclamation. Using simple gutters, you can collect hundreds of gallons of water every time it rains. You can then use this water to irrigate your trees and plants without using any municipal water.
Hopefully you are now aware of some starting points for your search into renewable energy sources for your home. It is a very noble thing to try and do something for the environment, and if you do it right, you may just be able to save yourself some money too! Good luck.
