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We use power or electricity for almost everything in our lives. And take most of it for granted. When is the last time you thought about the power the light bulb consumes? Or the laptop, tablet or phone you are looking at? Yet, we need to save as much power as we can.
What type of light bulb are you using? The type of bulb, that you use, could be causing problems for our environment. The old incandescent bulb consumes electricity like a teenage boy consumes food. The CFL bulb, you may be using, contains Mercury. It will cause problems when you throw it in the trash. But, the LED can be found everywhere. And the LED light bulb isn't that expensive now. You can pick them up for four or five dollar apiece. That is a lot better than the twenty dollars I spent a few years back.
There are some simple ways to cut backing on your lighting. As simple as opening the curtains so the natural light can shine through. If the sun shinning in increases the heat in the house to much, there is film that you can put on your windows to prevent the heat transfer.
Related Product
Gila LES361 Heat Control Residential Window Film, Platinum, 36-Inch by 15-Feet
The use of sky lights have became a very popular way of reducing lighting cost. The sky light will allow the sun to shine through reducing the need for electricity to light the area. Some of the larger retail store use these as much as possible.
The next time you go shopping look up. See if the store is using sky light. If they are, they are saving on their electric bill and are also, helping to save the environment.
There are a few ways that you can produce your own electricity. Some of these alternative power sources you might be able to implement. Solar panels are one. If your roof is pointing in the right direction and is able to handle the weight, the solar panel is a great and very popular choice. (You can also ground mount the solar panels)
The solar panel is warranted to produce electricity for 25 years. Not at full power rating but 80 percent of power rating. (some panel installed in the 70s are still producing power today.) What I like about the solar panel is the Enphase Energy's micro inverter. (which is warranted for 25 years also.) The solar panel produces DC power, the micro inverter changes it to AC power right at the panel. Cutting down the size of the copper wire used in the trunk line. (highly recommended to use copper)
Also with the micro inverter, each solar panel, is independent of the other. Meaning that one can go out and not effect the others in the array. When using the micro inverter you have a Grid-Tied system. When your panel aren't producing power, you use the electricity from the grid. When you produce more electricity than you use it goes to the grid.
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When I say wind turbines I am not talking about those big, huge towers that you see along side the interstate highways. I am talking about the smaller home-owner wind turbine. You can purchase as small as 10 Watts
You can have small turbines mounted on your roof or on a pole. You need to have a battery array for the turbine to charge. The DC power has to go through a rectifier. That makes it good for the batteries. You will also need a dump load. A dump load resistor take the power and dumps it when the battery array is full. Without it the turbine would free wheel and sling itself apart.
The good thing is that you can get a 300 or 400 watt turbine for about 300 to 400 dollars. That ain't that bad. In most parts of the world (except here, southern Alabama) the wind blows at night. Here when the sun goes down the wind lays down. But, in the winter when we can go days without sun, the wind is steady blowing.
When it comes to purchasing a small wind turbine, the more blades it has the less wind it needs to start producing power. The drawn back is the quicker the wind get to going to fast, to produce good power.
Wind Turbines are a good producer of clean energy. And Texas is now the sixth largest producer of wind power. (the big turbines). When I was out there in 2013 I saw trunk line for electricity being built. It was a first for me, seeing the different stages of construction.
When you mention geothermal everyone thinks about old faithful in YellowStone National Park. That is not what I am talking about. There is a unit that is call the geothermal heat pump.
A geothermal heat pump is a central heating and/or cooling system that transfers heat to or from the ground.
It uses the earth as a heat source (in the winter) or a heat sink (in the summer). This design takes advantage of the moderate temperatures in the ground to boost efficiency and reduce the operational costs of heating and cooling systems, and may be combined with solar heating to form a geosolar system with even greater efficiency. Ground source heat pumps are also known as "geothermal heat pumps" although, strictly, the heat does not come primarily from the centre of the Earth, but from the Sun.
The thing that I don't understand why people would waste electricity, and pollute the environment by leaving their porch light on, when they are gone.
There are some great alternatives to consider. You can place decorative solar lights along your driveway. Some of them are very short while others are tall lantern style. You can pick and choose what style and type of solar lights, to get the look you want. Since you don’t need to plug them in to an outlet you can place them anywhere.
These lights collect power from the sun in the day time and as soon as it gets dark they will illuminate your yard. When they run out of solar power they will turn off. Should they have enough to last all night then they will turn off when they sun comes up and start collecting energy to use all over again.
Another alternative is to install a motion light. This is a type that doesn’t have to be left on when you leave home. When you pull into your driveway it will turn on based on the movement it has detected. It will remain on for a short period of time which allows you to get safely into your home with the light you need. Let's face it you only need light to see how to get the key in the lock. And the motion light will stay lit as long as there is movement.
Do everything you can afford, to conserve electricity. Because 67 percent of power plants in the US are fired by fossil fuels and 36 percent is coal. And every little bit helps.
What type of light bulb are you using? The type of bulb, that you use, could be causing problems for our environment. The old incandescent bulb consumes electricity like a teenage boy consumes food. The CFL bulb, you may be using, contains Mercury. It will cause problems when you throw it in the trash. But, the LED can be found everywhere. And the LED light bulb isn't that expensive now. You can pick them up for four or five dollar apiece. That is a lot better than the twenty dollars I spent a few years back.
There are some simple ways to cut backing on your lighting. As simple as opening the curtains so the natural light can shine through. If the sun shinning in increases the heat in the house to much, there is film that you can put on your windows to prevent the heat transfer.
Related Product
Gila LES361 Heat Control Residential Window Film, Platinum, 36-Inch by 15-Feet
The use of sky lights have became a very popular way of reducing lighting cost. The sky light will allow the sun to shine through reducing the need for electricity to light the area. Some of the larger retail store use these as much as possible.
The next time you go shopping look up. See if the store is using sky light. If they are, they are saving on their electric bill and are also, helping to save the environment.
Alternative Power Sources
Solar Panels
The solar panel is warranted to produce electricity for 25 years. Not at full power rating but 80 percent of power rating. (some panel installed in the 70s are still producing power today.) What I like about the solar panel is the Enphase Energy's micro inverter. (which is warranted for 25 years also.) The solar panel produces DC power, the micro inverter changes it to AC power right at the panel. Cutting down the size of the copper wire used in the trunk line. (highly recommended to use copper)
Also with the micro inverter, each solar panel, is independent of the other. Meaning that one can go out and not effect the others in the array. When using the micro inverter you have a Grid-Tied system. When your panel aren't producing power, you use the electricity from the grid. When you produce more electricity than you use it goes to the grid.
Wind Turbines
When I say wind turbines I am not talking about those big, huge towers that you see along side the interstate highways. I am talking about the smaller home-owner wind turbine. You can purchase as small as 10 Watts
You can have small turbines mounted on your roof or on a pole. You need to have a battery array for the turbine to charge. The DC power has to go through a rectifier. That makes it good for the batteries. You will also need a dump load. A dump load resistor take the power and dumps it when the battery array is full. Without it the turbine would free wheel and sling itself apart.
The good thing is that you can get a 300 or 400 watt turbine for about 300 to 400 dollars. That ain't that bad. In most parts of the world (except here, southern Alabama) the wind blows at night. Here when the sun goes down the wind lays down. But, in the winter when we can go days without sun, the wind is steady blowing.
When it comes to purchasing a small wind turbine, the more blades it has the less wind it needs to start producing power. The drawn back is the quicker the wind get to going to fast, to produce good power.
Wind Turbines are a good producer of clean energy. And Texas is now the sixth largest producer of wind power. (the big turbines). When I was out there in 2013 I saw trunk line for electricity being built. It was a first for me, seeing the different stages of construction.
Geothermal
A geothermal heat pump is a central heating and/or cooling system that transfers heat to or from the ground.
It uses the earth as a heat source (in the winter) or a heat sink (in the summer). This design takes advantage of the moderate temperatures in the ground to boost efficiency and reduce the operational costs of heating and cooling systems, and may be combined with solar heating to form a geosolar system with even greater efficiency. Ground source heat pumps are also known as "geothermal heat pumps" although, strictly, the heat does not come primarily from the centre of the Earth, but from the Sun.
Wasted Electricity that I Don't Understand
There are some great alternatives to consider. You can place decorative solar lights along your driveway. Some of them are very short while others are tall lantern style. You can pick and choose what style and type of solar lights, to get the look you want. Since you don’t need to plug them in to an outlet you can place them anywhere.
These lights collect power from the sun in the day time and as soon as it gets dark they will illuminate your yard. When they run out of solar power they will turn off. Should they have enough to last all night then they will turn off when they sun comes up and start collecting energy to use all over again.
Another alternative is to install a motion light. This is a type that doesn’t have to be left on when you leave home. When you pull into your driveway it will turn on based on the movement it has detected. It will remain on for a short period of time which allows you to get safely into your home with the light you need. Let's face it you only need light to see how to get the key in the lock. And the motion light will stay lit as long as there is movement.
Do everything you can afford, to conserve electricity. Because 67 percent of power plants in the US are fired by fossil fuels and 36 percent is coal. And every little bit helps.
Thank you for reading my post "Going Green 101 Power- Electricity- Save as Much as Possible". Let's just do what we can as we can
Thanks again and Y'all come back now
Keep Smiling
reuben
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