Wilhelm Williams asked:

Are you afraid to open your electric bill this summer to see how much it is costing you to keep your home comfortable and cool? With oil and natural gas prices increasing, so to is the price per kilowatt of electricity.

What can a homeowner do to reduce the electric cooling bill? One option is to raise the thermostat, at the price of comfort. Perhaps consider installing more insulation in the attic or having double pane windows installed. Each of these choices will increase the energy efficiency at considerable investment cost. However, these and many other energy efficiency options will help reduce the energy demands of the home but will not counter to rising cost of electricity.

There is a rising interest in harnessing solar power for residential use. Despite the high initial investment, the long-term savings are being touted as an efficient means of beating the high cost of electric power. Look into local, state and federal tax incentives to help reduce the investment cost.

More on Utilizing Solar Power For Residential Use

Joseph Then asked:

The fact is that the cost of energy keeps rising, and alone is forcing people to look the other direction for cheaper alternatives to energy. Solar energy has been one of the alternatives that people have found to have cheaper energy. Solar energy offers one more than one advantage, but it also has its limitations.

Solar energy is controlling the sun to create energy. The sun is a renewable source of energy. It is available to everybody around the world, and through research people have found a way to capture the energy of the sun and put it to use.

To use solar energy, one has to find a way to capture energy. This is where solar panels come in. Solar panels collect the energy of the sun. That energy that is collected may be converted to power or it may be stored and used later.

More on Solar Energy – The Alternative Source of Energy

Atila Alacan asked:


Solar energy is a natural source of energy that comes directly from the sun. When solar energy hits the earth it spreads over the earth’s surface and provides warmth evenly. If you could capture the sun’s rays into a particular area for a long period of time it would provide enough warmth for nighttime or on cloudy days. Learning where to find solar energy can help you to get started today. Solar energy does not cost anything because it comes from the sun. The source that you choose may cost some but in the long run it should be your only expense, unlike gas or oil heaters that you continue to pay for monthly in order to have power or gas heat in your home. Solar power can provide heating, cooling and ventilation.

If you want to make your own solar power to capture the energy for heating its easy to do if you can find a solar collector, which is anything that attracts the heat from the sun in a concentrated amount, such as glass or clear plastic. Getting into your car that has sat out in the hot sun all day long can be extremely hot and you have to roll down your windows to cool it off inside. That is because the glass has attracted the sun and the objects in your car, including your seats, have trapped the heat not allowing it to escape. When you roll your windows down you are allowing the heat to escape causing your car to cool down. The same thing is true about greenhouses. The glass or clear plastic can attract the sun and not allow it to escape causing the greenhouse to maintain the heat for the plants to grow effectively.

In order to heat your home using solar energy, you need to know the information on a passive and an active home. These two types of solar homes offer the homeowner options to choose from and your cost of heating may be down. Solar energy does not only heat your home but it also heats your water and if you use solar energy lights it can light your home at night.

Passive homes do not use any equipment to heat the home. Passive homes use windows that are made to allow the maximum amount of sunlight into your home. The sunlight is controlled by keeping the doors closed in the hottest part of the day not allowing any heat to escape. At night thick curtains may be used on these windows so that the warmth stays inside during the night. This allows the sun to naturally heat your home without any help.

Active homes do use equipment to help circulate the heat in the home. Some of the equipment that may be used includes pumps, blowers and an alternative heating source in case the sunlight was not enough during the daytime. In order to heat the home with sunlight these homes use special boxes on the outside that attract the sunrays to it. They are made from a dark colored metal to help attract the sun more. The water or air that is carried in the pipes and ductwork is heated by this glass box that has captured the sunlight. Then the heated water or air is then carried to the rest of the home.

In the long run, solar energy helps to heat the home naturally and without depending on a company to supply it for you. Solar energy can be found anywhere the sun is.

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