A Beginner’s Guide to Solar Power Installation

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

{This is a collaborative post}

If you are new to solar power and you’ve seen your neighbour enjoying the benefits, then you have probably wondered what steps your neighbours took to get solar power installed in their home. Most people believe solar power systems come with the house or belong to a utility company but the truth is that a solar power system is wholly owned by the homeowner.

The development of solar power in the past decade has surprised many people and this rapid development can largely be attributed to massive investments in solar power components by countries like China, Germany and the United States. The rapid uptake by the public was simply a matter of time, and in this article, we examine what are the reasons behind the market uptake of solar power and how to organise installation it in your home.

Why Solar Power is the Right Choice

Solar power is a renewable source of energy and therefore good for the planet. It will enable the shift from the destructive fossil fuel energy sources and usher in an era of greater energy dependence. For the individual homeowner, solar energy will lead to greater financial benefits in the long run and here’s how.

On average, American homes spend about $140 to $180 per month on energy bills. When this bill is added to other monthly bills, it can lead to financial difficulties, which can easily be alleviated with the installation of solar power.

How to Benefit Financially from Solar Power Installation

Though solar energy installation is expensive, this one-off payment can be beneficial in the long run. For starters, there are many financial incentives for homes choosing to go solar. Governments have subsidized the costs of solar equipment and even offered more tax incentives to homeowners to protect them from the financial constraints of shifting to solar energy. The sum of these incentives may even lead to a net zero cost to the homeowner in the long run.

One other overlooked benefit to transitioning to solar is that solar energy systems will greatly increase the value of your home. Most solar companies usually lead with this as an incentive to get new customers and though it sounds like a sales gimmick, it is actually true.

If you are residing in San Jose California and your goal is to fully benefit from these advantages, it is crucial to contract a reliable solar energy company in San Jose to offer you the best solar panels, and also to offer advice on which other best components to use for your solar installation. A good solar company will not only offer such consultation for free but also have well-trained installers to conduct a site visit and provide estimated costs for your installation.

In essence, getting solar power for your home should be viewed as just another renovation, but in actual sense, it offers better returns and you can finally enjoy complete energy freedom. This will not only protect you from energy uncertainties but also offer you more flexibility in powering your home.

Saving money on your energy bills? Don’t be daunted!

LED lightbulb & coin stack image by Magnetic Mcc, thanks to Shutterstock

With summer now a distant memory, many of us are tempted to turn on the heating and feel a bit of warmth again! Then, not to mention the nights getting darker a lot faster, so we’re seemingly going through lightbulbs quicker than ever! For many of us, using more energy during the winter months is a worrying prospect – energy prices are soaring, and our bills are not only confusing, but also high. 

So, what can you do to make sure you’re making the most of the energy you have? And how can you save money in the long term? Read on for some helpful advice and handy tips on saving money on your energy bills.

Switch to LED lighting

Yes. Replacing your lightbulbs with LED lighting can save you a fortune in electricity bills and also bulbs – check them out here! Traditional energy saving bulbs are great, but many homeowners dislike the dim light they first emit when they’re switched on. LED bulbs are instantly bright, available in a huge range of colours, warmth and styles and use 90% less electricity than traditional bulbs!

If you’re already using LED or energy saving bulbs then make sure that every light is switched off when you leave the room, and make sure everyone in the home applies the same rule!

Draughts

There’s nothing worse than getting comfortable at home and feeling a draught around your legs or head! To stop heat escaping through gaps you'll need to find the source of the draught and take steps to block it up. For windows and doors that let out heat, consider using draught proof strips around the edges and the frames, and don’t forget a trusty draught excluder for underneath the door.

If you have a chimney or fireplace that you don’t use, and it’s causing a draught, then consider blocking it up with an inflatable pillow, or call in an expert to fit a chimney pot cap. Don’t forget that you can also cover up key holes and letter boxes on an evening to prevent warm air escaping! It’ll stop you cranking up the thermostat and wasting/ paying for extra energy.

Switch up your appliances

It might be unrealistic to replace all your household items with energy efficient models, so instead, consider upgrading your appliances when the ones you have come to the end of their working lives. When you go to purchase a new appliances, check out it’s EU energy efficiency rating as changing your appliance to a more energy efficient one can actually save you hundreds of pounds each year, so it’s a really good investment.

Switch your energy supplier

Yes, it might seem like a long, boring and arduous task but one of the quickest and most instantaneous ways of saving money on your energy bills is by switching your energy supplier. Many of us aren’t even aware of the tariff we’re on which means we could be spending hundreds of pounds that we shouldn’t be. Head over to a comparison site and see how much you could be potentially saving. you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.

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10 Simple Tips for Energy Saving and play the British Gas Smart Meter Maze Game #BritishGasSmarterLiving

None of us are immune to the rising cost of energy and its not just any one supplier who's put up their prices in recent years. It's a fact of life that we now use far more technology than in the past and as such our energy bills are rising. We don't have to just accept the cost increases and be passive though, there are of course energy saving measures that we can take to help both our pockets and the bigger environmental world picture.

Image thanks to British Gas

Energy Smart Meters
I'm really pleased to be working with British Gas, which serves around 11 million homes and provides energy to several hundred thousand UK businesses. As well as offering gas, electricity and boiler care services to the nation’s homes for over 200 years, British Gas is committed to making a difference. They are part of a Government initiative to improve energy efficiency in Great Britain and as such are offering smart meters to all customers by 2020. You'd receive one for your gas and one for your electricity.

I suspect you've probably heard people talking about smart meters but you might not yet be aware of what they do and just how much of a benefit they will be to your home and energy spending. The installation of smart meters will improve the accuracy of your bill by communicating your usage directly to British Gas and will allow you to view your energy use in the currency as you use it, thus encouraging you to turn appliances off and use less energy. It's simple and that's the beauty of it. Nothing complex, just straightforward information you can take steps from and thus save energy and ultimately money.

A Fun Game to Play
Most people know the basics of energy-saving and more of us are now double or triple glazing our windows, timing our heating and insulating our roofs but there are so many small and simple ways to help you actively manage your energy consumption and British Gas have designed a fun game to play, which will help you learn as you go.

I rarely play online games and as such I am a bit useless, so when I tried the Smart Meter Maze Game I totally failed on level one but that kicked in my competitive streak and I didn't want the game to beat me so I did fairly well on levels 2 (3000 points) and 3 (4000 points) and by level 4 I was feeling a bit rubbish again (1250 points). I've played a few times now and I'm pleased to say that I can fly through the five levels. I got 10750 on the final level. Go Mich!

6 Energy Efficient Habits to Teach Your Kids

Energy Saving Graphic from Shutterstock

It's important to practice energy efficiency, especially in the summer when air conditioning can cause high utility bills. Involving the children teaches good habits and helps keep the bills down. Here are some useful ways to engage your children as household energy monitors. 

Turn it Off
Keeping lights on when it's daylight or the room is empty wastes a lot of energy. Turn your children into the light switch police, letting them make sure light switches are in the off position. Also, gaming consoles, televisions, and computers drain electricity even when turned off but especially when on stand-by, so teach your children to unplug their devices when not in use. That goes for other devices like phone chargers and docking stations, too. 

Close the Curtains
Natural light is great, but it also raises the temperature during hot weather. When the temperature climbs outdoors, make sure your kids keep the curtains closed, so their room doesn't get hotter. During cooler times, opening curtains helps reduce the dependency on artificial light. So, teach your children to use the curtains effectively during various times of the year.

Take Shorter Showers
Filling the bathtub uses more energy than showers. But showers, especially during hot months, allow heat and humidity to spread throughout the house so the best solution is to limit shower lengths. Teach the kids that letting the water pour over them for too long wastes both water and the energy it takes to heat it. Put a timer in the bathroom, so the family knows the proper length for each shower.

Cut the Kitchen Heat
During the summer months, try to cook without the oven. Everyone knows how the entire kitchen heats up when the oven is on. Make it a fun game for older kids to come up with one-pot recipes, even ones they can cook themselves. Have food left over? Let the kids think of fun ways to use up leftovers, like adding pasta to vegetable dishes to create a new meal and then tell your children how much energy you've saved by being smart in the kitchen.

Go Off-Grid for the Day
Remember when you were young and the backyard was your entertainment for the day? Encourage your children to put down the controller and play outside. It's not only good exercise, but also it uses no electricity. In the evenings, turn off the television and computer, and bring out the board games. Show your children how much fun the family can have playing traditional games together.

Doing Chores
Turn to the past when doing the laundry too. Show your children the old-fashioned way to dry clothes, with an outdoor clothesline. And, when you do run appliances, like washers, dryers, and dishwashers, make sure the loads are full. Children need to understand that running half-full loads wastes a lot of energy.

Helping to keep energy bills lower and conserving our natural resources are important jobs for kids and adults. Engage your children with ways to help like turning off lights, taking shorter showers, and playing outside. Forming these good habits in childhood means more conscientious adults later and that is a win for everyone! 

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It's time to save energy (and money)!

With frequent rises in energy prices, you may have rejoiced with the coming of daylight saving time. But what exactly is DST, and how is it related to your energy bills? The answer may surprise you.

Except for the darkest -- and coldest -- four months of the year, November to February, many areas implement daylight saving time to coordinate waking hours more closely to the rising and setting of the sun. So the next time you hear someone telling you to “spring forward”, keep in mind that it is only so that you can best utilise sunlight in an effort to saving on lighting costs. In the United States, for example, the implementation of daylight saving time resulted in a electricity savings of 0.03 per cent. This may not seem like a figure worth the extra effort, but multiply it by an entire nation’s energy overall consumption, and you’d be impressed.

However, daylight saving time can have its pitfalls. If you are an early riser, for example, the amount of extra electricity that you use getting ready for work during the dark dawn hours could off set your energy savings. Whether this is true or not, there are additional steps you can take to save energy on your next bill.