Save money with Solar Power, 5 ways to use the suns energy around your home and garden.

There are many way you can use Solar Power around your home & garden, here a just a few that can get you started in saving money and helping the environment.

1. Solar Garden Lights
Why go through the expense of digging up your garden and laying cables, when you could use Solar Powered Lights. They are easy to install and an attractive way to use Solar Power. They charge during the day and automatically turn on at dusk. You do have to think about where you place them in the garden, so they can get a full charge during the day.

2. Solar Water fountains
Easy to install and they can be a charming addition to any garden pond. Having a fountain can also keep your pond healthy, by stopping the water in the pool from stagnating. The sound off running water is also known to relieve stress.

3. Solar Battery Chargers
Why charge the batteries for all your gadgets like you mobile phone or Ipod from the mains when you could use a Solar charger wherever you are. Solar Panels now come in many shapes and sizes. Some varieties can be rolled up so are easy to carry; you can even get them built into rucksacks. You can get a charger specifically designed for the Ipod, which uses solar power.

4. Solar Pool Heating
Why not use Solar Power to heat the water in your pool and then keep that heat in the pool by using a solar pool cover. If you are still heating your pool using power from the mains, you are literally making your money evaporate into the air.

5. Solar Panels
Create power or heat water for your home to reduce your heating bills, the Solar Panels can be fitted to your roof and the suns light is converted into electricity or used to heat the water for your home. This is the most involved way to use Solar Power in your home, if you want to go this route, I would employ professionals who will be able to advise you in what the best plan of action would be, and the possible savings.

Uses for Active Solar Heating Devices and Systems

There are basically two types of solar heating systems: active and passive. With passive solar heating, the heat from the sun is simply trapped in some way. This is how a greenhouse works; the heat from the sun is let in but struggles to come out.

Active solar heating, though, is how most homes use solar energy. With active solar heating,, the energy is trapped and then the system does something to improve the way the heat is collected and distributed. Here, you will learn a little more about active solar heating and what the uses are for it within the home as well as which type is the best to use to heat a home.

There are basically two types of active solar heating systems, and each has its own pros and cons.

Liquid Based

In a liquid based active solar heating system, the sun’s energy is used to heat water or other liquid which is then used to heat space or water. These liquid based systems are most appropriate for use in central heating of homes.

In such a system, there is a collector that is used to collect the heat from the sun in water, antifreeze, or some other type of liquid. The absorbed heat is then circulated through a pump that moves the liquid to where it is needed. It can be used to heat water indirectly or the panels can heat water directly. Additionally, the heated fluid can be moved through the house to heat the space.

Actually, the liquid solar system can be used with a forced air system to heat a home. A liquid to air heat exchange is generally used. This is done by heating a coil with the liquid that is heated and letting air pass over it. Additionally heating may be needed, so a furnace is usually in place to act as support. It is basically a hybrid system in such cases.

Air Based Active Solar Heating Systems

In an active solar heating system that is based on air, water or antifreeze are not used. Instead, air is used as the fluid for absorbing and carrying the energy through the home or building. This type of system is useful for heating rooms or even preheating air for recovery ventilators.

The biggest different in air and liquid based systems is that the air systems collect heat earlier and later in the day. This makes an air system, in many cases, more efficient and better during select times of year than the liquid systems. Also, air systems will not freeze since no liquid is used. The only real drawback is that air is significantly less efficient in terms of transferring heat compared to liquid.

Best Uses

Active solar Heating is used most often for home heating. The biggest upside, whether you use liquid or air, is that solar heat is basically free. Even if the solar heat is used just to offset some of that taken from “the grid” it is a great way to save fuel and money.

Summing it Up

As you have seen, active solar energy systems are the best way to capture heat for your home. In fact, the heating of buildings and spaces are the most common and best uses for the active solar heating systems you see today. So when you think of solar energy, now you know it is more than just big panels adorning the side of a building. It is about active transportation of that heat and energy through the use of liquid or air. It is about preserving and using this renewable and virtually limitless natural resource as an alternative to dirtier and nonrenewable sources.

 

Home Solar Power, how to use the free power from the sun around your home

There are many ways to use solar power around your home. Home solar power can be broken down into 2 areas, using the sun to create electricity or using the solar energy to heat your house and the water you use.

You would use a solar panels, withphotoelectric cells to convert the suns light into electricity. These can be mounted on your roof, as panels or you can get solar roof tiles. The panels could also be put in your yard, and set to track the sun all day long.

Using solar power for heat can either be in the design of your home, a simple example would be having large windows facing south this is called passive solar. The other form active solar, is used to heat up water or a fluid, by passing the water/fluid through small pipes that are heated by the sun. This hot water could then be used around your home for heating or another example would be to heat your pool.

Other simple ways to use solar power around your home would include solar lightsor a solar fountain in the garden.

 

How to use Solar Heating in your home, and help reduce your utility bills

Solar heating is a style of building construction which uses the energy of sunshine to heat a building. Active solar heat uses pumps which move air or a liquid from the solar collector sometimes into the building or sometimes into a storage area. Passive solar heat relies on the design and structure of the house to collect, store and distribute heat throughout the building. A well designed adobe house will use principles of passive solar heating.

The collector is placed on or forms the roof of a building, on a wall facing the sun, or may be free-standing. The working fluid is either pumped or driven by convection through it. Active control or simple physics ensures it only moves when a net gain in heat will occur. The collector can be a simple glass topped box with copper pipes in it, or a set of metal tubes surrounded by a evacuated (near vacuum) glass cylinder. A parabolic mirror can also be added to concentrate the sun’s light on the tube.

A simple water heating system would pump cold water out to a collector to be heated, the heated water flows back to a collection tank. This type of collector can provide enough hot water for a family, for very little or no monthly cost.

Heat is stored in a hot water tank. The volume of this tank will be larger with solar heat systems in order to allow for bad weather, and because the optimum final temperature for the absorber is lower than a typical immersion or combustion heater.

 

 

The working fluid for the absorber may be the hot water from the tank, but more usually at least in pumped systems will be a separate loop of fluid containing anti-freeze and a corrosion inhibitor which delivers heat to the tank through a heat exchanger – a coil of copper tubing within the tank.

If a central heating system is also present and heats water then either the solar heat will be concentrated in a pre-heating tank that feeds into the tank heated by the central heating, or the solar heat exchanger will be lower in the tank than the hotter one.

The water from the collector can reach very high temperatures in good sunshine, or if the pump fails. Designs should allow for relief of pressure.

 

Solar Homes use the power of the sun to heat their homes and reduce their utility bills

In the beginning you will need to decide whether you want an “active” or a “passive” solar homes system. Passive systems do not use mechanical devices to distribute solar heat from the collector. Examples of passive systems for space heating is a sunspace or solar greenhouse on the south side of the house.

Although passive systems are simpler than active systems, they may be impractical for a variety of reasons (for example, building an effective sunspace may not be possible).

Active solar heating systems consist of collectors that collect and absorb solar radiation and electric fans or pumps that transfer and distribute the solar heat in liquid or air from the collectors. They may have a storage system to provide heat when the sun is not shining. An active system may be more flexible than a passive system in terms of siting and installation. Choosing the appropriate solar energy system depends on factors such as the site, design, and heating needs of your house. Local covenants may restrict your options; for example homeowner associations may not allow you to install solar collectors on certain parts of your house.

It is usually most economical to design an active system to provide 40% to 80% of the home’s heating needs. . A well designed and insulated home that incorporates passive solar heating techniques will require a smaller and less costly heating system of any type, and may need very little supplemental heat other than solar.

You can position collectors in different locations but in general, the optimum collector orientation is true south. Collectors usually receive the most sunlight when placed on the roof. In some cases, however, the roof may be too shady or you (or your neighbors) may not like the look of collectors on the roof. If this is the case, you may mount the collectors on a supporting structure on the ground, or on the south wall of the house, where there is enough sunlight for the collectors to perform satisfactorily.

 

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