* RodWarnock.com *

        Imagine if you could have hot water all year round and at the same time reduce your electricity bill. Well it is achievable if you have a solar hot water  collector to collect the energy from the sun and heat your water.

I am sure you have heard of harnessing the power of the sun to generate electricity using solar panels with Photovoltaic cells. The other type of solar panels to heat water use solar hot water collectors. There are two types, evacuated tubes and flat plate collectors. Both types are fitted to the roof of your home to collect energy from the sun and heat the water which is stored in your hot water cylinder.

Is your home suitable for installation of a solar hot water heater system? The first first consideration is the location of your home, is it exposed to the sun? If you have a pitched roof and your house faces South then you can place a single solar hot water collector on the South facing slope, if you face East/West then you will need one on each slope of the roof for maximum exposure to the sun.

Most houses are suitable for installation of solar hot water collectors, and it does not matter what type of boiler you have it should be compatible, the only exception is if you have  a combination boiler (combi) and do not have a hot water cylinder then it may not be suitable. One thing you will need with a solar hot water system is a larger hot water cylinder, so you need to have the room to install it.

You will not need planning permission to install your solar hot water collector, and maintenance is very low. Most importantly you can save up to a third on your electricity bill and enjoy piping hot water throughout the summer months. You will not have to use your boiler to heat the water, but can use the emersion heater in your cylinder for short periods when it is a dull day.

If you go to one of the estabished Solar companies you will be charged thousands of dollars in the UK from £3,000 – £5,000. When I fitted my solar hot water heater system it cost me over £6,000. That was almost 4 years ago. The good news is that you can now build a solar hot water collector yourself for less than $100. 

You can obtain a detailed instruction manual online for around $37 and you can get the components for less than $100. The system can be built at home in a few days.I can highly recommend a solar hot water system, I can honestly say that it is one of the best additions to my home.  find out how to build your own solar hot water heater system

Hi,

          In the UK we have had the coldest winter since 1979. It is then no wonder that many people still feel that the idea of global warming is just a bad joke. However according to scientists the longterm picture is that green house gases are still making our planet warmer.

Short term changes we apparently must ignore. Yet recent reports suggest that the Artic ice cap which suffered a spectacular summer melt in 2007 and became an area of 1.65m square miles more than a third less than normal, yet by last summer the ice cap had recovered to 2m square miles. The theory is that it is to do with Artic oscillation turning negative.

Whether you believe climate change is a reality or not, the fact is that much of the world is still in recession. It surely makes sence to use natural resources to power our homes, especially as they can save us significantly on our power bills.

As we are now entering the warmer months, why not utilise the power of the sun to provide you with hot water all day long and save a third off your electricity bill.   build your own solar hot water system

Hi,

      I am sure that we would all like to have piping hot water all year round and not have to use our immersion heaters in the summer time to heat the water when our central heating boiler is switched off. Now you can have free hot water in the summertime by utilising the heat of the sun.

There are two types of solar panel called collectors used to heat water. The first are evacuated tubes and the second type flat plate collectors. These panels are fitted to the roof of your house and they will cut your electricty bills by a third.  The greater the intensity of sun the hotter the water will be.

Whilst prices are coming down, major companies will still charge thousands of dollars for supply and fitting of a solar water system. Fortunately anyone can now build their own flat plate collectors to heat water for as little as $70. The components can be obtained from your local hardware store and there is little maintenance. It is important that your house is exposed to the sun, ideally south facing. If your house faces east/west then you may need to have solar heating panels on each slope of the house if it is a pitched roof.

If you want constant FREE hot water throughout the summer months then I urge you to consider installing solar heating panels.

For a guide to constructing your own solar water heating panels:
Click Here!

Hi

     There have been two items of news this week for people in the UK wishing to generate their own electricity at home. Firstly the UK Government have decided to set a standard rate to be paid to anybody generating their own electricity from home. We do not yet know what the rate is but it should be a welcome move as their are a number of different rates in existence depending on which electricity supplier you use.

Secondly the Energy Saving Trust in the UK released the findings of a field trial of small-scale wind systems in the UK. The most important finding was the importance of ensuring that you find out whether the location of your property is suitable for a wind turbine. In other words that there is sufficient wind speed. The Trust states that there should be a wind speed of 5m/s (5 metres per second) in order to make it a viable proposition to erect a wind turbine. Apparently the best place in the UK to erect a wind turbine is in Scotland. It also found that wind turbines mounted on a mast provided a better result than roof mounted turbines.

There is no reason to be put off by these findings as there are potentially in excess of half a million sites throughout the UK which would be suitable for generating electricity with a wind turbine. The key message is to do your homework and use information from the right sources such as the Carbon Trust tool for wind speed estimation and the adjusted NOABL tool for wind speed estimation.

Hi,
many of us I am sure have been pleased to see some of the power companies bringing down the cost of supplies of electricity and gas recently in the UK at least. However we must not be fooled into a false sence of security. Research shows that average household energy bills have more than doubled since 2004 from £580 to £1,243 a year. Furthermore it is predicted that a continuation of the trend would result in energy costs reaching £4,185 a year by 2020.

The thing is this does not take into consideration govenment plans to spend billions on new nuclear power stations, despite the fact that with the present state of the economy we cannot even afford to decommission the old nuclear power stations. Imagine what price energy will be once we have to pay for the new stations.

Of course there is some committment to renewable energy, but the fact is that we can save ourselves from these price hikes by building our own homemade solar and wind power systems now. The savings can be 80% or more, and the cost of building the systems at home is much less than you think. to learn how to build your own system : Click Here!

Hi,

I have just put a new article on my squidoo lens about how to make your own electricity. This is something that we all would like to do to reduce our bills. You can check it out here: http://www.squidoo.com/solarandwindpowersystems.

Solar and Wind power

Hi,

         I am sure like me you would like to generate your own electricity in order to reduce your bill, but how do you go about doing it economically? Where you live will make a difference to the actual system that you build, so the first thing is to find out if the location of your house is suitable for wind or solar power installation.

Is your house exposed to the sun for most of the day? which way does it face? Do you live on a hill? These are key questions. If your house faces south then it is likely you will have good exposure to the sun. If it faces East or West, then the exposure will be divided by the time of day. Wind speed increases with height, so if you do live on a hill you may have better exposure to the wind.

One way to find out about the intensity of the wind is to contact a local body. In the USA the Wind Resource Atlas of the United States and its terrirories, indicates the general areas where a high wind resource may exist. In the UK it is the British Wind Energy Association. Other countries will have similar bodies. 

Once you have established that there is sufficient exposure to sun and or wind, then you need to check if you need planning permission to erect a wind turbine and solar panels. Solar panels can be fitted to the roof of the house or mounted on a platform away from the house. A wind turbine can be mounted on the roof or on a tall mast away from the house.

The next task is to look at your electricity bill over the past year to see how much electricity you consumed. Electricity is measured in Kilowatt hours kWp. Then you decide on how much electricity you wish to generate. It is possible to save up to 80% of your electricity bill and if you have sufficient capacity you can even eliminate it altogether. Most people start off with one solar panel and then add to it. It makes sense to add the the wind power system as well as it can act as a backup on days when it is dull.

There are a number of options for purchase. Firstly you can go to an energy supplier and pay thousands of dollars for supply and fitting of solar panels and a wind turbine. Secondly you could purchase solar panels already made up from the large DIY outlets, but you would then have to pay for fitting, and it would still cost you thousands of dollars. The third option and the one I recommend is to go online, where you will find up to twelve companies offering Residential solar and Wind Power kits. Make sure that you choose one that has a detailed manual with video instructions on how to build the solar panels and windmill and that they have a good support system in place.

You can build your own Rsidential solar power system for $200 and a residential wind power system for $100. They will last for twenty years with little maintenance.

To learn how to build your own systems: Click Here!

Hi,

        I am sure that most people would now agree that global warming is now a reality, and that there is increasing pressure on all of us to conserve energy. What many may not realise however is that it is now possible for anyone to build their own renewable energy system at home.

Homemade solar power kits are now available online for less than $50 which will show you exactly how to build your own solar panels to generate electricity for a fraction of the cost of an energy company. The sun is the most abundant source of natural energy available.

We use Photovoltaic cells to convert radiation from the sun into electricity. These cells are connected together to form modules which in turn are linked to form an array/panel. Photovoltaic cells only require daylight to generate electricity, but the greater the intensity of light the greater the flow of electricity.

Whilst it is true that energy companies will charge thousands of dollars to supply and fit solar panels to your home, you can build your own homemade solar power system for $200. You can start off with one solar panel and add more according to how much electricity you wish to generate. The saving will be up to 80% on your electricity bill and if you add sufficient capacity you can even eliminate your bill altogether.

The important point is to make sure that you purchase a solar power kit/manual that is well illustrated and has video instructions as well as ongoing support and is written in plain english. I have checked out these online kits and can highly recommend the manual at the link below:  Click Here!

Hi,

There is now more reason than before to build our own solar and wind power systems. In the UK the recent budget indicated the Governments plans to invest further in alternative sources of energy such as wind power in the form of large wind farms. Unfortunately this means that the cost of energy will have to go up to pay for it. That means higher electricity bills.

The good news is that you can build your own homemade solar power system for $200 and a wind power system for just $100 and generate your own electricity. There is also encouragement to develop enough capacity to sell the excess back to your energy company. In the UK you can sign up to a buy back scheme with an energy supplier. There are two types of tarrif, the first one is that you get paid for the excess electricity you export back to the grid this is called the export tarrif. The second tarrif is callecd a general tarrif and means that you are paid for all the the electricity your system has generated even the electricity you use in your own home. Some fixed tarrifs also exist and these are based on the capacity and type of system you have installed.

To learn how to generate your own electricity:  http://pinurl.com/oqn

Hi,

          I have learnt that some DIY retailers and large Electrical retailers are now starting to offer solar panels for sale and wind turbines. However do not be fooled into rushing in to purchase as the prices ar still high. Energy companies will charge thousands of dollars for supply and fitting of solar and wind power systems. DIY and electrical store will charge a little less, but it is still going to be around $2,000 at least.

Therefore it still makes sense to build you own homemade solar and wind power systems. The important thing is to make sure that you get hold of a really good manual that is well illustrated and also has video instructions. I have checked out a number of the manuals currently available you can check out my review of the best one here: http://www.squidoo.com/homemadesolarandwindpowersystems

To learn how to generate your own electricity: http://pinurl.com/oqn/