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•DIY Solar Power Projects You Can Try at Home
Do-it-yourself solar power projects can help you spend less on energy, and help you reduce your household's carbon emissions. Even better, the projects are not expensive at all. You'll spend a small amount of money to make something that will help you save a lot on energy bills. You must choose the right project that will be most beneficial for you in terms of time, effort and money you'll spend on it.
There are different types of do-it-yourself solar projects you can choose from. Be sure to...
•Homemade Solar Light
Using a homemade solar light is a convenient way to illuminate a part of your home without adding to your monthly energy bill. This is ideal for spaces which have enough sunlight during the day, to illuminate the space and charge the solar light. At night the solar light will automatically turn on, to illuminate that part of your home.
However, although this might seem like a good idea at first, it does have its disadvantages. When used indoors, the charge doesn't seem to be enough to keep...
•Plug n Play Solar Chargers
With the recent introduction of plug-n-play solar chargers into the market, solar power is within the reach of just about anyone. You no longer have to be a technician or a tech savvy do-it-yourself-er, to be able to harness solar energy.
What exactly is a plug-n-play solar charger? In its simplicity, it's usually a solar panel combined with a battery pack, sold as a unit, which is capable of collecting solar energy and storing it in a battery. That's all there is to it.
The feature that...
•A DIY Solar Collector
A do-it-yourself solar collector can turn solar energy into thermal energy.
Thermal energy comes from heat, and should not be confused with electrical energy that comes from a solar panel. A solar panel converts the sun's energy into electricity, whereas a solar collector simply absorbs the sun's radiation, and uses it to create heat.
A simple do-it-yourself solar collector can be made out of a typical pressed-steel central heating radiator. This is inexpensive, and can even be purchased...
•Save Money with Solar Power
One way to use solar power to save money is through the use of a practice called Net Metering.
What is Net Metering?
Net Metering is the practice of consumers selling energy to the electricity companies when they have some form of renewable energy facility installed at their home and a surplus is created.
A good example of net metering would be the case of someone who owns solar panels or owns a wind turbine. If his solar panels or wind turbine generate more electricity than he consumes,...
•DIY Solar Pool Heating
One of the ways in which you can harness the sun's energy at home is by installing and using a solar pool heater.
Solar pool heating systems are simple and inexpensive. Kits with unglazed plastic solar collectors are the cheapest ones around. Your pool can act as the thermal storage unit, and the pump which is used to filter the pool water can be used to circulate the water in the solar heating system. The simplest form of solar swimming pool heater can cost as little as $100. Some states...
•Cooling Your Home with Solar Power
When traditional energy sources aren't reliable enough, or when you want to save on your energy bills, you can harness wind power or solar energy to cool your home. And an even better reason to do this is to help clean up the environment by using fewer pollutants in your energy production.
Furthermore, if you're living off the power grids, and the weather is hot the whole year round, you should definitely consider alternative energy to cool your home. One option is a simple DIY home solar...
•The History of Solar Power
The use of the sun to create energy, whether in the form of heat or electricity, is not new. Solar energy has been in use for many centuries. The following is a brief overview of the history of solar power.
in the Ancient World
The Assyrians may have been the first to implement the use of solar energy by using magnifying lenses. The Nimrud lens, a 3000-year-old crystalline-rock, may have been used as part of an ancient telescope (which could explain why they were good astronomers) but...
•Installing Solar Pool Heaters
The exact method used to install a solar pool heater depends on several factors, such as the climate of an area, the area's solar resource, safety issues, and local building code requirements. You might have to look for a certified solar heater contractor to install your pool heating system.
Such a contractor can help you look for the right system, for your heating needs. Some contractors use special software to determine the right size for your solar collectors. That helps to ensure you get...
•Do it Yourself Solar Heating Panels
Making DIY solar heating panels can be relatively easy, as long as you prepare the materials you need for the project. A person with average handyman skills can easily complete the tast. Special tools are not required.
All you need, in terms of equipment, are:
* a wood saw
* a hacksaw
* a drill
* a screwdriver
* a hammer
* screws
* nails
* a file
* a paintbrush
* a tape measure
Materials you need to procure include the following:
* a 10mm annealed copper tube
* a 16swg aluminum...
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