The Pros and Cons of an Energy Saving House

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Greenhouse effect, climate change and global warming. Undoubtedly, the single biggest and hottest issue nowadays. Did you know that your house contributes to global warming more than the average car? With global warming awareness and energy costs significantly rising, interest in energy saving house has dramatically risen, too. Energy saving house is cheaper to operate; you can save hundreds of dollars if you live in an energy saving house and in a way you can help reduce fuel consumption.

One factor that should be considered in planning an energy saving house is the material you will be using for your home’s foundation, walls, roof, windows, and doors. The quality of the material you will be using is very important because this will not only protect you and your family, but it also helps facilitate the indoor environment, and controls the flow of energy between the interior and exterior of your home. So the type of walls, roof, windows, and doors you choose play an important role to having an energy saving home. An energy saving home makes use of the solar energy, geothermal heating and cooling, and wind energy instead of fuel energy. Here are the advantages of living in an energy saving home:
Having an energy saving house can solve our energy crisis and they are becoming very attractive to many who want to help reduce global climate change.
Using solar and wind energy are reliable and efficient
Wind and solar energy are naturally produced; they are available without the need for fuel.
Energy saving houses use room fans to keep the environment Use room fans to keep the air moving and reduce the feeling of heat in your home and reduce the feeling of heat in your home
Homeowners of Energy saving house will definitely save around 30-60% of their total monthly power bill while living in comfort in their homes.
There are numerous energy saving products that will benefit you and the environment; it pays to check the tag of the appliances you are planning to bring in your home. Look for the energy star logoit means that the device is energy-efficient. Remember the little things your mother told you like turning off the lights when you go to bed and not leaving the air conditioning on when you leave your room?These are wise reminders which can save you 10 percent of your energy bill. Replacing all your regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) can save 75% on your lighting costs.

But nothing in this world is perfect, there are always drawbacks and for those living in energy saving house the biggest drawback of the homeowner is the cost of the equipments, materials especially the high cost of putting up solar or wind energy systems. It has been years when man first discovered the power of the sun and wind to bring comfort in our home and there have been innovations that increase their efficiency and lower their cost.

Hopefully, in the near future everyone can afford a best-efficient energy saving house for a greener environment, cleaner air and brighter future for the generations to come.

Solar Energy in Spain

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Solar Energy in Spain

Spain is forging ahead with plans to build concentrating solar power plants, establishing the country and Spanish companies as world leaders in the emerging field. At the same time, the number of installed photovoltaic systems is growing exponentially, and researchers continue to explore new ways to promote and improve solar power.

This is the seventh in an eight-part series highlighting new technologies in Spain and is produced by Technology Review, Inc.s custom-publishing division in partnership with the Trade Commission of Spain.

From the road to the Solcar solar plant outside Seville, drivers can see what appear to be glowing white rays emanating from a tower, piercing the dry air, and alighting upon the upturned faces of the tilted mirror panels below.

Appearances, though, are deceiving: those upturned mirrors are actually tracking the sun and radiating its energy onto a blindingly white square at the top of the tower, creating the equivalent of the power of 600 suns. That power is used to vaporize water into steam to power a turbine.

This tower plant uses concentrating solar technology with a central receiver. Its the first commercial central-receiver system in the world.

Spanish companies and research centers are taking the lead in the recent revival of concentrating solar power (CSP), a type of solar thermal power; expanses of mirrors are being assembled around the country. At the same time, Spanish companies are investing in huge photovoltaic (PV) fields, as companies dramatically increase production of PV panels and investigate the next generation of this technology.

Spain is already fourth in the world in its use of solar power, and second in Europe, with more than 120 megawatts in about 8,300 installations. Within only the past 10 years, the number of companies working in solar energy has leapt from a couple of dozen to a few hundred.

Power from the Suns Heat

Southern Spain, a region known the world over for its abundant sun and scarce rain, provides an ideal landscape for solar thermalpower. The tower outside Seville, built and operated by Solcar, an Abengoa company, is the first of a number of solar thermal plants and will provide about 10 megawatts of power.

The company Sener is completing Andasol 1, the first parabolic trough plant in Europea 50-megawatt system outside Granada that will begin operation in the summer of 2008.

Unlike photovoltaic panels, which harness the movement of electrons between layers of a solar cell when the sun strikes the material, solar thermal power works by utilizing the heat of the sun. CSP has until recently cost nearly twice as much as traditional naturalgas or coal power plants, and it is effective only on a large scale.

“You need a very large budget to set up a concentrated solar power system,” says Eduardo Zarza, director of concentrating solar research at the Solar Platform of Almera (PSA in Spanish), a research, development, and testing center.

Rid Oneself Of Negative Energy

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Ridding oneself of negative energy means not accepting the negativity that surrounds you. Whether your at work, or at your home, you should be able to not allow the negativity of the place affect you.

Let us consider that negative energy left on certain place is maybe caused by the previous occupants. You need not to be a Feng Shui expert to know this, but have you experienced being taken to a room where you have a bad vibe with? The room seems to make you uncomfortable.

It may also be a case of having too much negative stuff going on in your life that you would want to get rid of. The best way of dealing with negative energy is countering it with the opposite, that is positive energy.

If you feel not at ease at your own house, you can try opening up the windows and doors. This will allow the bad energy to exit from your house, and allows fresh air to enter your house. Fresh air brings in calmness, one of the reason why fresh air seem to calm us in times of being worried and angry. You can light aromatic candles to create a positive aura in a room. Candles gives a feeling of relaxation and calmness to a person. If you feel uncomfortable try to meditate and let out the things that bothers you or causes you to become uncomfortable. Scented candles often works best since it gives a different ambiance to a room. Lights also is a major part of being relaxed. Different people have different inclination to different lighting intensity.

Sound too can help in producing positive energy. Even just the sound of a chime, or any soothing music will do. This will dispel any negativity throughout the room.

But more than just cleansing a certain room, or a certain place, it may also be a good idea to cleanse oneself as well. You might have been bringing along with you negative energies that you have acquired. You can cleanse your self by soaking yourself in relaxing bath salts. This will purify your body, makes it relaxed and removes negative energy from it. This is great for people having a hard time dealing with too much negative stuff going on around him.

The most important thing that you must remember in order to rid yourself of negative energy is to not let it get to you. Negative energy grows if you let it grow. The best method of dealing with it is to counter it with positive energy, positive thoughts and attitudes. It is not only in our actions that we tend to attract negative energy, but more importantly, our thoughts drives this negativity towards us. It is up to us to change this to be able to see changes around us. Think positively and you will attract positive things.

Solar Water Heater Saving Money By Deriving Energy From the Sun

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When it comes to solar water heater, costs are certainly an unavoidable aspect. The truth is that having this type of system in your home can significantly reduce your expenses by cutting electricity bill and reducing fuel costs.

Yes, it can really slash off a big amount off your bills but you also need to take into consideration the amount of money that you have to spend for installation. You may need to shell out a lump sum just to have the entire system installed in your home. That is, if you want to enjoy more savings in the long run.

The money that you spent for setting up everything may be easily recovered within a year or two. After the recovery period, you can then continuously the extra cash that you could save from your bills.

Some people opt to have their solar water heater installed by a professional. On the other hand, there are also those who want to do it on your own. Putting up this kind of system would involve some skills. If you think that you have enough knowledge when it comes to putting devices and gadgets together, doing it on your own would help you save money. If you are apprehensive about your skills or you do not have the right tools, having the professionals do it for you can be very beneficial too.

Collecting Free Energy From The Sun

The sun is a source of free energy that we can all utilize to power up several different things. That includes solar water heaters. As long as the sun is up and there is sufficient sunlight, there will be heat energy that can be obtained from it. All it takes is having the right equipment so that this heat energy can be collected and used efficiently.

The key in taking advantage of the suns energy are the photovoltaic panels. This is also utterly important in setting up an effective solar water heater. The photovoltaic panels are responsible for converting solar radiation into direct current electricity. It has semiconductors which generates voltage when exposed to light.

There are different materials that can be used for the creation of photovoltaic panels. The list includes amorphous silicon, monocrystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon, copper indium gallium selenide or sulphide and cadmium telluride. The photovoltaic panels are used as solar panels. These are utilized in collecting sufficient solar energy that is powerful enough to heat up the needed water in the household.

Utilizing the Solar Energy

The basic concept of solar water heater is quite simple. You have probably observed before that when you put a pot of water outdoors, under the sun, it will become warm after a few hours. The same goes for water heaters that are powered by the sun. The only difference is that the process is made to be more efficient.

The use of solar panels makes collection of suns warmth more effective. This solar energy is used to heat up the collected cold water. Aside from that, once the water is heated up, that temperature is maintained within the holding tank. That way, there will always be an available warm water for everyone in the house. A large volume of hot water can also be produced in a short time.

Replacement Windows in Houston How to Choose Energy-Efficient Windows

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Environmental factors come into play when it comes to choosing the right replacement windows for Houston homes. The National Fenestration Council has a rating system that measures and compares the energy performance of windows. If youre in the process of choosing replacement windows in Houston and youre not sure what to ask your contractor, here are the numbers that you should look out for.

1. U-Factor
U-Factor indicates how fast a window assembly releases heat. The lower the U-Factor, the better the windows can help to insulate your home. Although the areas climate is usually warm, replacement windows in Houston are still recommended to have a low U-Factor in the event of cold winters. U-Factor rating is from .20 to 1.20.

2. Solar Heat Gain Coefficient
Solar Heat Gain Coefficient determines the amount of heat from the sun that the window is able to block. The measurement is from 0 to 1. Lower SHGC means less solar heat entering through a window. This is a particularly useful rating to take note of for replacement windows in Houston as can get really hot during the summers.

3. Visible Transmittance
Visible Transmittance gauges the amount of light that enters through a window. To let more natural light into your house, opt for a window with a higher rating on a 0-1 scale. Higher visible transmittance for replacement windows in Houston can help you save more energy. Instead of leaving lights on, take advantage of natural light by having it brighten your home.

4. Air Leakage
Since heat loss and gain are affected by the cracks in the window installation, the Air Leakage rating measures the amount of air that goes through the assembly. You will want windows that have a rating of .3 or less. This is an important aspect for replacement windows in Houston when keeping your air conditioning on during the summers.

5. Condensation Resistance.
The rating for Condensation Resistance is from 1 to 100. The higher the number, the better the window is at resisting condensation from forming on its inside surface. Since Houston’s climate can be both hot and humid, having replacement windows in Houston that can resist condensation is a must.

Choosing energy efficient replacement windows for Houston homes is important if you’re planning on saving money. The National Fenestration Council’s rating system doesn’t just take into account the materials that you use, but also how the replacement windows are assembled. This is why a replacement windows project is better off left to a professional. You will want to make sure that your replacement windows are properly assembled. It will save you a lot of money in the long run.