Easy Weekend Project - Build a Solar Water Heater

Since about 30% of your energy costs (on average) is for heating water, using the free power from the sun to assist in this task makes perfect sense, and it is a great first alternative energy project for the energy conscious individual.

Solar Water Heaters have been around in one form or another for hundreds of years. The designs built in the late 18th and 19th century consisted of bare metal tanks which were painted black and then placed to face the sun to absorb heat. These types of early solar water heaters took a long time to heat water on a sunny day and quickly lost the heat when the sun went down. Later on, designs were improved upon by putting the tanks inside an insulated box. However, most of the heat gained was still lost at night, just more slowly.

The inventor William J. Bailey created and patented a (passive) solar water heater design in the early 1900’s that took advantage of the fact that water becomes less dense when it is heated. His idea was to make improvements upon the solar collector itself and incorporate a separate insulated hot water storage tank. He redesigned the solar collector and made it very thin.
His system utilized an array of black painted riser pipes that were connected to a header pipe, which were then connected to a black metal plate where the heat from the sun rays were absorbed into the metal.

In summary, there are two basic types of Solar Water Heaters for you to consider:  Passive Solar Water Heaters & Active Solar Water Heaters.  Active systems utilize a circulating pump and some type of temperature control whereas a passive system does not have any moving parts and relies on the basic principle of physics - that hot water rises & cold water falls.

Here are a couple of links to guides for building your own passive solar water heater system..

DIY Solar Water Heater Guide

Simple Heaters

If you aren’t interested in spending the time putting it together from scratch, here is a link to some Solar Hot Water kits and components. Even though this is a much more substantial up front investment, these are more efficient designs which will offer you a considerable energy savings. And the system will pay for itself in a reasonable amount of time.

Greening Up Your Home For the Winter

It seems like our winters are getting colder and our heating bills are getting higher.  It turns out that we, and our houses are a big cause of environmental change because all of the heating that we do in the winter as well as the lighting of our houses.  This along with air conditioners in the summer produce as much as a third of the carbon dioxide that is released into the environment.

Let’s talk about some ways that you can winterize your home this season and become little more green in the process.

The first thing you can do is to lower your water heater to 120°.  You can actually lower it even more but most people find this to be the most comfortable.  If you have it any higher you are risking the danger of burns from hot water.  You want to be careful with this. especially if you have any little ones in the home.

Wash your clothes in cold water.  Not only does this lower energy costs but your clothes will not fade as quickly.  Many clothes fade after the first wash and after as few as the 10th wash, they don’t look like the original item.  The color in your clothes will last a lot longer if you wash in cold water.

If you dry your clothes halfway in the clothes dryer and then hang them up for the rest of the drying time, you will be saving a lot of money as well as your clothes.  All the hot air from the dryer is just blown out through the exhaust say you don’t get a benefit of that.

Make sure you turn off any lights in rooms that don’t have any activity.  As you have bulbs burn out, replace them with compact fluorescents which will last much longer and take much less energy to light your home.

Take a tour of all of the windows, doors and other areas where you might be leaking heat from the home.  Seal up these areas with weather stripping and other products from your home improvement store especially made for weathering your home.

Programmable thermostats help save a lot of money for homeowners and they are not difficult to use or install.  If you are not very savvy about these sorts of things, have one installed by a professional and have them show you how to use it including programming the thermostat.  If you have an idea of what temperatures you like your home to be during the different seasons as well as night and day, have the installer program the thermostat for you.

Insulate your hot water heater.  These make a big difference regarding how much a hot water heaters have to work and consume energy in order to keep water warm for you.  They are inexpensive at home improvement stores and are easy to install.

Insulate your attic.  You can save as much as 2,142 pounds of CO2 in one year just by adding insulation to your attic.

Making your home or green for the winter has the double advantage of helping up the environment and lowering your bills.  Most of the time after you have taken these actions you won’t have to spend money next year to replace them.  In a short time greening up your home for the winter will pay for itself.

Do it Yourself Renewable Energy.

A Practical and Cost Effective Solution to Your Energy Needs.

A lot of people still seem to think that if they want a solar power system or wind powered generator they are going to have to shell out thousands of dollars. Truth is, if you have the means to do that then great! As long as you are utilizing some sort of renewable energy source you WILL save money on your energy bills, and of course so your little bit to help the environment. But unless you are paying a thousand dollars a month in energy costs, you won’t recoup your investment for many years.

Many people want these cost savings, but just don’t have that much money laying around to invest in a commercially installed system. Thats why you should seriously consider doing it yourself.

Folks, I know some of you are probably skeptical that you can buy a guide for under $50, materials for $200 or so and get a solar power, or wind generator system up and running producing power for you home.

But you CAN!

I have been using renewable energy in my home for a few years now and I can honestly say that I have saved well over $10,000 in those few years alone.. And when you consider what my total initial investment was, that is without a doubt the best return I have had on ANY investment I have made in my entire life.   Check it out, I can assure you that there will be no regrets!

See a few good alternative energy guides and products HERE.

Geothermal Energy - Tap into the natural heating and cooling properties of the earth.

Geothermal heat pumps circulate water or refrigerant through an underground network of pipes and through heat pumps located inside the dwelling. Geothermal heat pumps are similar to the heat pumps you might be familiar with, they only difference really is the use of the ground instead of outside air to provide heating and cooling. The way a geothermal heat pump works is by moving the heat from the earth into your house in the winter, and by removing the heat from your home and discharging it into the ground in the summertime.
Since geothermal heat pumps use renewable energy that is in the ground, these types of heat pumps are among the most efficient technologies available today for heating and cooling your residence. Although the initial investment in a geothermal heat pump will be more, they can indeed lower your energy bills by 30 to 40 percent. Also, geothermal heat pumps are very simple in design mechanically and since most of the system is below the ground, maintenance costs can be virtually nil.

Geothermal heat pumps are becoming more popular because of their durability, and the fact they are efficient, environmentally safe, and clean. Geothermal heat pumps not only will substantially lower your heating and cooling bills, but will also require minimal maintenance.

In summation, geothermal heat pump systems are not only environmentally friendly but will also greatly reduce the average homeowner’s utility bills.

Once you install your geothermal system, in most cases, you will start seeing savings immediately. Energy savings can range from 30% to 60% annually compared to conventional heating & cooling systems and depending on the state you live, there are incentives available from federal and state governments and some utility providers which can further reduce your overall system costs. By eliminating the high contractor installation costs and utilizing some of the rebates available, your geothermal system should pay for itself in less than five years. With today’s rising energy costs the investment you make today will pay dividends long into the future.

There is now a 30% government tax credit for homeowners that install geothermal heat pumps with no maximum limit!!!!  Find available rebates for your state or territory HERE.

Save a lot of money by doing it yourself.. There are some good quality geothermal DIY kits at our partner site Ingrams Water and Air. Even though the initial cost may seem high, geothermal is one of the most efficient means of heating and cooling your home with the natural heating and cooling properties of the earth.  The investments pay for themselves in a relatively short period of time, and are low maintenance.

Some other reference material and DIY Guides;
RESIDENTIAL GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS: Heating And Cooling Using The Ground Below

Geothermal Heat Pumps: A Guide for Planning and Installing

21st Century Complete Guide to Geothermal Energy, Geothermal Heat Pumps, Electricity, Potential, Drilling, Photo Gallery, Geopowering the West, Department … National Renewable Energy Lab NREL (CD-ROM)

Geothermal HVAC