There is a growing trend in our world today toward using cleaner,  and more importantly, renewable resources. It is really no longer just a question of if we will eventually run out of oil, but when.  Even so, our responsibility to help the environment has become more important now than even before. Even if the earths fossil resources last another 100 years, the time to do something is now, not later.

The most recent trend has seen more and more home owners looking at renewable energy to provide at least some of the power needs for their home. This has become a necessary and logical step in our evolution as a society, and a sound economic choice for todays homeowners. What are some of the renewable energy methods that can be used to provide power for your home? Let’s take a look at a few of the more common choices.

1. Solar Energy

Everything on the planet is powered by the sun in one form or another. The food on your table is the result of solar energy, and our civilization would perish without it.  So the move to solar power makes perfect sense. Solar power can be used in different ways. You can run your home directly off of your solar panels on a sunny day, and rely more on the power grid to provide the electricity when the sun is down or on very cloudy days. When your solar panels are operating,  any energy you are not using or storing  goes back into the meter and into the power grid. This has the effect of actually causing your meter to spin backwards when you are using less power than you are producing.  The second and most common method is to have your solar panels continiously charge a series of deep cycle batteries that your house will draw power from when the sun goes down. Again, any excess energy produced can be fed back into the grid and sold back to the power company.

2. Wind Energy

This renewable energy source is best used along with the solar power methods described above. In stormy weather, for example, the sun may not be shining through the cloud layers, but the wind will probably be blowing, and vice-versa on sunny days. This can help balance out the renewable energy sources which are available, and result in more power production.

3. Geothermal Energy

Geothermal heat pumps use the relatively constant temperature of the ground or water several feet below the earth’s surface as source of heating and cooling.  In this instance, geothermal energy is not so much a producer of energy but an energy saver. And since a great deal of energy is consumed to heat or cool the average home, then this could be a very good option for you. When used either in conjunction with solar and wind power, or on its own, geothermal energy can easily save you thousands of dollars each year on your energy bills.