Renewable Energy at Home

Powering a home completely with renewable energy can be done, however, it is important to make your home as energy efficient as possible. There are several sites where you can find tools to calculate how efficient your home is. The best one I have found so far is at http://hes.lbl.gov/ - The Home Energy Saver. Sponsored by the U.S. Government, this site asks a few basic questions about your home - when was it built, which direction does it face, how many windows do you have, etc. Based on this information and your home's general location (you can give your exact address, but it is not required) it calculates how efficient your home currently is, gives an estimate of how much you annually pay for your power, how much CO2 is emitted from your power consumption, and recommends upgrades to improve your home's efficiency.

With the recommended upgrades, it also breaks them down individually and tells you the estimated cost of the job, how much money it will save you once it is completed, and how long it will take you to make back the money you spend on it. It also shows a total of how much you will annually save on your power bill if all of the upgrades are done, how long it will take to make all of your money back, and how much it will reduce your home's contribution to CO2 emissions.

It recommended just over $5000 in upgrades for my home, built in 1947, that would save my family over $800 each year on our power bill - making our money back in just over five years. And keep in mind, if you are a do it yourselfer, you can do many of these upgrades without the help of a contractor, which further reduces your costs.

Solar Energy

All regions in the US have the potential to produce useful amounts of solar energy. The sun can be used to heat your water, cook your food, and power your home. The most common use of this technology is through the use of solar panels.

These panels are made up of photovoltaic cells which use semiconducting materials, such as silicon, to convert the light from the sun into electricity. Generally these panels can be purchased for $1000 or more each. However, there are some resources where you can find out how to build these yourself at a much lower cost. Use caution with some of the free plans you find on the internet for doing this, however, because many of them have been shown over time to leak moisture in, ruin your panels, and cause your system to stop working.

As of 2007, only 1% of the energy produced in the United States came from solar power. To find out how much energy can be produced this way in your local area, please check out the map at http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/ilands/fig11.html from the US Department of Energy.

Wind Energy

We can use the wind to produce electricity by harvesting the motion of it using windmills or turbines. The amount of wind in a particular area is influenced by many factors. Some of these include nearness to a large body of water, terrain, and atmospheric conditions.

The wind turbines you generally see on television are not feasible for the average American to use for powering their home. However, there are some designs available online and a few commercially produced turbines that are smaller and designed for home use.

If you live in the midwest, on the coast, in the mountains, or in a high-rise, you have a greater potential for using wind energy than most people in the United States. As of 2007, 5% of the energy in this country was produced using wind energy. To find out how much can be produced in this way where you live, check out the map provided by the US Department of Energy at http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/ilands/fig13.html.

By using a combination of solar and wind energy, it is possible to reduce or completely eliminate your power bill every month while, at the same time, helping protect the environment. You do not have to have tons of money to do so, if you are willing to try building some panels and turbines yourself, it is possible to start living off the grid for a small investment.

Kim Byrd

Please visit this site if you want to start living off the grid Resources to Start Using Renewable Energy In Your Home.